The Saga of The Big Dog

Opening a fresh package of buttons from my aunt was always exciting. "What did she send this time?", I would wonder.  She had so many beautiful and interesting buttons, but this huge brass piece is one I shall never forget.

I thought he was the king of all buttons. There he was, ruling over a whole tray of "dog buttons". He was spectacular! I scanned him and put him up to auction online for an opening bid of $9.99 and the response was astounding. Every day I'd make a long distance call to my aunt and tell her, "The bid is $200 "  then bit by bit it climbed to $500 . . . and finally it was almost $950.00. My aunt was incredulous but so pleased because she really needed the money.  Me? I was in total shock at that huge bid.

There were only a few hours left on that auction and the button was heading pell mell to $1000, when "you've got mail" sounded from my pc.  It was from a very well respected member of the button world and she asked me, "are you SURE that was originally a button? Is there any chance it could be part of a clasp?"

This was back in the late 1990s, when I started selling buttons for Auntie. It had never entered my head that something with a shank might not REALLY be a button.  I shot an email back and simply asked, "how can I tell?"  She wrote back with some criteria and asked to see a picture of the back. The final verdict? It was almost certain that this was part of a clasp from a dust cloak. Beautiful indeed, but probably not a button. I never saw $1,000 crumble into dust and fall at my feet before. But it did that day, and quickly. I hated to call my aunt and tell her the sorry news. But I did. She took it in stride. And I ended the Big Dog auction.

At that juncture, another email came flying to me from the person holding that high bid, "Why did you take that off auction? I wanted it!" In the end, the buyer didn't care if it was a button or a clasp, so the dog went back on the auction block with a disclaimer.

Final sale price? $750! Button or not, he was beautiful -- a lab in high relief, beautiful handkerchief corners, and a very suspicious back. But somebody wanted him, anyway. Heart-warming, isn't it?