Sally Hearn (1932–2018) was a dedicated button collector and a prominent member of the Victoria Button Collectors Club. Her button collection was featured as a primary display in the 'The Melbourne Story' exhibition at the Melbourne Museum, which opened in mid-2008.The Hearn Collection of locally made and international buttons is historically and aesthetically significant as it illustrates the textile and manufacturing history of button making.This item consists of a boy's black Scottish traditional jacket featuring long sleeves, decorative cuffs, a fitted bodice and two pleated front panels. The jacket is embellished with silver-plated, diamond-shaped buttons featuring decorative central motifs, arranged along the front, cuffs, and lower parts of the jacket. Official Catalogue Entry: "There was a house fire in Preston. In order to purchase the tin of buttons I had to also clear the contents of two garden sheds. Luckily we had a station wagon which we loaded up with 2 lawn mowers, tools galore and old paint from one shed, and mountains of fabric and clothes and hats and threads and trims from another – In that one I had noticed a garment with Piper’s buttons on it. One box was full of photos and letters etc., sent from Egypt and Palestine during the war. The house had caught fire with Beryl ? in bed ( - she did survive). Her son in the Navy in Sydney was given leave of absence to come to Melbourne to deal with the situation. From all the paperwork I deduced that Beryl had had an older brother Archibald McFarlane and that he had been an “exhibition dancer” as a nine year old. I discovered the programme for the New Year Celebration of the Prahran and District Scottish Society Jan 4th 1926 with A. McFarlane dancing the “Scottish Reel”. This is the jacket he wore. It has been carefully made by recycling a man’s dinner suit – no doubt done by his mother."sally hearn, button collections