Improvements in Corsets.
Year: 1891

page_text: Improvements in Corsets.
I, FRANK ROTHSCHILD, Junior, of No. 309, Canal Street, in the City and
County of New York, in the State of New York, United States of America,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The object of this inventionis to simplify the make of corsets, and to provide for
their being more easily put on and adjusted to the person of the wearer, and to
render them self-adjusting.
1
In carrying out my invention, I make the corset undivided, that is to say, not in
two halves or separate portions, but all in one, having only one opening from top to
bottom, such opening being either in the front or back, as may be desired.
dispense with laces and lace holes, and I provide for securing the two sides of the
corset together at the opening, and for adjusting it to the purpose of the wearer
either by means of a suitable number of straps with buckles or other fastenings, or
by means of elastic bands, which wholly or in great part surround the corset, and
are attached thereto in such a manner as to permit their elastic action over the
whole or a considerable portion of the body thereof.
The accompanying drawings illustrate three examples of my invention.
I will first describe the two examples one of which is shewn in Figures 1 and
and the other of which is shewn in Fig. 3, and which only differ from each
other in that the first mentioned opens only at the back, and the other opens
only in the front. Fig. 1 is a front view. Fig. 2 a back view, and Fig. 3 is a
front view.
The
In both of these examples, the corset is represented fitted which whalebones or
When made to
or steel strips a. a in the same way as the corset in common use.
open at the back, the front may be fitted with a central busk, as indicated at bin
Figs. 1 and 2. The two parts of the corset, on opposite sides of the back or front
opening d, are fitted with straps c. c, and fastenings e. e, by which they are secured
together, and by which the corset is drawn snugly to the body of the wearer.
straps may be of any suitable material or fabric, such as tapes or webbing of cotton.
linen, or silk, or may be of any kind commonly used or suitable for wearing apparel,
for instance, buckles, as shewn in Figures 2 and 3, or a button and ring g, as shewn
in Figure 4, and in the upper strap in Figure 2. When the straps are inelastic,
the buckle may be made suitable to provide for the proper tightening up or adjust-
ment of the corset, but when the straps are of elastic material, the button
ring g, or even a hook and eye, may well serve the purpose.
and
In the corset opening at the back, it may be more convenient for fastening and
unfastening the top strap, to have the said strap of clastic material as shewn in
Figure 2 with a fastening such as is shewn in Figure 4, or with a hook and eye,
or clasp, instead of a buckle.
I will now describe the third example of my invention illustrated in Figures 5 & 6,
of which Fig. 5 is a front view and Fig. 6 a back view.
In this example, elastic bands hhhh are substituted for the straps cc of the
previously described examples, and buckles or other fastenings are for the most
part dispensed with. These bands h, h, h² ², which are applied to the exterior of
the corset, are represented as kept in place thereon by loops kk of tape or other
material, which are secured to the corset by sewing or other means, and through
which the said bands are capable of expanding and contracting freely. The said
bands may be endless and completely encircle or surround the corset, as illustrated
by the uppermost & lowermost bands hh, or they may be made with an opening,

page_text: and furnished with a hook and eye i, at the opening, for the purpose of closing
it, as illustrated by the representation of the band ' in Fig. 5, and a portion of the
same in Fig. 7, the said opening being preferably at the opposite part of the corset
to the opening d therein. This last mentioned construction of the band may be
adopted with advantage in the waste or smaller part of the corset, as shewn,
to facilitate the putting on of the corset over the head and shoulders of the wearer,
which is permitted by the expansibility of the longer bands h h h³ without openings
in them.
In some cases the said bands may, like the band 2, be intermitted,, as shewn
atij in Fig. 1 at that part of the corset furthest from the opening d, which, in the
example represented, is the front, and the ends jj will then be sewn or fastened, to
the corset.
The elastic bands hhhh permit the corset to be very casily put on and taken off,
and enable it to adjust and fit itself to the person of the wearer, and to accommodate
itself to the movements of the body.
Although the corset shewn in Figs. 5 and 6 is represented as opening at the back,
it is obvious that an undivided corset with similar clastic bands might be made to
open in front.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim'is :-
:―
1. The combination with an undivided corset having one opening, of a series of
straps and fastening therefor attached to the corset on opposite sides of said opening,
substantially as herein set forth.
2. The combination with an undivided corset, of a series of elastic bands
surrounding the corset, substantially as herein specified.
3. The combination with an undivided corset, of the bands hhhh² and the
loops, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Dated this 24th day of February 1891.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant: