Blog - vintage photo id badges

Why Collectors Treasure Vintage Photo ID Badges

Collection of Barbara Levine/projectB.comVintage employee identification badges are simultaneously a memory object, advertisement, photograph and artifact of business history. They have become of great interest to collectors (especially ones that feature women) since they exemplify two important cultural traditions: the use of photographs as jewelry (mourning pins, rings and novelty pin-back buttons) and as an instrument of authority or identification (mug shots, passports and licenses). The photo badge above, c.1945, was issued by New Departure, a Connecticut-based division of General Motors that manufactured ball bearings. Above is a c.1955 photo id badge. The Formfit Company was established in 1917 with headquarters in Chicago as a maker of women’s “foundation garments” – mainly corsets and girdles. It was one of the... Read more Barbara Levine, vintage photo id badges