Year: 1899

page_text: I, ELIZABETH DOBSON, of 34, Dawes Road, Fulham, London, S.W., do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to provide an abdominal belt for ladies possess-
ing advantages both hygienic and aesthetic, the belt being so constructed that,
while serving as a safeguard against catarrh, it will impose the necessary
restraint on the tendency of the lower portion of the body to become unduly
prominent. This tendency which is due to a large extent to the pressure exer-
cised by the corset, often impairs an otherwise elegant figure and, when
excessive, amounts to absolute deformity.
The belt of my invention, which is intended to be worn beneath the corset,
may be made of coutil or of woollen or other material, and partakes of the
general character of abdominal belts, being made in segments joined together
so as to constitute a broad belt approximating closely to the figure and provided
with bones or stiffeners arranged transversely and diagonally to afford the
necessary support. The belt is open at the back only and is then secured
around the person preferably by lacing, the meeting edges being provided with
busks. The belt is provided in front with what may be termed an adjustable
figure compressor consisting of a comparatively rigid section which is interposed
at mid-length and between flexible portions of the belt so as to occupy a central
position, and wings or flys which are attached to the belt at a certain distance
from the rigid section, and are eyeletted or provided with lacing studs whereby
they may be drawn together so as to overlap the rigid section to an extent deter-
mined by the tightness of the lacing and in accordance with the amount of
pressure to be exercised on the abdomen.
The free edges of the wings or flys are also provided with busks which, as well
as the rigid section are curved so as to conform to the contour of the figure.
The improved belt may be attached to the corset, so as therewith to constitute
a single article, the belt in this case extending from hip to hip and being either
secured permanently at each end to the inside of the corset and having a central
opening, or permanently attached to the corset at one end, the other end being
free and provided with a buckle or other means by which it may be fastened
and unfastened as required.
1000

page_text: I, ELIZABETHI DOBSON, of 34, Dawes Road, Fulham, London, S.W., do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
The object of my invention is to provide for ladies' wear, an abdominal belt
possessing advantages both aesthetic and hygienic, the belt being so constructed
as to enable the wearer to impose any required degree of restraint on the tendency
of the abdomen or lower portion of the body to become unduly prominent,
especially in the case of persons of corpulent habit. This tendency which is
due to a large extent to the pressure exercised by the corset at about the waist
often impairs an otherwise elegant figure and, when excessive, amounts to abso-
lute deformity.
The belt of my invention, which is intended to be worn beneath the corset
may either be made as a separate article or be combined with the corset. It is
illustrated in both forms in the accompanying drawings forming part of this
specification, wherein Figure 1 represents the belt as a separate article developed
in the flat, and Figure 2 shows (on a larger scale) a section of the front part of
the belt on line 2-2 (Figure 1) representing the abdominal compressor portion
in the contracted position. Figure 3 represents a combined belt and corset as
worn. The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
The belt which may be made of coutil is formed of segments shaped and
stitched together so as to constitute a broad band adapted to approximate closely
to the conformation of the human figure, and it is provided with bones as at a
and with cord stiffeners as at b inserted in sheaths in the usual manner of
stiffening such belts so as to afford the necessary support at those places.
The belt when made as a separate article as in Figure 1 opens at the back only
and is there secured around the person by lacing through eyelets or lacing
studs c, the meeting edges being provided with steels or busks inserted in
sheaths as at d to keep it distended in the vertical direction when laced.
The front portion of the belt in which the novel features of my invention
more particularly reside is provided with what may be termed an adjustable
abdominal compressor consisting of wings or flys e e stitched at f to the outer face
of the belt at a distance of about 3 inches (more or less) from, and at opposite
sides of, the middle of the belt, these flys extending the whole depth of the belt
and being directed towards each other. They are of such width as to leave,
when the belt is relaxed to its fullest extent, a sufficient space between them to
enable the belt to be contracted to any required extent by drawing the flys
together. For this purpose the flys are provided with eyelets or lacing studs g
and their edges are stiffened by steels or busks inserted in sheaths as at h so as to
cause the strain to be evenly distributed when the flys are drawn tightly together
until their edges meet or nearly so, by means of laces so threaded as to draw
uniformly at all parts when the bights of the laces are pulled upon.
The middle portion of the belt which lies between the edges of the flys when
the lacing is relaxed to its fullest extent is stiffened by busks at k k and cord
stiffeners at extending from top to bottom and inserted in sheaths so as to keep
the middle portion of the belt free from wrinkles or folds when the flys are
drawn together and ensure that the folds consequent on the contraction of the
belt by the drawing together of the flys shall be limited to the laterally adjacent
portions beneath the flys, which portions are left quite flexible so as to fold on
themselves beneath the wings or flys as shown at j. The busks k also serve to

page_text: distribute the local pressure of the laces, and these busks as well as those h at
the edges of the wings or flys are curved so as to conform to the natural convexity
of the figure. The pieces of material of which the middle portion of the belt is
made are so shaped and seamed together that the strain will come mainly on
the lower edge of the front portion of the belt in the first instance so as to
produce an upward pressure against the abdomen, the middle portion being free
to bulge as required to accommodate the bulk of the abdomen when the belt is
first put on and whilst the abdominal compressor is still relaxed. When how-
ever, the compressor is brought into use this protuberance may be reduced to
any desired extent by drawing the flys together so as to support and compress
the abdomen.
When the belt is made as a corset attachment it is so applied as to extend
below the corset to a distance of from about 2 inches (more or less) at back to
about 4 inches (more or less) at front and is stitched permanently to the inner
side of the corset at, say, the right side whereas at the left side the belt is severed
as at 7 in Figure 4, the meeting edges of the two parts of the belt being eye-
letted and stiffened by steels, and the corset being made with a corresponding
slit also eyeletted as at m. The severance of the belt at 7 is to enable it to be put
on or taken off along with the corset without assistance, the lacings at 7 and m
enabling the two parts of the belt to be united to each other and to the corset in
proper relative position. For this purpose a single lace is threaded through the
coinciding eyelets both of the corset and of the underlying part of the belt, to
unite the two together, the same lace being continued through the other eyelets
of the belt so as to unite the two parts of the belt together. The belt is continued
at both ends to the back as before where the eyeletted belt ends are connected
together and to the overlapping part of the corset by the ordinary corset laces.
It is preferred where the corset and belt are combined as last described that
the corset should be made with elastic gussets as at p.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1. An abdominal belt provided substantially as herein described with an
abdominal compressor formed of stiffened wings or flys adapted to be drawn
together by lacing over the stiffened middle front portion of the belt, the adjacent
portions underlying the flys or wings being adapted to become pleated con-
currently with the contraction of the belt produced by the drawing together of
the flys.
2. The herein described combined abdominal belt and corset, the former being
permanently attached to the latter at one side and being severed at the opposite
side and detachably connected by lacing to the corset which is slitted and eye-
letted as at l, m, to correspond, the ends of the belt being also laced together
and to the back edges of the corset, and the belt being provided at front with an
abdominal compressor formed by wings or flys adapted to be drawn together
over the intermediate middle front portion of the belt as described.
Dated this 28th day of June 1900.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.