MYSTERY ITEM IDENTIFIED

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I've been enjoying your blog site for several months and I thought you might be able to help me identify an obscure item that I have encountered. I've showed this to several antique dealers in my area and thus far, no one has been able to figure it out. It's a small sterling silver object with a finely detailed handle decorated with a corn motif and it has an elongated loop on the end. It measures approximately 3.25" in length. The loop is marked STERLING, so I would presume it's American in origin. I'll attach a photo to this email.

Please let me know if you can help. Thanks very much!

Your item is a very nice Victorian loop style button hook. Specifically, due to it's size and design, it's likely a Glove Buttoner for the ladies. The loop was pushed through the buttonhole in a pair of gloves and wrapped around the button to allow the button to be pulled through the button hole. It could be easily carried in a purse or handbag. It is very unique and I bet it would be a very attractive item to the button hook collector. One site you might want to see is The Button Hook Society

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