Cock a Doodle Do Bracelet - Once Upon a Button Limited Edition

Victorian-era picture buttons reflected the obsessions of their owners, which included popular plays, myths, historical landmarks, all manner of flora and fauna, children's stories, and nursery rhymes. 

Many of the subjects depicted on these buttons would today be considered quite bizarre, including the rooster-themed picture buttons in this necklace.

The first Victorian-era button showcases a rooster in a window decorated in cut steel; the second is a whimsical rooster head escutcheon with a brass comb and ruff. The third antique rooster button is our favorite with its depiction of the rooster from an old English nursery rhyme called the Cock's Crow." 

Cocks crow in the morn, to tell us to rise. And he who lies late, will never be wise. For early to bed, and early to rise, is the way to be healthy, wealthy and wise.

Victorians were obsessed with the natural sciences. Attending museums, botanical gardens, and scientific exhibitions with nature exhibits was a popular pastime. 

The Industrial Revolution triggered migration from the countryside to cities which caused people to fetishize nature. It's not surprising then that birds are the most popular motif depicted in Victorian-era buttons after flowers. The variety of feathered creatures pictured on antique buttons from this era is genuinely astonishing.

Read more: Once Upon a Time - Victorian-Era Picture Buttons, Buttonology Blog. 

In this piece:

• Brass and cut steel openwork button, circa 1880-1890
• Brass button with cut steel escutcheon rooster head, circa 1880-1890
• Brass and cut steel button of crowing rooster, circa 1880-1890
• Three brass-plated pewter settings cast today in the USA
• Brass and silver-plated brass chain
• Length is 7 ¼” to 8 ¾”

Shop Collection: Limited Edition