> COLLECTION
Merchant navy buttons
Cees Schuller (72) started collecting navy buttons when he was a ship’s radio operator. He's been retired for years now, but his button collection is still growing. Cees tells Op Koers about his most unusual ones.
‘Buttonologist’ Cees Schuller went to the maritime academy as a teenager to avoid military service. After completing his training, he began work as a radio operator. That was no accident because it meant he was free when his ship was in port and could go ashore. He started with the KNSM shipping company, then switched to Shell and after working for Holland Bulk Transport and Nedlloyd he returned to Shell. He had been at sea for about nine years when he received a letter saying that he no longer had to do military service. He then took a shore job. Since retiring, he not only devotes time to his button collection but is also on the board of the De Roos museum in Geertruidenberg, where he lives. Cees started his button collection when he was still at sea. ‘Everyone on board collected something, and I thought it would be fun to collect buttons. I would say I have about 2,500, and I spend 15 to 20 hours a week on my collection. I find them at flea markets and auctions, and people often send me buttons too. No, I don't think my collection will ever be complete. I sometimes come across buttons that I've never seen before. For example, someone in Friesland sent me a picture of a button the other day that belonged to the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Java. That was a new one for me. With a button like that, I try to find out all about it – searching the internet and inquiring among my network. If you collect coins, there are all kinds of catalogues, so you can quickly look one up. I don't think there's much fun in that, and there aren’t any catalogues for buttons anyway. So one day I want to produce a book, with someone from the university who's majoring in maritime history.’ ←
If you have any old buttons from a sailor's uniform lying around, then Cees Schuller would like to hear from you. You can e-mail him at ceesschuller@ziggo.nl.
A missing ‘p’ “These buttons are from the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland (SMN). If you look closely, you’ll see that there’s a ‘p’ missing in the name on the right-hand one – a production error. These buttons date from around 1925-1930. SMN's ships sailed between Amsterdam and the Dutch East Indies. I got the faultless button first, and I then swapped a button from my collection for the one with the spelling error. The faulty button was actually worn; it was on uniforms despite the spelling error.’
My oldest “This is the oldest button in my collection. It dates from 1820-1830 and was worn on the uniform of students at the Nautical Training College in Amsterdam. They no longer wear uniforms nowadays, so you don’t find new buttons from maritime academies any more. You don’t find them from shipping companies either. They no longer have special buttons made – it's too expensive.’
Complete set ‘These four buttons were worn on the uniforms of the Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche StoomvaartMaatschappij, which is now the Holland America Line. The silver-coloured ones were for the stewards and domestic staff, and the golden ones for the captain, officers, and engineers. They were made in two sizes: small ones for the side of the cap and cuffs, and big ones for the breast of the uniform. It’s nice that this is a complete set, with both silver and gold, all from the same tailor and the same manufacturer, and with the different diameters. A complete set is worth more than four separate buttons. I bought this set for about 250 euros, but it would cost more now.’
Gold-plated ‘These buttons were worn on the uniforms of students at the De Ruyter Maritime Academy in Vlissingen between 1920 and 1925. This one is gold-plated, so with a layer of real gold. I got it by means of a swap. It was made by Dr. Frenken (Lüdenscheid), one of the many German button manufacturers.’
From France ‘This button – from the Middellandse Zeevaart Compagnie (MZC) – is a rare one. The Rotterdam tailor Jos Cohen made the uniforms for the MZC. On the back, there's his name and the name of the manufacturer where he ordered the buttons. This button comes from France. Buttons don’t always have the name of the manufacturer, but I can still often tell which country a button comes from. If there's a dotted line around the eyelet, then it's from France, and if there’s a little sun around the eyelet, then it’s from Germany.’
‘Everyone on board collected something, and I thought it would be fun to collect buttons’
Princess Margriet 'Queen Wilhelmina designed this button to mark the birth of her granddaughter Princess Margriet in 1943. The marguerite flower is also on the emblem for the caps. Princess Margriet was for many years the patroness of the Dutch merchant navy. The idea was that the marguerite would become the symbol for all Dutch merchant shipping. But after World War II, all the shipping companies went back to using their own logo.’