Class XX.]
AWARDS — COIiSETS, STRAW PLAIT AXD BONNETS, &c.
483
Corsets.
On reviewing the articles of corsets, as produced bythe Exhibitors, the Jurors and Assistant Jurors conversant•with the trade, after carefully examining every case, findbut few specimens in which there is novelty combinedwith useful improvement: there are several combinationsof anatomical bandages, or supports, with the corset, as anarticle of dress ; with these exceptions, it does not appearthat any very great advance has been made in the higherclass of corsets beyond the attention which is unceasinglygiven to an article of such universal and fashionable use.In the instances before alluded to, the improvementshave been pointed out. In the general trade, within thelast four or five years, the make and shape of thesearticles have been greatly improved, so that there cannow be obtained by all classes, a well-formed and goodcorset at a very moderate price : a large quantity arenow woven by machinery.
The Jury award the Prize Medals to the followingExhibitors:
Joly, Madames, Sisters, 45 Rue Xeuve St. Augustin,Paris (892, France , p. 1222), for a corset of very noveldescription ; elegant and useful.
Josselin, J. J. (551, France , p. 1204), for corsets.
Robert Werley, and Co., Bar le Due, Meuse (1444,France , p. 1245), for corsets of excellent manufactureand unexceptionable shape.
Van Beneden-Brukrs, Brussels (-345, Belgium , p.11G2), for stays of good description, without seams andof excellent workmanship.
The Jury make Honourable Mention of the followingExhibitors in this Department :—
Berger, Madame, Brussels (349, Belgium , p. 11G2),for a variety of excellent stays.
Piper, T. F., 4 Bishopsgate Street Without (41, p. 579\for the hygienic child's corset; of novelty and greatadvantage.
Smith, Mrs. Charlotte , Bedford (119, p. 584), for acorset of construction.
Soules, IIypoutk, Madame, Paris (1492, France ,p. 1248), for corsets of good make.
Straw Plait and Bonnets.
Though the manufacture of straw-plait and bonnets inEngland may be considered of recent date, its originbeing about one hundred years ago, it has now arrived ata state of great perfection in all its varied branches : thismay in a measure be accounted for by the circumstanceof the whole female population wearing bonnets; which,with the exception of North America , are but partiallyused in other countries. At the present moment, it iscalculated that from 60,000 to 70,000 persons are engagedin the production of this article; and it is consideredthat the yearly return cannot be less than from 800,000/.to 900,000/. With regard to straw goods of foreignmanufacture, we have to mention, as most prominent,those of Tuscany and Switzerland. The Leghorn hats,formerly in so much demand, are now hut very partiallyworn, and the same remark may also be applied to theTuscan plait, which, at the present time, is not adoptedin fashionable wear. The Swiss fancy straw-plaits andtrimmings occupy a prominent place in this branch ofindustry, are of great importance to the localities wherethey are produced, and great taste is displayed in theirdesign and execution, so as fully to meet the constantdemands of fashion. Germany and Lombardy have alsoa limited share in the straw manufacture, of whose pro-duction a few specimens are exhibited. We regret to beunable, from want of sufficient data, to state the extentof the amount of the annual returns, or of the employ-ment furnished by the foreign branches of this trade.
The Jury award Prize Medals to the following Exhi-bitors in this department: —
Art Brothers, and other exhibitors (227, Switzerland ,p. 12S1', for straw plait.
Ai.i.en, James, and Co., 158 Cheapside (13, p. 577),for ladies’ and children’s straw hats and bonnets, princi-pally of British materials, some of which are very good.
I Gregory, Cubitt, and Co., 15, Aldermanbury (8,: pp. 576-7), for an assortment of hats and bonnets, withspecimens of various kinds of straw and plaits, formingi an interesting exhibition of this branch of industry.
| Long, George, of Loudwater, Bucks (16. p. 578), forhats and bonnets made on the pillow-lace principle,j Muirs, Connell, and Brodie, Luton, Bedfordshire j (173, p. 5S7, and 215, p. 589), for bonnets made from| rye-straw, grown in the Orkney Islands , in imitation ofthe Tuscan plait.
Xannucci, Florence (81, Tuscany , p. 1297), for a caseof very fine Leghorn hats and capotes of good workman-ship.
Sulzberger and Akermann, Meisterscliwanden,Switzerland (234, p. 1281), for a variety of Swiss strawplaits and trimmings of good kind, exhibited in six glasscases.
Yyse and Sons, 76 Wood Street (11, p. 577), for a caseof bonnets of various sorts, in good taste and well manu-; factured.
Vyse and Sons, Prato, Florence (79, Tuscany , p. 1297),for a selection of very fine Leghorn hats and capotes.
WELcn and Sons, 44 Gutter Lane, London (12, p. 577),for a case of hats and bonnets, made of foreign and Eng-lish materials, of good style and manufacture.
Wohler and Co., Canton of Argovie (227, Switzer-land, p. 1281), for a large assortment of Swiss straw-plaitand trimmings, of all descriptions; together with articlesshowing great skill in this branch of industry.
The Jury make Honourable Mention of the followingExhibitors in this department:—
Claraz, A., Fribourg, Switzerland (228, p. 1281), fora variety of straw-plaits, hats, and bonnets, illustratingthe peculiar description of industry of this canton. (PrizeMedal awarded in Class XXVIII.)
Dkpierre Brothers, Heiden, Canton of Appenzell (189, Switzerland , p. 127S), for embroidered straw bon-nets, got up with great taste.
Milward, James, and Sons, New York (93, UnitedStates , p. 1439), for bonnets made of cotton-braid; com-mendable for being a new application of this material.
Various articles of foreign manufacture, not easilyclassed with the European goods, have been consideredby the Jury in reference to the producing countries.
Magnificent dresses for Turkish ladies (page 1414), ofrich silks finely embroidered in gold and silver; dresses for! gentlemen, and also richly-embroidered woollen dresses' woven in one piece. The strength of thread fabrics, andthe excellence of the weaving, entitle them to notice ashighly-interesting specimens of woollen manufacture.
The Jury make Honourable Mention of the followingarticles exhibited in this department:—
(41, Tunis , p. 1414), silk wrought as a separate article,of great substance and beauty, highly remarkable; andthe woollen bemous for common wear, and that for thehigher classes, are both very excellent.
(^48, Tunis , p. 1414), for dresses of the country, incotton and silk ; also dresses in woollen and mixed mate-rials, exhibiting great strength and excellency in theweaving.
(10, Tunis , p. 1413\ for various articles of dress, fezcaps, and many shawls made of worsted, and other mate-rials, very strong and durable, and colours remarkablygood.
(12, Tunis , p. 1413), for a variety of slippers adaptedfor use in that country, and some richly-embroideredboots.
Turkey.
The admirable examples of costumes, collected byorder of the Turkish Government, and exhibited by HisHighness the Sultan, were found worthy of the highestcommendation by the Jury; but unfortunately, from thesystem adopted in the collection of these examples bytraders, from the dwellings of the poor in the more usefuldomestic articles, and the harems of the wealthy in those
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