Souvenir Saturday: scrimshaw

Early mid-19th c corset busk

This is a busk or corset stay decorated in the sailor's art, scrimshaw. Made from whale or other bone, it was an intimate gift made for the crewman's sweetheart, who inserted it into her corset as a continual reminder of her faraway beloved.

Busks were used to close the centre front of the corset and came into fashion in the mid 1800s. Lacing was still used at the back or sides of the corset but the busk allowed the wearer to get into and out of the corset without help.

The Sailor's Return