Astor Buttons (Aust) Pty. Ltd.

Table of Contents

Astor Base Metals/Astor Industries

Astor Base Metals were founded in 1957. They were listed in a Sydney 1960 phone directory.

Sydney telephone directory November 1960.

Astor Buttons Pty. Ltd. was registered in 1983, only to be deregistered in 1984. Astor Base Metals P/L continued until 2015. The firm was sold and re-named as Astor Industries.

Quoting from the Astor Industries web-page: http://astorindustries.com.au/about/

“Astor Industries is an Australian manufacturer of premier plastic injection moulded, electroplated, decorated and assembled components. Built on a foundation of Quality and Service, Astor Industries’ is recognised by its long-term customers as leaders in quality injection moulded items, including decorative ornaments, automotive spare parts and most notably, Astor Industries’ signature product, the automotive badge … The core team at Astor Industries has extensive history and expertise in manufacturing and decoration of both plastic and base metal products … Many of Astor Industries’ customers and suppliers are familiar with its historical operations under Astor Base Metals, who served the Australian manufacturing sector for over 50 years, preceding its sale on April 2, 2015.”

Covered Buttons

Although the button on the left looks and feels like cork, the back view shows it is not.

Early-mid 1960s cards

1966-67

1968 onwards

Note the misprint ‘Adtra’ instead of ‘Astor’.

Late 1960s-1970s

Shrink wrapped buttons! No stitching or stapling required. Cleverly, the cards are pre-scored so that shanks can be pushed through. There may have been a concern that the colour of the buttons was distorted by the plastic, as a couple have the colour overprinted onto the wrap.