Description:
Woman's one-piece corset or stays in wool fabric reinforced with baleen or whalebone, which was sometimes known as 'whale-fin' in 18th and 19th century accounts. The front is covered in cream wool satin weave and has a center seam, and the sides and back are covered in a tan, plain weave linen. The next layer is a bleached, plain weave linen followed by a layer of strips of baleen, each slightly less than 1/8" wide. Each strip of baleen is flanked by lines of stitching (running stitch in front, back stitch on sides and back). The final layer to the corset, which is the layer closest to the wearer's body, is an unbleached, plain weave linen. Robert Doyle mentions in his "Waisted Efforts" that 1/2" wide strips of india tape were used to reinforce the corset tabs on the inside. This corset uses its own lining material for the reinforcement, the stitching of which matches the direction of the stitching lines of the baleen. The lower edge of each seam in front of bodice is ripped 1/2". The corset has a square-shaped neckline front and back, with the latter about 2" higher than the front. The bottom edge of an armhole is cut out on each side. The bottom CF of the corset extends to a U-shape below the waistline. The sides are curved up, and have tabs (three on each side); both these factors exist to shape the corset over the wearer's hips. The inside of the corset has matching unbleached linen strips (3-4" wide) to reinforce the tabs (to prevent ripping). All edges are raw inside, and are bound with coarser linen thread. The CF pocket inside at the bottom was possibly used to insert a busk. The corset is shaped in part by the stitching lines, which are vertical in front, diagonol at the sides and back, resulting in the effect of a narrow waist, and broader bust. There are two side seams and a side back seam on each side, which help in shaping and directing the stitching lines. Nine eyelet holes (possibly silk thread) would have accomodated a single lacing here, from the bottom up (no remaining lacing). Almost all of the eyelet holes have broken through the thread, exposing the baleen along CB. Holes exist in the baleen, due to insect damage.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2000.31 |
