{"id":2426,"date":"2014-04-21T07:13:29","date_gmt":"2014-04-21T11:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/preserving\/?p=2426"},"modified":"2014-04-21T07:13:29","modified_gmt":"2014-04-21T11:13:29","slug":"buttons-bostons-patriotic-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/2014\/04\/21\/buttons-bostons-patriotic-dog\/","title":{"rendered":"Buttons: Boston’s Patriotic Dog"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This short pamphlet, issued after the Americans had entered WWI, was offered as both a humorous and inspirational message to those back on the homefront. The ideals of sacrifice and support for the troops abroad was not limited to the people of the U.S., as Buttons, a poodle from Boston, provided his own small contribution to the war cause. Wool was in constant demand for military and hospital use, and shortages along with high costs were a constant concern for the government as uniforms typically lasted only 6-8 weeks in the trenches. The idea of supplementing the wool stock with dog hair was not a joke, as the British promoted this alternative source of wool as the war lingered on. In an article from 1918, The Grand Rapids Press reported:<\/p>\n

The keeping of canine pets by society women may be regarded for the duration of the war at least, as a patriotic duty instead of as a wasteful and demoralizing luxury; but only if the dog be of the long-haired species. It has been demonstrated that an exceptionally high class wool can be spun from the combings of all breeds of long-haired dogs. Sam\u00adples from chows, Pekingese, poo\u00addles, Bergers d’Alsace and sheep dogs have been submitted to wool experts who are emphatic In their commendation.<\/em><\/p>\n

This pamphlet is written from the dog’s perspective and describes his eagerness to donate his wooly fur for the use of knitted socks. The cover illustrates Buttons sitting proudly with the finished socks.<\/p>\n

Buttons’ says:<\/p>\n

“I’m just a little white poodle, but<\/em>
\n I feel so pleased I just want to<\/em>
\n tell everyone about it. I was<\/em>
\n born in Boston ten years ago last<\/em>
\n February, but when I was three<\/em>
\n months old I was sold to a gentleman<\/em>
\n in Somerville, and as he has<\/em>
\n paid my license ever since, I feel<\/em>
\n like a real citizen. Of course I can’t<\/em>
\n talk, but I listen, and I hear lots of<\/em>
\n things about dogs being useless, and<\/em>
\n the boys needing all the wool supply…”<\/em><\/p>\n

“So this is what happened. They trimmed<\/em>
\n me carefully and my good friend carded<\/em>
\n and spun it into soft wool, and she<\/em>
\n said it was lovely. Then my mistress’<\/em>
\n sister in the West knitted the<\/em>
\n wool into a pair of socks, and I hope<\/em>
\n some Sammy will get them to wear<\/em>
\n if he needs them next winter.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Buttons begs to help!<\/p><\/div>\n

Buttons fight song:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I cannot sew, I cannot knit,<\/em>
\n I wish that I were wiser ;<\/em>
\n But I resolved to do ” my bit “<\/em>
\n To help to down the Kaiser.<\/em>
\n The days grew warm, my hair was long<\/em>
\n And softer far than chamois ;<\/em>
\n They sheared my coat, and spun soft wool<\/em>
\n And knitted socks for Sammy.”<\/em><\/p>\n

–The term “Sammy<\/em>” was British slang for the US soldiers, referencing the iconic poster imagery of Uncle Sam by James Montgomery Flagg.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
Description:<\/dt>\n
Thompson, Josephine. Buttons’ bit :the story of a patriotic dog. Boston : Hudson Print. Co., c1918.<\/dd>\n
Persistent Link:<\/dt>\n
http:\/\/nrs.harvard.edu\/urn-3:FHCL:2034843<\/a><\/dd>\n
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Repository:<\/dt>\n
Widener Library<\/dd>\n
Institution:<\/dt>\n
Harvard University<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This short pamphlet, issued after the Americans had entered WWI, was offered as both a humorous and inspirational message to those back on the homefront. The ideals of sacrifice and support for the troops abroad was not limited to the people of the U.S., as Buttons, a poodle from Boston, provided his own small contribution […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2559,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2426"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2464,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2426\/revisions\/2464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}