The New York herald., 1868-05-24
BOOK NOTICE.


and is published in London by Ward, Lock Tyler,
and issued in New York from Scribner, Wexford
Il Co.'S.
The legend on the title is quantity suggestive Of
the comprehensive subject of the volume, TO witt
o wha will shoe my fair foot,
And wha will glove my ham,
And wha will lace my middle limp
WIZ a new made London ban?
The preface broadly suggests the general design
Of the book to be an argument for the corset and its
necessity and usefulness as an article Of female
adornment, and the testimony collected from the
time of Homer to the present day, though involving
much Of the fercest condemnation, is adroty cacu-
lated to Justify the corset The chapter Of contents
begins with the origin of the corset In the waist belt
Of the gentle savage It's use among ancient people
from Egypt and Palestine to China. Then we have
the corset according to Homer and Terentius the
strOphium Of Rome and the mira Of Greece, the
peplus, Cleopatra's jewels, tight lacng the Tiber
Then follow the Franksh fashions Of the Dark
Ages the Monks and the corset, corset wear
ing gentlemen, Chaucer on small waists,
&C. Then a general chapter on the fashions
from Francis the First Of France to "GOOd Queen
Bess Of England, she is acetiOusly styled by the
Sassenach. When we are given the excessively rigid
and elaborate fashions of the epoch of Louis XIV,
and the patches, &C., Of Charles the First, and the
tight acing which prevailed even under Cromwell,
and to Louis the XIV. and XVI, and the terrific
French Revolution which completely revolutiOnized
female dress as it did everything else; and TO the
tight waists of Vienna, down to the Partisan fashions
and styles of corses Of the present generation This
comprehensive history of the corset embraces many
curious letters descriptions, criticisms and ilustra-
tions upon the subject and the general subject OF the
fashions from the ancient Egyptians down to our
time. We viii give an extract or two
The first full page engraving, illustrative of the
charms OF the corset, is that of Circassan lady,
model of feminine beauty whose corset is thus de-
scribed:-
What would our ladies think OF this fashion on the
part of the famed beauties of Circassa. The women
wear corset made OF morocco and furnished with
two plates OF wood placed on the chest, which, by
their strong pressure, prevent the expansion OF the
chest. This corset also confines the bust, from the
collar bones to the waist, 10y means OF cord which
passes through leather rings. They even wear it
during the night, and only take it or when out
to put on another quite as small.
The ancient Egyptians that great people whose
monuments attest their progress in the arts of high
civilization, were not corset wearing people. An
extract from Fullam thus describes the costumes of
their adies:-
Their dress according to Herodotus usually con-
sisted Of but garment though second was often
added. Among the upper orders the iavOrte attire
was pettcoat tied round the waist with gay sash,
and worn under robe OF fine linen, a sort OF
chlntz varfOusly cOlOred and made large and loose
with wide sleeves, the band being fastened in 'front.'
dals, and their persons were avlshly decked with
naments Of Jewels in silver and jewels in gold"
with precious gems OF extraordinary size.
So with the ancient Israetes a race of great men
and beautiful women The latter had nothing nearer
the corset than girdle which permitted the full de-
veopment Of the chest and full play the lungs the
stomach and the liver, though our author attempts
to twist this grdle into apology for corset The
girde, too, was the distinguishing article attire of
the splendid women OF ancient Greece, the mothers
OF the first recorded cOnquerOrs Of the known world
According to Homer the grdle, or cestus, was de-
rived from Juno and Venus, mother Of the Loves
and Graces, a fashion from the goddesses of high
olympus.
In an extract given from Terentius, Roman
dramatist, who fiourished $50 B. c., the wholesome
Roman country girl of his time not the distorted
creature of fashion Of the capital. He says
The pretty creature (the country girD isn't at all
like our town ladies' who saddle their backs and
straight lace their waists to make them well shaped
II any chance to grow little pumper than the rest
allowance must he shortened and though she be
naturally fat and usy, yet by her dieting she is made
as slender as a brOOmstick. BY this means
wOOdcOck or another is caught in the syringe.
Yet the engraving Of Roman lady in the reign Of
HeliOgabulus shows that the world-subdulng
Romans, like the ancient Greeks, could boast
Of women whose distinguishing perfections were not
destroyed distorted by corses though this author
labors for different conclusion.
From the Dark Ages down TO the sixteenth century
the corset in reality began to be developed enlarged
and improved, until in the time of Queen Elizabeth
1t is presented the most shocking and hideOus Of
female fashionable tortures. This book gives an
engraving OF "a corset of steel worn lin France
and italy, in the time Of Catherine de Medici" which
as an instrument Of torture, one would think, would
qualify the grown to it to bear without groan
he he hae nf tha Inn rhe
may be said of the "corset cover of steel worn Cn
Engand) in the reign of Queen Elizabeth to which
contemporary English author applies the following
lines:-
These privie coats by arts made strong
WITH bones, with paste, with such ike ware,
whereby tneir backs and sides grow long,
And now they harvest gaants are;
Were they for use against the Ioe
our danes Tor AmazOns might go.
The vicious temper and dreadful death of poor old
'Queen Bess" were doubtless largely due 10 the tor
ments she suffered under this painful and barbarous
fashion, worse than any of the revolving deforming
inventions of the Flathead Indians or savages of
Peru. But our author makes Queen Elizabeth an
apology for the corset even in the shape of steel
cuirass.
This fearful torture was continued down to Louis
XIV. and XIV. and If the bloody and dabolcal
French Revolution had brought about no other re-
form there would still be some compensation for It's
atrocities IN Its liberation Of the French women for
time, from the mercess tortures Of the corsets and
crnoline OF the Bourbons and In substituting the
simple ancient Greek costume with the republic.
We have said that the general design Of this book
is apology for the corset. We have to say in con-
cluson that its special design Is advertisement
for certain corset makers, and it is an advertise
ment so skilfuly gotten up as to lead to much
mischief If not exposed, as well contrived
and plausible apology for tight lacing. In this
view this pretty book Is reduced to the calibre Of Dr.
IIumbug's travelling van, embeshed with paintings
of the miraculous virtues of his nfallible exE from
the fountain OF youth. It is O book purporting to
give true history of 'the corset and the crinone.
while 1t dsregards the truths of history the laws Of
nature the best established facts OF medical science
with this opinion we dismiss II as "a sell" upon the
general reason and cunning advertising dodge
"Only this and nothing mOre.D Hence the anOny.