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Hi, Zuzana. I don't mean to sound disparaging, but, from what I have
seen looking at one of these pages (the first, in fact) by Ms. White,
this is a perfect example of the phrase "don't believe everything you
read on the internet". With the impressive title of "Welcome to a
History Lesson", I thought there might have been a little more research
done on it. A number of the "facts" presented in the button section as
well as the following ones (knitting and crochet) are totally incorrect,
and none of the sources for these "facts" are even quoted.
I especially liked the "fact" about Francis I. Doing some simple
calculations based on the weight and size of a button of the period that
I own in brass, and assuming that the button was 1/2 inch across and
1/16th of an ounce, I have calculated that the buttons in brass (and
remember silver and gold are heavier) weighed down the clothing to the
tune of 53.15 pounds. Not much for a man accustomed to armor, but,
basing the button size on 1/2 inch at 13,600 buttons, the buttons,
pushed up next to each other, would take up a space of 50 inches by 68
inches. Oddly enough, I've never seen a painting of such a remarkable
garment. It would have looked like a Renaissance version of the pearl
button clothing worn by Dick van Dyke from Mary Poppins. One would think
that such a work would have been memorialized in art, but alas, no such
painting has come to my attention.
. Perhaps the other references are better documented. Even the last,
Stefan's Floriligium, which contains many gems of research within, in
this case is merely a discussion which, as it is read, becomes visibly
opinionated, or rather, filled with both opinions and facts. The facts
are obvious, as they contain their documentation. I would advise
crossreferencing any of the "facts" that you come across before deciding
to use them. Good Luck, Mike T.
