The Pearly's: 125 Years of Tradition.

The founder was Henry Croft.

A Victorian Pearly Queen.

Pearly Queen's Collecting for Charity.

I have started to research into the history of the Pearly King's and Queens in order to gain an understanding into the origin of this tradition and whether it has evolved throughout 125 years of its existence. I thought the best place to start would be by browsing the web and I was pleased to discover that many sites exist, all helping to keep the tradition of what it means to be a true Pearly King or Queen in London. I discovered that the tradition hasn't actually changed since its origin started by Henry Croft in 1875 . Here are some facts that I found:

• The tradition of the Pearly Kings and Queens began in 1875 by Henry Croft.

• Henry Croft swept the market streets and started to collect all the pearl buttons he found that had fallen off the clothes of people visiting the market.

• He started to sew the buttons on his cap and then continued until his entire suit was filled which is now called a “smother suit”.

• This is still carried on by descendants of original Pearly Families, that the Kings do all the designs and sewing.

• The bold shiny costumes were developed from the instinct to attract attention and raise money for genuine and worthwhile causes and charities.

• There are two types of suit - a Smother Suit and a Skeleton Suit, the former having very little cloth showing and totally covered in buttons, and the latter having far fewer buttons.

Today, The Pearly Kings and Queens collect for a variety of charities, often raising thousands of pounds. The tradition of collecting and sewing the Mother of Pearl button continues whereby most families choose or make up the pattern they wish to use. Each family chooses between creating either a Smother Suit, A suit completely covered in buttons, or a Skeleton, One which is just outlined in patterns with some small pattern. The suits often become smothered over the course of time as the buttons are collected and sewed on throughout the years.

A Pearly Family Today.

In terms of the direction of this project, I think one of the best ways of really getting to know the true tradition of the Pearly Kings and Queens would be to get in contact with a true Pearly. If I can get in contact with anyone of them I would like to document my visit through film and photography.