Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

1964

  • Work on this object began.

1974

  • Work on this object ended.

2023

2025

  • You found it!

Pinback Button, War Protest

This is a Pinback Button. It is dated ca. 1969. Its medium is ink on paper, metal, plastic. It is a part of the department.


People wear pinback buttons with symbols to publicly support candidates or issues, declare opinions, and invite conversations. Beginning in the late 1960s, the raised fist often appeared as a base layer for additional symbols of specific causes and messages.

It is credited Exhibition purchase.

Its dimensions are

H x diam.: 0.6 × 3.8 cm (1/4 × 1 1/2 in.)

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/2318807424/ |title=Pinback Button, War Protest |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=10 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>