The brass button shown here has been referred to by button collectors for years as the "Barney Oldfield" button. Alas, it has little or nothing to do with Mr. Oldfield. It is, however, a very accurate depiction of one of the very earliest racing automobiles, the Panhard et Lavassor. René Panhard and Émile Levassor in 1887 joined to produce early automobiles for racing and production. These early races were in France, such as the 1895 Paris-Bordeaux-Paris Rally, and in the U.K. and also America. Panhard is still in business. They ceased production of passenger automobiles in 1967 but continure today building military vehicles.
Thank you William James Hentges for your research on this button and for permission to post it here.
How interesting! It is always fun to find a button with this kind of history.
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