This 1896 set is among the earliest character buttons, perhaps inspired by Palmer Cox's Brownies. Each is 7/8" and there are 20 different characters plus a variety of "The Ball Player" without a period following his name which is not included in this set. The buttons were primarily a premium from "American Pepsin Gum" but not exclusively. While these 20 all have a Pepsin back paper, they were also issued with generic papers from maker W&H as well as Old Gold Cigarettes. "The Actor" and "The Bad Boy" have .25" cello split on back and Bad Boy has age dot by one foot. These still display beautifully and the other 18 are as close to Mint as they get after 119 years. Among the five best sets we've offered over our 48 years.