Part 2 of this series ~ Part 3 of this series
This month, I'm challenging you to create a pattern based on the 1898 Thomson's patent 611,116, but if you feel inspired by one of the other examples here, please follow your muse and inspiration! Next month, I'll show how I took the 1898 patent, created a pattern, and show my completed corset inspired by this patent.
If you have a question, comment or tip, please use the comments feature at the bottom of the page.
Background and Advertisements
The Thomson's Glove-fitting corset was undoubtedly one of the longest-running names, with the original patent being filed in 1869 and the company still advertising corsets in 1916. The cut changed dramatically with the fashionable silhouette, from curvy Victorian to the long straight sheath cuts of the Teens.
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| 1871 | 1892 | 1903 | 1914 |
In the middle of the 1890's, Thomson's began to change the design of the corset, moving away from an inserted bust gore such as in the 1869 patent, to a bust gore that was sewn as a separate piece to the body. This change to the design changed the shape of the front bust to follow the straighter front line that came into style in the late 1890's, as well as made it much easier to sew.
Below are three advertisements for Thomson's glove-fitting corset from 1895-1900.
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| 1895 - An advertisement with a rare photograph of a woman wearing a Thomson's glove-fitting corset. | 1896 - A corset from an 1896 Thomson's Glove-fitting corset catalog. More styles available at the link. | 1898 -An advertisement, promoting the new re-design of the corset. Notice the much flatter bust curve caused by the change in the bust gore method. | 1900 - Detail from an advertisement. The shift from the dished busk to the straight busk is complete. |
Selected portions of the patent text and all the diagrams are below (you can view/download the original patent from the Google Patents site, which is available outside the US. I've added my comments beneath each section, marked like {this}
Patent # 611,116, 1898
To all whom it may concern:
Be it known that I, Thomas S. Gilbert, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Corsets; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in Figure 1, a side view of half of a corset constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, an inside view of the same; Fig. 3, a broken view of the bust portion of a corset drawn outward to illustrate the form of the gores; Fig. 4, a similar view illustrating a modification in the shape of the bust-gores.
{Figure 1 -shows the outside view of a corset made with this method of bust gores, laid flat on a table. Figure 2 shows the inside view. Figure 3 shows one method of constructing the bust gores, and Figure 4 shows the method and shape that he's patenting}
This invention relates to an improvement in corsets, and is an improvement upon the corset shown and described in United States Letters Patent No. 97,418, granted November 30, 1869, to Thompson, Langdon & Co. as the assignee of Henry Alexander Lyman, and which corsets are now well known as the "glove-fitting" corset. In that patent the front, back, and connecting hip or waist band were formed from a single piece of material, the front portion extending to the top of the corset and notched for the insertion of a gore to form the bust.
{Here he's describing the older patent, and that the front was a larger piece, with a notch for a bust gore. You can see this in the lines of the pre-1898 corsets in the advertisements and in the pictures of the extant corsets above.}
In the manufacture of corsets it is necessary to either cover the outside of the seam by an overlying stiffening-strip or else to reinforce the garment by a tape covering the backs of the seams and secured to the adjacent sections of the corset. In employing the overlying surface strips they usually extend vertically from the top to the bottom of the corset. As heretofore constructed it has been difficult to properly assemble the parts and give the desired form to the bust portion.
{He's discussing methods of covering the seams of the corsets, either by a tape on the inside and stitched on either side, or using strips on the outside.}
The object of this invention is to simplify the construction and improve the shape of the corset without departing from the advantages of the connected front and back sections, as in the Lyman patent above referred to; and it consists in the construction as hereinafter described, and particularly recited in the claim.
The back A, central portion and lower front C are preferably formed from a single piece of material, the back extending above and below the -waist-line or central portion B and the front extending below the -waist-line.
{The central body piece is cut as one piece, but labeled as three for ease in identifying sections of the corset. Back labeled A, center portion labeled B, and lower front labeled C are cut as one piece}
Between the lower portions of the front and back a hip-piece D is inserted, and to the upper edge of the central or waist portion B and forward edge of the back portion A is secured the upper side portion E, which terminates in a curved, forward edge E' at the rear of the bust-section.
{The hip gore, labeled D, is sewn to the central body piece. The upper back gore, labeled E, is sewn to the top of the central body piece E has a curved front edge, to allow for the curving bust gore}
Between this edge of the upper side E and the front or busk strip F is inserted a bust-gore which is formed in two pieces G H and preferably as shown in Fig. 3, in which the division is in a vertical line and when in position parallel with the busk-strip F.
The forward gore H extends downward, below the upper edge of the central portion B and cuts away the upper corner of the front C.
With this construction the seams between the upper side section E, upper end of the front C, and the bust gores are reinforced on their inner surfaces by a binding-strip I, while the seam J between the two portions of the gores is reinforced on its outer surface by a stiffening stay K, extending from the upper to the lower edge of the corset.
{The bust gore is made of two pieces, labeled G and H. It is sewn to the fabric for the busk, labeled F. In figure 3 he is demonstrating a vertical seam in the bust gore, labeled J. The inside tape covering the seam between the bust gore and the rest of the corset is labeled I, and the boning piece on the outside of the corset, covering the same seam between the two sections of the bust gore is labeled K.}
Instead, however, of forming the bust-gores G H as shown in Fig. 3, they may be cut as shown in Fig. 4, in which the lower end of the rear portion G' extends to the forward edge of the corset and the forward portion H' of the gore is inserted forward of and above the portion G'. In this latter construction the seam between the portions G' H' will be reinforced on its inner side by a binding-strip I'.
{In figure 4, he changes the placement of the seam of the bust gore, from vertical to a diagonal, as well as removing the outside boning piece on the outside, piece K in figure 3. }
By thus forming the bust-section independent of the zone or main portion of the corset the parts are more readily assembled and a more desirable shape given to the garment than is possible when the zone or main portion of the corset extends upward and forms a portion of the bust.
{He claims that because the central body section and bust-gore is constructed in a different way, the corset is easier to construct.}
At the same time the advantages of having the main or zone portion of the corset integral with the back and front are retained, and in the latter construction the bone-casings may be arranged where desired without respect to the seams in the bust-section, and in either construction the seam protecting strips on the inside of the corset may be attached without difficulty.
{Because of the way the bust gore is now constructed, the bones may bet placed wherever they need to be, without needing to cover any seams}
Extant Examples
Lara Greene has two Thomson's Glove fitting corsets on her site, 1880's, Extra long length, 20" waist, 1880-1890, regular length, 34" bust, 24" waist
Katherine Caron-Greig has a 1905 version of Thomson's glove fitting corset
Lara and Katherine have graciously agreed to let us use their pictures in this article.
Detail pictures from Lara Greene's 1880's, Extra long length, 20" waist
The pattern pieces of this corset vary quite a bit from those depicted in the 1898 patent. The hip gore is split in two pieces on this one and the bust gore is inserted into the central body piece. However similar to the description in the 1898 patent, the seams are covered by twill tape, and the lacing strip does appear to be cut in one with the body.
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Katherine Caron-Greig has a 1905 version of Thomson's glove fitting corset
This corset has a different shape to the top than the 1898 patent drawing, but the construction methods appear to be very similar to Lara's 1880's corset. I wonder if the basic pattern was the same, and the upper and lower lines were changed to suit the whims of fashion?
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Questions to Get You Started
- How do you think the basic block was drafted?
- Or was it draped?
- How much reduction in the bust and waist area should you build in, and where is the flesh going to go?
- What type of figure would look best in this corset?
If you have a question, comment or tip, please use the comments feature at the bottom of the page.
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