[solid copy with minor shelfwear, slight yellowing/soiling to page edges, gift inscription (non-authorial) on ffep; jacket is somewhat tattered, with several fingertip-size chips and a bevy of smaller ones, although the front panel illustration is mostly intact, as is the spine text]. "This book is partly about a hobby -- button collecting -- and as such it will fascinate all who have felt the collector's urge. It is must more the story of Maine, and of Elinor Graham's love for her home there and for the people who are her neighbors. The author came upon her hobby unexpectedly. Digging in her garden one day, she turned up a button from a Revolutionary soldier's uniform. This innocent discovery took her down strange and absorbing paths and into farm kitchens and attics and sitting rooms where she collected stories and adventures, as well as buttons from charm strings. Her story abounds in lively, witty anecdote. It is also full of beauty, for Mrs. Graham not only views her own activities with a wickedly humorous eye, she has an artist's ability to see and describe the loveliness of her strip of Maine coast and depict the kindly and salty character of the Maine people." The author (1896-1984), a former actress, wrote at least two other books about her life in Maine, "Our Way Down East" (1943) and "My Window Looks Down East" (1951).

Maine Regional History Collecting Collectors Buttons New England