Late Victorian - Edwardian Ebony Handled Button Hook plus Ebony Glove Stretchers (SOLD)

This is a good, honest, plain buttonhook with a black ebony handle and bright shiny steel.  It comes with  matching glove stretchers in ebony, another useful accessory from the past. Victorian and Edwardian society preferred ladies and gentlemen to wear gloves and all boots and shoes had lots of button fastenings.   The kid gloves and other soft leather gloves of the time would need to be cleaned and re-shaped and it helped for them to be opened a little to allow the wearer to squeeze their fingers into the glove.  Both of these dressing room tools measure approximately 8 inches in length and are in excellent condition.  The handle of the buttonhook is marked with the words 'Real Ebony' to show it is the favoured hardwood and not just 'ebonised' a painted lesser quality wood. 

More information for collectors -

There is a strong  interest in buttons and buttonhooks of all kinds not just in the UK but across Continental Europe and the USA too.   A recommended publication is the Shire Book 'Buttonhooks and Shoehorns'  ISBN 0-85263-696-2 which traces the origins of these collectables. With lots of photos, it explains the various types of hook :-glove hooks, boot buttonhooks, combination hooks with a shoehorn etc.,  the many materials used to make them:-real gold and silver, to steels with other handles - mother of pearl, horn, ivory, bone, early plastics, bakelite, celluloid and other metals. There is information about how they were used for early advertising and  the methods of manufacture in the 19th Century and early 20th Century and the reasons why they became popular and, as fashions changed, fell out of favour.