POST FALLS — It’s art — in miniature.

Antique and collectible buttons are on display at the Post Falls Library, presented by The Historical Button Club of Northern Idaho, Eastern Washington and Western Montana. The display is just a hint of what the public will see at the Idaho State Button Show in June.

“This is the tip of the iceberg,” said club secretary Simone Kincaid.

Kincaid, who has a background in archaeology, has been a member of the local club for around 40 years. She picked up the hobby at age 17, when she began buying and selling vintage clothing and needed specific buttons for repairs. It was the start of a lifelong passion.

A historian at heart, Kincaid said she’s interested in how antique buttons give a glimpse of the past — from durable underwear buttons made in the 1840s to buttons commemorating historical events like the Perry Expedition.

One of the items on display at the Post Falls Library is a “hate belt,” a highly collectible relic from World War I. If a German soldier captured or killed an Allied soldier, Kincaid said, he would often save a button and attach it to his belt as a kind of souvenir.

“You can have one button and it can tell you about history,” Kincaid said. “They really tell a story.”

The Historical Button Club attracts a wide range of collectors, Kincaid said, from those interested in the historical or military side to those who craft using buttons. The club is also available as a resource for the community.

“A lot of people have their family’s buttons, but they don’t know anything about them,” she said. “That’s what we’re there for... I can usually see part of a button and know what it is.”

The Historical Button Club meets the second Wednesday of each month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Hayden. The club meets for lunch and features an educational program about button-related topics. Club members also review competitive button trays.

For more information or to attend a meeting, contact Kristy Eversole at 208-772-5131 or [email protected], or contact Simone Kincaid at 208-755-6585 or [email protected].

The display of antique and collectible buttons will be available for viewing during the entire month of May in the Post Falls Library lobby, 821 N. Spokane St.