Processed Wood Buttons

This page starts with some sales figures (online auctions and other sales) for vintage processed wood buttons. Some styles are shown several times with different sales results which is the nature auctions in particular. With these types of buttons it is all about scarcity of design, condition and generally size, the bigger the better although mediums are harder to find in general. Following the sales results are images of other collectible processed wood buttons for your information, some common, some scarce/rare:

Here's a good one, a pictorial object clock Burwood/Syroco button. NBS large (exact size not noted). Special because it has a Patent backmark (not all of the backmark can be deciphered) and traces of decorative finish (DF) gold paint on the high points, NICE! Back view click: Here. Sold online auction 6/11/17 for $160.48

Squirrel Burwood/Syroco vintage processed wood button 1-1/2". Back view click: Here. Sold online auction on 4/9/17 for $78.55 and one a bit larger at 2", same design, great condition sold online auction on 6/19/17 for $90.99

Back marked GAP; vintage processed wood button, 1-5/8". Other material embellishment (turquoise glass or plastic), gunmetal and silver DF (decorative finish paint or possibly the silver areas are inlaid mirror glass pieces, not sure). Back view click: Here. Sold online auction 6/18/17 at $45.99	Acorns Burwood/Syroco processed wood button 1-5/8". Three hole sew-thru which is good to find (back type point). Back view click: Here. Sold online auction 3/25/17 at $38.00 (what a bargain!)	Clearly processed wood buttons are becoming a hot commodity! The next three images show buttons put on eBay at a "buy it now" price and allowing for "offers". The seller wants $165 for this Burwood/Syroco "Ship's Captain" extra large 2" button. My offer for this piece would be around $75. Back view click: Here.
This Eiffel Tower processed wood (Burwood/Syroco) is a desirable piece. Offered on eBay for $175. See the auction results for this design elsewhere on this page. Consider condition if you are planning to spend this amount. Back view click: Here.	Barrel Burwood/Syroco vintage processed wood button 1-1/4". I have not seen this button before. Might be rare, could be a make-up, hard to say. Back view click: Here. Sold online auction 3/1/17 for $33.99	Seagull Burwood/Syroco vintage processed wood button 2". Back view click: Here. Sold online auction 2/23/17 at $60.95 (I consider this a pretty scarce design).
Knight on Horseback Burwood/Syroco vintage processed wood button 2". This design is not too hard to find. Back view click: Here. Sold online auction 2/15/17 at $43.00	War Tank/Aircraft Burwood/Syroco vintage processed wood button approx. 2". This is scarce. Condition matters! Back view click: Here. Auction and private sale results are $95-$114 between Feb/Mar 2017	Tennis Player, Burwood/Syroco processed wood extra large over 2". Sold online auction 9/28/16 at $102.56
One of three shown with various sales results as shown to the right. Extra large 2". Others are usually large but just barely. Back view click: Here. Sold 6/4/17 online auction at $111.50	This penguin processed wood (Burwood/Syroco) seems in good condition, not sure the size but I haven't seen any medium size of this design so this is likely large. Back view click: Here. Sold online auction 2017 for $125.00	Penguin, Burwood/Syroco processed wood extra-large 2". Has a self-shank which some say is an earmark of the "Syroco" brand name processed wood products. Warping reduces the value somewhat but the blue factory paint (others have been found with this blue DF) is desirable. Back view click: Here. Sold online auction 9/21/16 at $98.99
Eiffel Tower, Burwood/Syroco processed wood large 1-3/4". Sold online auction 9/21/16 at $57.56	Double birds vintage 1-1/2" Burwood/Syroco processed wood button. Sold online auction 3/14/16 at $163.50 (I guess it's scarce with this result!).	Ship's wheel Burwood/Syroco processed wood button. Captain's Navigation Wheel (pictorial object?). Large 1-1/2". Sold online auction April 2016 at $126.
Eifel Tower which the seller described as having a "bit of paint wear" vintage Burwood/Syroco processed wood button around 1-1/4" sold for $41.02 on 1/13/16.	Eifel Tower Burwood/Syroco processed wood somewhat better condition than the one to the left, sold on eBay 3/12/16 for $57.99	Processed wood Burwood/Syroco castle, medium 1-1/8" sold Jan. 14, 2016 for only $8.65 on eBay. Not really a scarce one but in good condition and should have gone for more.
Burwood/Syroco processed wood Knight on Horseback, extra large 2" in seemingly great condition sold Jan. 8, 2016 for nearly $64.00 on eBay.	GAP processed wood, metallic painted, 1-1/2" Acorns button sold 12/24/15 for $85.99	Burwood/Syroco sledders extra lg. 2" sold 12/16/15 for $89.00 on eBay. Buttons like these are not hand carved, they are molded of wood bits and fixatives into these designs. Closer images of the eBay button click: Here; Here; Here; Here.
Hockey players (scarce pictorial) Burwood/Syroco processed wood, extra lg. 2.25". Sold for $161. 11/01/15 on eBay. Closer images click: Here; Here; Here.	ANN back marked, faceted glass embellished, metallic painted, 1" medium vintage processed wood button. Buttons with "OME" (other material embellishment) and nice DF (decorative finish=paint) are hard to come by. Sold for $33.56 on 12/05/15 on eBay.	This nearly 2" very worn, scarce, "Paratrooper" Burwood/Syroco vintage processed wood button sold for $142. on 11/23/15 on eBay.
"A" back marked (ANN) metallic gold paint DF, NBS large (over 1-1/4") nice condition vintage processed wood button. Good one to find as it is an identifiable rose flower. Sold on eBay for $12.99 on 12/07/15.	"GAP" back marked, metallic silver paint DF, NBS large 1-5/8", vintage processed wood button. Study the back, this look is typical of the GAP brand of vintage processed wood buttons, some back marks are worn and hard to see, some have none. Sold on eBay at auction for $20.51 on 11/28/15.	Gold paint decorative finish, mirrored transparent colored glass embellished, lacy high contour molded vintage "ANN" back marked processed wood, 1-5/8" button sold on eBay for $53.00 on 11/19/15. Clearly "value" is in the eye of the bid winner. Good time to market your processed wood buttons on eBay as values seem to be escalating!

