The notion of collecting buttons as a hobby seemed odd to Gail Berry.

That is, until a friend invited her to a meeting of the Tri-County Button Club. And actually, it was more than an invitation. An invitation can be turned down.

“A friend dragged me to a button club meeting,” Berry, 53, confessed in a recent interview at her home in Lincolnville, which is guarded by three long-haired collies and some chickens.

But seeing the buttons members passed around and admired sparked an interest that related to another of Berry’s hobbies. For several years, she has been helping the Camden Civic Theatre create costumes for its productions.

Eyeing ornate pewter and bone buttons from the 19th century and earlier, she thought, “Oh, wow! These would be great for Shakespeare!”

That was seven years ago, and if the truth be told, Berry no longer needs to justify her interest in buttons through her theater work.

The buttons themselves are now her passion.

A look around the house reveals the depth of that passion.

About 40 picture frames display small groupings of favorite buttons, or buttons gathered around a theme. And in her small home office, there are 14 photo album-type books, 3 inches thick, in which buttons are mounted.

One such grouping, built around a Bible theme, took three years to complete. The idea came from a club meeting at which someone brought a similar collection.

Verses from each of the 66 books of the Christian Bible are represented by buttons.

“Some are obvious,” Berry said, flipping through the opening pages of the collection. “Noah’s ark, the apple and the serpent.”

And some, she admitted with a smile, are a stretch.

As a Christian who attends Baptist churches, Berry found the task of matching button to Bible verse fruitful for her faith.

Some buttons feature biblical scenes. Berry has one button that is easily 150 years old that shows Joshua on the wall with his trumpet.

Many buttons required her to be creative. For other verses in the Book of Joshua which refer to the Promised Land of milk and honey, Berry has buttons with images of a cow and a bee.

She illustrated Ezra 3:2, which describes the building “of the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it,” with buttons that are small representations of a camel and a tree.

Her former pastor, Allen Gregory, helped her find verses that would match buttons.

For Galatians 5:22, buttons looking like various fruits illustrate the verse’s reference to “the fruits of the Spirit.” For verses in James, relating to taming one’s tongue, she has a button of oversized lips; for the concept of deceitful, two-faced behavior, Berry uses buttons with the two theater masks representing tragedy and comedy.

The buttons are more diverse, and more beautiful, than you might imagine. They’re made from glass, bone, ceramic, mother-of-pearl, copper, brass, pewter and other materials. Some date from the 18th century or come from as far away as Paris.

The detail of some invite scrutiny with a magnifying glass.

And the history associated with them is also fascinating, with ties to military, social and economic trends and events.

“It kept me reading,” Berry said of the Bible collection. “Believe me, the minor prophets were really hard.”

Like other button collectors, Berry finds buttons on discarded Salvation Army clothing, at yard sales and from among other collectors. She confessed that some were bought from antique stores for more – $20 or so – than she’d like her husband to know about.

But most come from the club.

“We just swap back and forth. They’re small,” Berry said, as if to justify her hobby. “It’s not like collecting art or furniture.”