They quit making button shoes in 1926 so my button hooks date back before that, originating in Europe. Who: Merlin Skramstad, 81, of Apache Junction, is a retired rural mail carrier.

BBC - A History of the World - Object : Boot and button hookThese are made with a mother of pearl handle and were in the owner's family for years.

And, though it’s shaped somewhat like a button hook, even that slight resemblance doesn’t explain the centuries-old moniker, especially because the area was never known as Button Hook Bay.