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Batchelor versus Bachelor

http://www.austbuttonhistory.com/15th-july-2021/

‘Batchelor’ is an English variant of the noun ‘bachelor’. Batchelor/bachelor buttons were sometimes known as “Solitares”, although these were nor exactly the same kind of gentlemen’s clothing fastener. Bachelor buttons were two piece metal fasteners that could be snapped or hammered together through layers of material to make a fastener without sewing required. They were sold on cards, and also on ready-made work gear.

The Bulletin, 1st January 1914 page 31. The “working trousers” advertised above featured bachelor buttons.

During WW1 they were a common inclusion in aid and comfort packages to send to soldiers.

The Queenslander (Brisbane), 18th November 1916 page 4.

Picture of a soldiers “housewife’ as illustrated in the Weekly Times, in 1915.

A 1934 magazine article featured their use in a craft fashion project.

The Australian Woman’s Mirror, 27th February 1934 page 30.

A misanthropist opinioned that bachelor buttons freed men from women’s whiles … perhaps there was a good reason he had been through several marriages.

The Bulletin, 20th June 1945 page 11.