If “diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” as Marilyn Monroe liked to sing, a very big cake and a diamond anniversary  button will help members and guests of New Jersey State Button Society (NJSBS) celebrate its 75th Anniversary on Saturday, May 7, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The NJSBS will hold its Spring Show and Sale at the Union Fire Company hall, 1396 River Road (Route 29), Titusville, NJ 08560, where there is plenty of free parking.  All are welcome; admission is $2 for adults, free for juniors to age 17.

More than a dozen dealers and artists will offer buttons made from enamel, china, metal, and ivory — plus modern and vintage buttons made from fruit pits, rubber, and glass. The anniversary button, made by New Jersey studio artist Nancy DuBois, will be distributed. At an information table, guests can learn about buttons and the collecting hobby. After the anniversary cake is cut at 1 p.m.,  there will be a button raffle, an NJSBS business meeting, and Annie Frazier, past president of the National Button Society, will lead a forum on how entries are judged for state competitions.

“This  show of collectible clothing buttons attracts antique enthusiasts, quilters, crafters,  re-enactors, and those seeking special buttons to wear,” says Sara Mulford,  president of the NJSBS.  “Whether you are fascinated with their artistic quality, want to examine their material and construction, or seek to delve into their history, there will be buttons for everyone in all price ranges.”

Members of the NJSBS share an interest in studying, collecting, and preserving clothing buttons, both old and new. The group was founded on March 27, 1941, at a time when a nationwide interest in button collecting was surging.  Many authors of classic books on button collecting come from New Jersey.

The anniversary celebration will continue on Saturday, September 10,  at the Fall Show and Sale,  same times and place. The Union Fire Company & Rescue Squad building is located at the intersection of Route 29 and Park Lake Avenue in Titusville, opposite the Delaware River and D&R Canal State Park (within easy access to the canal park), a half mile north of Washington Crossing State Park in Hopewell Township, and some five miles south of Lambertville and New Hope, PA.

For questions contact Sara Mulford, president,  slmulford@verizon.net or 856-275-6945 or see http://newjerseystatebuttonsociety.org

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Saturday, May 7, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., New Jersey State Button Society Fall Show and Competition, Union Fire Company fire hall, 1396 River Road (Route 29), Titusville, NJ 08560.  Diamond Anniversary Celebration. Admission: $2 for adults at the door. http://newjerseystatebuttonsociety.org

Saturday, September 10, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., New Jersey State Button Society Fall Show and Competition, Union Fire Company fire hall, 1396 River Road (Route 29), Titusville, NJ 08560.  Admission: $2 for adults at the door. http://newjerseystatebuttonsociety.org