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A snap fastener, also called snap button, press stud, press fastener, dome fastener, popper, snap and tich (or tich button), is a pair of interlocking discs, made out of a metal or plastic, commonly used in place of traditional buttons to fasten clothing and for similar purposes. A circular lip under one disc fits into a groove on the top of the other, holding them fast until a certain amount of force is applied. Different types of snaps can be attached to fabric or leather by riveting with a punch and die set specific to the type of rivet snaps used (striking the punch with a hammer to splay the tail), sewing, or plying with special snap pliers.
Snap fasteners are a noted detail in American Western wear and are also often chosen for children's clothing, as they are relatively easy for children to use compared with traditional buttons.
Modern snap fasteners were patented by German inventor Heribert Bauer in 1885 as the "Federknopf-Verschluss", a novelty fastener for men's trousers. Some attribute the invention to Bertel Sanders, of Denmark. In 1886, Albert-Pierre Raymond, of Grenoble, also obtained a patent. These first versions had an S-shaped spring in the "male" disc instead of a groove. Australian inventor Myra Juliet Farrell is also credited with inventing a "stitchless press stud" and the "stitchless hook and eye". In America, Jack Weil (1901–2008) put snaps on his iconic Western shirts, which spread the fashion for them. The Prym company has produced snap fasteners since 1903.
Snaps were incorporated into military gear for their speed of use, comparative freedom from snaring, and ease of disentanglement when caught; they were particularly adapted to 100 years of Western wear
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Rivet snap parts.jpg, Four pieces of a typical rivet snap fastener: from upper left, the "eyelet" "socket", "cap", and "stud"
Snap fastener female (outer) side components.jpg, The socket and cap, the "female" parts of a riveted snap fastener
Snap fastener male (inner) side components.jpg, The eyelet and stud, the "male" parts of a riveted snap fastener
Sewing snap rivet tools.jpg, Tools used to apply a snap
Invention
Modern snap fasteners were patented by German inventor Heribert Bauer in 1885 as the "Federknopf-Verschluss", a novelty fastener for men's trousers. Some attribute the invention to Bertel Sanders, of Denmark. In 1886, Albert-Pierre Raymond, of Grenoble, also obtained a patent. These first versions had an S-shaped spring in the "male" disc instead of a groove. Australian inventor Myra Juliet Farrell is also credited with inventing a "stitchless press stud" and the "stitchless hook and eye". In America, Jack Weil (1901–2008) put snaps on his iconic Western shirts, which spread the fashion for them. The Prym company has produced snap fasteners since 1903.
Use
Snaps were incorporated into military gear for their speed of use, comparative freedom from snaring, and ease of disentanglement when caught; they were particularly adapted to paratroop
A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...
equipment due to the danger of snares in the myriad lines attaching a parachute canopy.
They were also adopted for use with law enforcement holsters and their myriad accessories for similar reasons - replaced in both fields largely by Velcro in recent decades.
Press studs were adopted by rodeo
Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...
cowboys from the 1930s onwards, because these could be quickly undone if, in the event of a fall, the shirt became snagged in the saddle. Faux pearl snaps entered American mainstream Western fashion during the 1950s
The 1950s (pronounced nineteen-fifties; commonly abbreviated as the "Fifties" or the " '50s") (among other variants) was a decade that began on January 1, 1950, and ended on December 31, 1959.
Throughout the decade, the world continued its re ...
, when singing cowboy
A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films. It references real-world campfire side ballads in the American frontier, the original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, hardships, and d ...
s like Gene Autry
Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
and Roy Rogers incorporated them into their embroidered and fringed stage shirts./ref>
Gallery
References
External links
* {{Authority control 1940s fashion 20th-century fashion German inventions Textile closures Western wear de:Knopf#Druckknopf