American Buttonhooks

America has always been a land of extremes; wide open spaces and teeming cities. A land of wealth and of poverty. A land of hope and of broken dreams. Most of all, America is a land of aspiration.

For me as a European to pretend to understand America would be impertinent and so this is not a history book, although events of American history will shape the book. I will not dwell on the events nor add my own interpretation although I might expand upon a few things which particularly interest me.

Probably the thing that struck me most was how America developed from colonialists to a nation state and how during that transition American confidence grew as they took their place in the world. Buttonhooks form a part of that growth, albeit small, through hard work, tenacity, ingenuity and inventiveness. This enabled them to replace imported items with home-grown industrialisation that led to America becoming the powerhouse of the world.

I do hope that you feel that too as you track the history of the American buttonhook and their place in American history.

— Paul Moorehead