[Roy]

Hello John,

Thank you for your thoughts. It certainly seems a reasonable assumption (although unproved) that Mr W Jones may have been the senior (father/uncle etc) with the business being passed down and taken over by Edward Jones at a later date.

If Rogers comments on the design of the button are correct and that it is an early pattern (the first pattern) then that would fit in with an earlier business.

As I am a novice at button collecting and know almost nothing specifically about Irish buttons or their makers, the question that I'm intrigued to ask is; has anyone ever seen this exact makers mark before?

If amongst the more knowledgable collectors, there is no prior recollection of this 'W Jones' mark and dare I say it this example is the only known one (I know that's a leap), then I wonder if it is a significantly important discovery?

Roy.