Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 8th Oct., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 9th Nov., 1
I ANN MARIA HATCHMAN of Normanhurst Balham Park Road in the County of
Surrey Lady do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention consists principally in the improvements for the construction of Stays
or Corsets by which better protection to the chest and upper parts of the back is
secured from colds & their results and the lungs made unassailable from the back as
well as from the front and without increasing the bulk of clothing at the waist and
lower parts of the body, by which also the figure or shape of the wearer is perfected
and ensures a foundation for a perfect fitting dress.
According to my invention I construct the lower part of the garment or Corset
proper much in the usual manner of Corsets of the present time that is with steel
fastenings in front to connect the two pieces and fastened with a cord or lace behind
and sewn and boned in the usual manner. Secured to the Corset all round 1 provide
a covering for the chest, back, and shoulders made of an elastic fabric so that it will
expand or contract to fit closely to the figure of the wearer as in the case of an
ordinary stockingnette Jersey, this top covering is fastened in front from the steel
fastenings of the Corset up to the neck by buttons hooks or other suitable fastenings
and at the back from the part where the Corset laces the material is left open for about
two or three inches perpendicularly or one or two inches on both sides of the laces
horizontally across the back to allow for expansion when the laces of the Corset are
loosened, by this means the back is clothed as warmly as the chest. Inside the breast
gores of the Corset I provide an extra piece of the material fixed to the sides and
bottoms of the gores and left open at the top to form a pocket which may be padded or
filled to suit the figure of the wearer.
Similar pockets are also provided for the upper part of the garment immediately
over the breasts but are fixed to the tops, bottoms, and sides nearest the arms so as to
afford greater convenience for padding or filling when the garment is on the figure.
Dated this 24th day of September 1888.

page_text: ANN MARIA HATCHMAN of Normanhurst Balham Park Road Balham in the County
of Surrey 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 :-
My invention consists principally in the improvements for the construction of Stays
and Corsets by which better protection to the chest and upper part of the back is
secured from colds and their results and the lungs are made unassailable from the
back as from the front and without increasing the bulk of clothing at the waist and
lower part of the body, by which also the figure or shape of the wearer is perfected
and ensures a foundation for a perfect fitting dress.
According to my invention I construct the lower part of the garment or Corset
proper much in the usual manner of Corsets of the present time that is with steel
fastenings in front to connect the two pieces and fastened with a cord or lace behind
and sewn and boned in the usual manner. Secured to the top of the Corset all round
I provide a covering for the chest, back, and shoulders made of an elastic fabric so
that it will expand or contract to fit closely to the figure of the wearer as in the case
of an ordinary stockingnette Jersey, this top covering is fastened in front from the
steel fastenings of the Corset up to the neck by buttons, hooks, or other suitable
fastenings and at the back from the part where the Corset laces the material is left
open for about two or three inches perpendicularly on one or two inches on either
side of the laces horizontally across the back to allow for expansion when the laces
of the Corset are loosened, by this improvement the back is clothed as warmly as
the chest.
In order to acquire the rounded form of a good type of figure I provide for the
upper part of the garment by doubling the material immediately over the breasts &
from the shoulder seams & neckband down to the top of the Corset, pockets or places
which may be padded or filled to suit the figure of the wearer, these pockets are fixed
by sewing at the tops, bottoms, and sides nearest the arms so as to afford greater
convenience for padding or filling when the garment is on the figure. Similar pockets
may be made for the breast gores of the Corsets but these would be fixed to the sides
and bottoms of the gores and left open at the top, by these means any defect in the
formation of the figure can be easily rectified by the arrangement of the padding and
a perfect foundation is formed to ensure a well fitting dress.

page_text: 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
1st. My improved Stays and Corsets substantially as described.
2nd. I do not claim simply the addition of the upper part of the garment but what I
claim is, the improved arrangement and construction of expanding and contracting
receptacles for padding to improve and regulate the figure of the wearer and thus to
make a perfect model for a well fitting dress substantially as described.