Pie-Crusts, Hobnails,
and other Four-hole China Buttons
Pie-Crusts
It is actually only one of the varieties
of four-hole buttons with radiating-line rims.
The pie-crust usually has twenty-four radiating ridges
and has a narrow ring around the outer edge of the button.
It can be all one color or it can be found
decorated with painted bands of color.
Saw-Tooth
The saw-tooth rim is another of the four-hole china buttons
Hobnails are molded knobs around the rim of the button.
Ink wells with the colored rim are fun to collect
The dish shape, with an overall convex shape
The saucer is rimless and is concave in shape.
A four-hole china button with a flat center
with a radiating-line rim.
The characteristic that distinguishes this style from the pie crust
is that the radiating ridges on the saw-tooth extend
all the way to the edge of the button.Hobnails
These knobs can be raised on the surface
or sunken into the surface of the button.
The number of hobnails varies depending on the size of the button.Ink Wells
because they are colorful and plentiful.
These buttons have a bevelled rim
which is usually a different color than the white center well.
Calicoes with the inkwell body shape
are sought after because they are less common than the usual dish shape.
Shown here is also a ink well with a marbled finish.Dish Type
with a depressed center is considered
the most common of all of the china button shapes.
Most of the calicoes have this dish shape.
Shown here in addition to a calico and a ringer
is a dish with a marbled design
and one with a spatter design.Saucer Styles
These are less plentiful than the dish shape which is convex.
Calico collectors are always on the lookout for calicoes
with this more unusual saucer shape.Tire Type
and a rolled rim is known as a tire shape.
There is also a tire shape with two-holes
pictured on the page with the china mounds.
