Vintage editions of Hobbies magazine inspired me to investigate a window made of buttons.  The window is the Marguerite Maple Memorial Window made for the Lightner Museum of Hobbies in St. Augustine, Florida.
    Mrs. Maple was a pioneer in button research and collecting. She co-authored Button Classics with L. Erwina Couse, published by Lightner Publishing Co. in 1941.  Mrs. Maple died in 1947 after suffering for many years with asthma.  After her death, a project was begun to construct the button window.  L. Erwina Couse took charge of the button collections and monies donated for the memorial window.
    Button clubs and collectors across the nation were asked to donate buttons for the window.  In addition, each club was asked to donate $1 toward expenses.  This call was generously answered.  Substantial collections came from nearly every state.  Button lovers were delighted to have their miniature art become a part of a public display.  The New York State Button Club was the first to respond to the appeal for funds.
    A contest was held for designs for the window.  It was planned in stained glass fashion, with glass buttons in the design and a stained glass background.  The size was to be 17 inches wide by 52 inches high.
    One of the first generous donations to the window came from Dorothy Foster Brown, who authored books and many articles about buttons.  Mrs. Laura Blanchard donated $100 for the window in honor of her daughter, L. Erwina Couse.  By early 1948, many buttons for the window had been contributed.  Mrs. E.E. Shauer, New York City,  sent the most  buttons to be fitted into the mosaic, stained glass window.  Mable F. Hudson, California, sold a silver Star of David specimen from Palestine and donated the proceeds to the window fund.  One of the best collections of colored buttons was received from Mrs. Edward Trossit, New York.
    By March, 1948, workmen were setting up the button room in the Lightner Museum.  The memorial window containing hundreds of glass buttons was expected to be an unusual feature of the exhibit.  Progress on the window was going well; they requested clear glass buttons "so that the light can come through".
      The window, constructed in Chicago, was designed by Blanche Edler of Ohio.  The March, 1949, issue of Hobbies published the long list of donors and clubs.  "The Marguerite Maple Memorial window was installed in the button room just before the show and created a lot of interest among the visitors."
    The registrar of the Lightner Museum kindly supplied a Polaroid photo of the window.  The museum records show the window is not on display at this time, but in storage.
    In addition to the window, Mrs. Maple also had a room named in her honor at the Just Buttons museum in Southington, CT.  The vintage post card shows the room, elegantly appointed to display buttons.

Marsha Cassada
Oklahoma Button Society
2011