Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Object of the Day: Adjustable Duplex Corsets




The corset industry of the Nineteenth Century was highly competitive and advertisers needed to be creative in order to stand out. Any company could offer an ordinary trade card with an image of a pretty woman all trussed up in her gown. To really capture the attention of the corset-buying public, a company had to present an unusual card, something “interactive.”

We already looked at one card which featured a nifty gimmick. Here’s another. When a lady was handed this card, it looked something like this. 




Two ladies peer through an unusually high keyhole (one of two, I might add) to spy on a friend (or rival) in the dressing room of a fashion shop. The card reads:

The 

Secret 
Out at Last 

Why
Mrs. Brown 
Has Such a 
Perfect 
Figure 

If you lift up the flap, you’ll see WHY Mrs. Brown has such a perfect figure. 



It seems she’s using an unfortunately-named Duplex Corset.

The reverse tells us:

ADJUSTABLE
DUPLEX
CORSET 

The best corset in the
world. Perfect in shape,
and the most comfortable
and durable corset known. 

DOUBLE BONE
              DOUBLE STEEL
                                 DOUBLE SEAMS. 

WARRANTED NOT TO RIP 
ASK FOR IT! SEE THAT THE WORD 
“DUPLEX” 
IS STAMPED ON EVERY CORSET. 
MADE ONLY BY THE 
BORTREE M’F’G CO. 
JACKSON, MICH.
OFFICE & SALESROOM 15 
17 MERCER ST. NEW YORK 



I imagine it’s called “Duplex” because everything is reinforced two times, but it still seems a rather sad name for a corset. Nevertheless, it makes your friends want to watch you get dressed—and that’s just priceless.



2 comments:

Dashwood said...

The name would have been even more unfortunate if the term Duplex were substituted with Double Wide.

Joseph Crisalli said...

Ha! Very true!