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| Mr. Dalton "Button King" Stevens (1930 - 2016) RIP. |
One of my recent travels took me near Bishopville, South Carolina to a rather unusual, but neat little diversion just off SC Highway 34 -- The South Carolina Button Museum.
Yes, you did in fact read those words correctly.
The Button Museum stands in honor of Mr. Dalton Stevens, also known as the Button King who played songs on a button-covered guitar while wearing a button-covered suit.
Mr. Stevens, who suffered from chronic insomnia, began his career as the Button King one night in 1983 when he began to sew buttons on a denim suit of his in an effort to try and get to sleep. Within three years time, he still couldn't get to sleep and the suit was covered with approximately 16,333 buttons of various shapes and sizes, and now weighed 16 pounds.
After running out of room for buttons on the suit, Mr. Stevens discovered the allure of contact cement. He glued 517 buttons on his shoes, then 3,005 on his guitar, and then about 517 buttons on his shoes. His insomnia became an asset. Next Mr. Stevens covered a banjo, then a piano, then his 1983 Chevy Chevette with a whopping 150,000 buttons!
Mr. Stevens would play local clubs wearing his button-covered attire and portraying himself as the Button Man. He garnered local attention and then later national attention. As the Button Man, and later the Button King, he appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The David Letterman Show, Geraldo, Regis & Kathy Lee, and countless other shows. He'd wear his button outfit, strap on his banjo, and sing one of his self-penned button songs:
Mr. Stevens, who suffered from chronic insomnia, began his career as the Button King one night in 1983 when he began to sew buttons on a denim suit of his in an effort to try and get to sleep. Within three years time, he still couldn't get to sleep and the suit was covered with approximately 16,333 buttons of various shapes and sizes, and now weighed 16 pounds.
After running out of room for buttons on the suit, Mr. Stevens discovered the allure of contact cement. He glued 517 buttons on his shoes, then 3,005 on his guitar, and then about 517 buttons on his shoes. His insomnia became an asset. Next Mr. Stevens covered a banjo, then a piano, then his 1983 Chevy Chevette with a whopping 150,000 buttons!
Mr. Stevens would play local clubs wearing his button-covered attire and portraying himself as the Button Man. He garnered local attention and then later national attention. As the Button Man, and later the Button King, he appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The David Letterman Show, Geraldo, Regis & Kathy Lee, and countless other shows. He'd wear his button outfit, strap on his banjo, and sing one of his self-penned button songs:
"I sew buttons, I don't chug-a-lug
Smoke the weed or do no drugs
Buttons on my suit, banjo, and guitar
My wife got upset when I started on my car.
Smoke the weed or do no drugs
Buttons on my suit, banjo, and guitar
My wife got upset when I started on my car.
If you like the color of my clothes,
would you give me buttons instead of a rose?
Buttons can be square or round,
they keep my pants from falling down."
The suit, and all of his other button-covered items that followed, are now displayed in the Button King Museum. Stevens opened it in 2009 in a building built by his children next to his home. Mr. Stevens is listed in the Guinness World Book of Records as having the largest personal button collection at over one million.
The Button Museum also features Steven's guitars, banjo, celebrity autographs, several lamps, a coffin, his button covered 1983 Chevy, a button-covered outhouse, a button-covered bathtub filled with buttons, a coffin and a hearse both donated by a local funeral home in Bishopville. The hearse is covered with a whopping 600,000 buttons!
Dalton "Button King" Stevens died on Monday, November 21, 2016 at the age of 76. His is buried with his wife, Ruby, who died in 2008.
Mr. Stevens found a beautiful way to turn insomnia into a unique form of art. The museum is a testament to his dedication. The following are the photos I took at the Button King Museum, which is free to the public, and welcomes donations.
The SC Button Museum is located at 55 Joe Dority Road just off Highway 34 near Bishopville, SC. If y'all are ever in the area, be sure to check it out. The Button Museum is still maintained by the Stevens Family.
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