Imagine fastening two dozen tiny buttons running up the side of a leather boot, or the close row on a tight kid glove, using cold fingers alone. For the best part of a century this was daily life, and the buttonhook made it possible.
Gloves
Fashionable gloves fitted closely and fastened at the wrist with small buttons. A short, slender glove hook — often the prettiest of all, in silver or mother-of-pearl — drew each button through with a quick, practised turn of the wrist.
Boots & shoes
High-button boots were the everyday footwear of men, women and children. A longer, stronger hook was needed for the work, and these are among the most commonly found today.
Garments & the chatelaine
Buttons fastened bodices, spats, gaiters and underclothing too. Folding pocket hooks travelled in a waistcoat or on a lady’s chatelaine alongside scissors, a thimble case and other small necessaries.
How to use one
Pass the hook through the buttonhole from the outside, catch the button’s shank, and draw it back through the hole. A little practice and it becomes second nature — and a fine way to understand the objects you collect.