What Did Victorian Corsets *Actually* Look Like? || Examining Corsets From the Symington Collection

Footnotes and more info below.
Quick note for those not aware, YES: it is perfectly safe to handle extant objects with bare hands. In fact, many conservators are beginning to favor handling lightly with clean, dry hands rather than with gloves, as the sense of touch promotes greater delicacy in handling.

All study day footage used with permission from Leicestershire County Council Collections.
For more information on the Leicestershire County Council Museum and the Symington Collection:


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Footnotes:
1. Background information on the Symington company from a recording of a talk given by Sarah Nicol, curator at the Symington Collection. Additional information found at
2. Symington patterns online:
3. Bra patent: shorturl.at/fzQU2
4. “No heavy steels”: shorturl.at/guxE9
Gale Document Number: GALE|ZDWNMO134822583
5. Modern medical studies: Valerie Steele, “The Corset: A Cultural History”, 2003. (Page 72)
6. “Too much cording”, confirmed by Jill Salen via email correspondence, 7th October 2019. The book, “Corsets: Historical Patterns and Techniques” by Jill Salen can be purchased at
7. Kenna’s waist measurement database: (Kenna’s also on Instagram,


I’ll be dumping all the raw study day footage for all tiers over on Patreon if you’d like to take a closer look at these objects (and others not shown) here.


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IMAGE CREDITS:
1. US Patent no. US001115674 for “Brassière”: shorturl.at/fzQU2
2. “No heavy steels” Advertisement: "Multiple Classified Advertisements." The Designer and the Woman's Magazine, vol. XXVIII, no. 4, 1908, p. 394. Nineteenth Century Collections Online, shorturl.at/guxE9. Accessed 9 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|ZDWNMO134822583
3. Baleen whale:
4. Modern Corset. © Bernadette Banner, 2010.
5. 19th century corset: still from study day footage. Symington Collection corset, c. 1900
6. Symington Pattern ref #23940:
7. Corset, 1830-39. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
8. Jill Salen, “Corsets: Historical Patterns and Techniques”
9. Health corset: “Multiple Classified Advertisements." Christian Statesman, 30 Apr. 1891, p. 13. Nineteenth Century Collections Online, shorturl.at/qGI78. Accessed 10 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|YPUGHB278112709
10. Wasp-waisted corset model: "The 1910 Corset Crisis." Woman's Leader and The Common Cause, vol. I, no. 45, 1910, p. 635. Nineteenth Century Collections Online, shorturl.at/dpJV6. Accessed 10 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|GRDFDI415826809


MUSIC CREDITS:
“Manors and Manners” by Isaac Gregor, epidemicsound.com
“A Delightful Evening” by Isaac Gregor, epidemicsound.com
"Mr Brentford's Garden" by Isaac Gregor, epidemicsound.com

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