Burwood/Syroco Buttons:

Eiffel Tower with aircraft and buildings below (cathedral, Arc de Triomphe). Not real rare but quite desirable to collectors for a variety of reasons (material, decorative finish, architectural structure pictorial).	Spinner at Wheel vintage wood composition button. Nice one Suzie! This one is scarce!	Vintage wood composition squirrel button.
Realistic shaped wood composition football button with coveted self-shank. NBS large, bit over 1-1/4" long. Side view click Here.	Ever wonder if your Burwood/Syroco button has it's original sewing holes? One thing to look for is a bit of a "thread groove" between the sewing holes molded in and no raw wood color inside the holes. Some pieces not originally made as buttons are turning up with freshly drilled sewing holes indicating they are a 'make up' rather than a factory-made button. This button is nice for it's shape, openwork and original color. The eBay seller listed this as "carved wood", sorry it's not, this was molded into shape from a pulpy mix of wood fibers and other fixatives.	Here's an odd white metal clad polo player on horseback. I've been told by reliable sources this is a good "counter" on a wood tray as the underlying material is wood composition. We've seen this one without the metal plating so I believe it's good despite the metal shank which some educators say do not exist on true Burwood/Syrocco buttons. I take exception to that!
Vintage Warrior on Horse Burwood / Syroco wood composition button.	Seagull vintage Burwood or Syroco wood composition button. Not that common.	Swan vintage Burwood or Syroco wood composition button. Not that common.
Eagle vintage Burwood or Syroco wood composition button. Fairly rare.	Steamship At Sea vintage Burwood or Syroco wood composition button. Common. Has a nice "thread groove" molded between the sewing holes.	Ship Captain at The Wheel vintage Burwood or Syroco wood composition button. Fairly scarce. Dark dark paint does not do this design justice. Many of these were painted after-market, too bad!
Sailing at Night under Half Moon Burwood or Syroco wood composition button. Fairly common design although this is one handsome button in great condition, extra large size, not all show the half moon.	Nice openwork basketweave modified square vintage Burwood or Syroco wood composition button. Pretty worn on the surface and lacking any real sewing holes but intended to be sewn on the way you see the mounting wire as there is a thread groove molded in under that wire. Good for shape and openwork construction and a nice variant not that commonly found.	Woven rope look textural vintage Burwood or Syroco wood composition button. Nice to have for the non-pictorial design.
Nice shape, a counter for "back type" (three hole sew-thru with thread grooves molded in, sorry the wire is covering but you can kind of see the grooves). Not that common only saw this once and bought it. Nice to have for the non-pictorial design, shape and back type. Extra large.	ANN & GAP brand and Masonite painted wood composition buttons below...

ANN/GAP
Masonite:

"ANN" back mark vintage wood composition button. Some do not have a back mark, others have just an "A" and some are too worn to make out the back mark.	Here's a delightful vintage 1950's wood composition button backmarked "GAP". These buttons carry glass OME (other material embellishment), sometimes plastic OME and a variety of DF (decorative finish/paint).	Here's a colorful vintage 1950's wood composition button back marked "A" for the "ANN" company. You see this mark and ANN spelled out, sometimes it's worn or not present but the way the back looks and the similar construction will help you identify these types.
Image above is hand painted (for tourists) Masonite which is a form of wood composition and appropriate in a collection of other wood compo. buttons. American Southwestern designs such as this are rather uncommon. Most hand painted Masonite buttons carry distinctively Mexican subject matter.	More below...

Celluloid w/Wood Composition:

Here's a Burwood/Syrocco head I used in competition. I was disqualified because this is only part of a button. See the next picture.

The Burwood head was not sold as a button on it's own, it was cemented to a celluloid base and is thus a celluloid button with wood composition OME (other material embellishment).

This is made the same but strangely is mounted by a sew-thru wood composition button, if this one came apart it would be fine to use the sew-thru footballer on a wood composition tray as this was marketed as a button on it's own and not simply as OME on celluloid. This is not a make-up, it was marketed as a wood composition button AND made as a celluloid based button as well.

Below is a collector tray representing all types of vintage wood composition buttons including brand names "Burwood", "Syroco", ANN, GAP and Masonite. Burwood/Syroco are pretty much interchangeable names, it's hard to know which were made at these two different companies. Some ANN and GAP buttons are back marked, see examples of those below. Masonite often has a screen look waffled back and tend to carry scenes and people of Mexico as they were painted for tourists but some also carry American Southwestern designs, probably also painted in Mexico. There are other wood composition buttons on this tray that do not fit the norm, they feel and look different but they are indeed wood composition. Look around on this page you'll find some of the buttons from this tray shown individually for a better look, some are rather common, some are pretty hard to find and a few are rare. The NRA back marked button on the top row does not belong on a wood composition tray as it is natural wood. Keep in mind though, even natural wood is allowed mixed with wood composition buttons in competition depending how the award is written as they are in the same main class in our Blue Book.

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