Always One Button Short: The Buttons of Edward Gorey

$16.95 at Art Institute of Chicago.

A master of the mysterious, Edward Gorey’s artworks and writings abound with misadventures, oddities, and oblique humor. His forays into experimental theater follow suit, and to much delight, he designed pin-back buttons to accompany them. Now coveted by collectors, these bespoke buttons—created as souvenirs for the plays, puppet shows, revues, and other “entertainments” that Gorey wrote, designed, or directed—possess a curiosity factor disproportionate to their small size. Flapping Ankles, Inverted Commas…