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#3145
- c. 1880's The Total Eclipse Hourglass 21" Olive/Sage Green
Corset with Original Ties... and Name/Address of
Original Owner! Handwritten inside this
corset is: "PLEASE RETURN TO J. ARCHBOLD LTD.,
15 FENKLE ST., ALNWICK, NORTHld. I often thought I
should just ship this corset back to this address!
So, in my curiosity, I Google searched, and only
found a hairdressing shop currently at this address
in the UK. However... after more searching... EUREKA!
I DID discover the likely original owner!! There was
an unmarried Joseph Archbold who, in 1881, was living
in Fenkle Street and was a "General
Draper". Living with him in his home was his
45-yr-old sister Jane (unmarried), his 26-yr-old
niece Josephine (unmarried) who was listed as
"Saleswoman / Draper", and his 24-year-old
niece Anne (unmarried) listed as
"Milliner", and Martha Gilroy his servant.
Joseph died on Feb. 7, 1897. His brother Henry was a
"Master Tailor", AND it looks like another
nephew ran the Angel Inn at 16 Fenkle Street in 1841!
So... I'm sure I have the right family!! :) Ain't
Google grand! :) So then I emailed the person who
entered the info on the internet, and turns out it is
a distant relative (!) who amazingly sent me this
original July 1874 newspaper ad from Joseph's
shop!!!! My only question is, "Why did Joseph
think this corset might be lost?" Perhaps he
actually ran a brothel.. and all those unmarried
female "relatives" who lived with him
were... hmmmm... and the nephew ran the Angel Inn
next door... Hmmm. Perhaps his "girls" were
known to leave their corsets in strange places! :)
Anyway.. back to reality! The Total Eclipse corset
with makers stamp is inside. Each half of the corset
measures 10.5” by 13.5”, and 21 written
inside. The stitching has been reinforced in front. I
don’t know why this was done as the original
stitching is still firmly in place. Original matching
dyed lace decoration has been removed from the top (I
am leaving the bit still there for history sake).
Great condition. Original ties. SOLD TO THE
DESCENDANT OF J. ARCHBOLD !!
SOLD - but on display in Museum Category for Research/Study
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