Button front shirts

[Dr. Bob]

Howdy folks,

I know that most shirts were pull over with a 3 - 5 button placket or buttons in the back.  When did button in the front become available?  Thanks in advance!

[Delmonico]

I've seen them in pictures dating to at least the middle 1870's, but they are a minority till after 1900.

[Dr. Bob]

Howdy Delmonico,

Thanks!  Can you point me to some of those pictures?  No rush!

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Didn't they first show up around the 1850's as "Fireman's" shirts? During the CW, units of firemen enlisted together and used the same design shirts for their uniforms. I believe this is what popularized them.............Buck

[St. George]

I'm assuming you're looking for information on the 'standard' button-down-the-front shirt in use today.

Delmonico's right - they weren't in common usage until after 1900 - the U.S. Army wouldn't adopt the style until after WWI.

The 'Fireman's Shirt' was 'not' worn by units of firemen.
Upon enlistment - they wore the campaign shirt as issued.

The placket (button-on 'shield')  often featured the Firehouse 'Number' - and since some firemen were opportunistic - often, the reverse featured the number of a different Firehouse.

Though available through the various Army Sutlers following the Civil War, as well as through the various Mail Order houses - and worn as a private-purchase item on Campaign by Troopers and by cowboys as well - the real 'popularity' of that shirt came about largely because of the Western movie.

The rare times I ever saw a button-down-the-front shirt - most all men were wearing vests - no 'hard' date was associated with the photo.
Being black and white and always grainy - it generally seemed to be from the post-1900 era.

The key term is 'common usage'.

Back during the Frontier Years - most clothing was tailor-made or seamstress-made 'for' the wearer and when that's the case - 'anything' could be specified.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Chantilly]

A family story says that one brother went to Austrailia in the early 1890's to search for gold.  He suffered a severe sunstroke that left him partially paralyzed the rest of his life.  The paralysis made it difficult for him to taken his shirts on and off.  He had a Chinese tailor in Roebourne, Australia make him shirts with buttons all down the front.  When visiting his family in Buffalo, NY about 1897, his neice who worked for a large department store, took the shirts to show the manager.  This was the start of a new shirt design.

I don't know if the above family story is exaggerated, but family from the time recorded it as noted above.

[Delmonico]

The best photo is the 1886 one in the Solomon Butcher Collection:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award98/nbhihtml/pshome.html

Type supper into the search.  Although you can not see all the way down in the picture, the buttons do go further than most pullovers.  Also one will see the total lack of the placket on the shirt.  Since most photos don't show in plain sight any full buttons, the lack of the placket it the key.  I've seen a few more that appear to be full button, but most of the time I just glance and go on.  Like St. George said, common use, of course like anything that is open to ones own interpitation.