A Clutch of Corsets

60 pages, 19 illustrations.
1 1/2" x 1 1/4"

"The physical appeal of corsets is instantly apparent the minute anyone, male or female, wears one. The sense of standing taller and straighter,the feeling of bullet-proof invincibility, and the knowledge that one no longer has to suck in one's gut, even a little bit, makes a corset seem magical."
                                                                                                                                               -from the introduction

A miniature book on a subject close to my heart (I was a theatrical costume designer before I became a bookbinder). Because they're hardly ever seen by the audience, corsets provide a designer with a wonderful fantasy canvas that only the actor will ever see. I suppose it was the same through history: a woman could express herself in a corset design that might shock her friends if they saw it.

This book contains nineteen of my improbable corset designs, each with a romantic and mysterious name, drawn from various periods. The introduction, "A Few Notes on Corsets", includes several historic examples.

Bound in buttercream yellow paper printed with pink and gold vines (a perfect fabric for a corset, by the way). There is a paper title pasted on the front.

This product was added to our catalog  October 24, 2009