Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID # |
1961.064.003 |
Object Name |
Bustle |
Title |
"Gem" Wire Bustle (1888 Patent) |
Lexicon category |
3: Personal Artifacts |
Date |
1888+ |
Made |
Brush & Co., Toronto, Ontario |
Place of Origin |
Toronto, Ontario |
Description |
1888 patent "Gem" braided wire bustle. This is a small bustle compared to some that were produced. It has cloth tape to form a belt to hold it on. One tape has a two-tine buckle fitting to it. The other tape is printed with "The "Gem" Braided Wire Bustle Patented Apr. 18, May 18, 1888 Brush & Co. Toronto". |
Makers mark |
Cloth tape printed with "The "Gem" Braided Wire Bustle Patented Apr. 18, May 18, 1888 Brush & Co. Toronto". |
Provenance |
The bustle was made by Brush & Co. of Toronto, and was known as "The Gem" (patented in 1888). "The Gem" bustle was still being advertised in the 1901 T. Eaton mail-order catalogue. It cost 25 cents at that time. This item likely belonged to Mary McKinley (nee Penner), who lived at Bognor, Ontario, in Sydenham Township, Grey County. |
Collection |
Textiles, 19th-c Clothing Collection, Women's |
Material |
Wire/Cloth/Metal/Ink |
Found |
Bognor, Municipality of Meaford, Grey County |
People |
McDonald, Peter |
Function |
This fashion accessory item would be buckled around a woman's waist so that the bustle sits above her buttocks. It was used to raise a dress skirt so that the derriere area was accentuated in the look of her dress. |

