The leather that I've seen binding the edges of 18th century stays is smooth on the outside and rough on the reverse - like a pair of dressy gloves. (as mentioned -kid gloves) This looks to be the same leather that was also used on 19th century corsets I've seen. Though I can't swear to their animal origins, I suspect kid. That was definitely called "wash leather" in the 19th century. If you want to see the crescent pad under the arm go to the Kent State site. Two of the ones there have this feature, though it's easier to see on one than the other. http://dept.kent.edu/museum/costume/bonc/4subjectsearch/lingerie/lingerie18t h/lingerie18.html on the first stays - "colonial brown quilted" - you can see it best in the profile view. It's quite small and looks to be twisted. on the sixth stays you can see it best (the ones right after the busk.) The Museum of the City of New York has a set of stays with this underarm shield made up of several layers of linen rather than leather. My question - does anyone know the proper name for this underarm piece?
Martha _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
