Hi, there has not been a setting for whether to display icons next to bookmarks for ages, although before Firefox 57 -- back in the days when extensions could do pretty much anything -- there were add-ons for that.

If you've had this setup in 2018-2021, you probably were using a userChrome.css file. Does that ring a bell?

Unofficial, Community-Supported Workaround

Style hacking isn't officially supported by Mozilla because continuous browser changes often invalidate the older rules. Now that I have that out of the way...

During a Refresh, your old profile folder is moved to your desktop inside a folder named "Old Firefox Data". Can you find that folder? If so, it would have your old chrome folder and userChrome.css file, which I assume is the method you were using to modify the Bookmarks Toolbar.

You should be able to create a chrome folder in your new (post-Refresh) profile, drop in the old file, turn on user style sheet checking (in about:config, toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets => true) and be back in business.

I have a more detailed set of steps over here if needed: https://www.userchrome.org/how-create-userchrome-css.html

But if you did the Refresh on your old computer and no longer have access, hmm, you'll need some new CSS. I don't have it off the top of my head, but probably it is around on the web or the community on https://www.reddit.com/r/FirefoxCSS/ can help.

Yes, I did have a userChrome.jss set up before. I'm trying to avoid that for exactly the reasons you mention--it's a bit of work to keep it updated. So I'm trying not to do that again. I think I have an older version of my userChrome that had the key bits of code in it but for now I'll deal with the crowded toolbar.

This would be such an easy thing to adjust in about:config like all the other little customizations I can do to reduce motion and animations etc and keep my browser clean and focused, so I'll put in some feedback.

Irritating that feedback now requires yet another account....Crowdicity what?....but it's worthwhile to try to keep improving FF. I spend more time than I like on a PC for work, where I have more limited options to use FF and customize the browsers I must use, and every time I go into the cluttered, blinky, flashing, sliding, nightmare that is the usual open internet experience, I give thanks to Mozilla's community of FF creators who give me a simpler more focused way to go.

I have been using this since I can remember and it still works:

/* Kill bookmark icons in the Personal Toolbar */
 toolbarbutton.bookmark-item > .toolbarbutton-icon {
  display: none !important;
}

Found a really old copy of my userChrome.css which had the tab throbber solution and the icon zapper, and my FF is now quieter again.

Thank you all for the help.