In honor of Women’s History Month, our inventor of the month is a woman who invented a modern day product that every woman uses, the brassiere, also known as a bra and her name is Mary Phelps Jacob. Now Mary Phelps was not the first person to invent the bra. Marie Tucek was and she got a patent on the brassiere in 1893; however Mary’s brassiere design was the first one to be widely used.Mary Phelps Jacob was born on the 20th of April 1891 her parents were descendants of two prominent American colonial families, the Van Rensselaer and the William Phelps. Throughout her childhood she grew up as every upper class child did in the 1800’s, going to formal balls, Ivy League school dances and formal horse riding schools. She was even presented to the King of England in 1914.By the time she was 19, Mary had attended so many balls that it was routine to put on a corset before dressing; however as she was getting ready for another debutante ball, the dress she wanted to wear was so sheer and so thin that the normal whale bone and rod corset was showing through her dress. She decided that was unacceptable and thus she created the first backless bra with two silk handkerchiefs, pink ribbon, needle and thread in 1910. Once women found out about her new undergarment, they all wanted to have one and even were willing to pay a dollar for her invention.So, on the 12th of February 1914, Mary Phelps Jacob decides to file a patent for her backless bra and in November of that year (1914), she was granted her first US patent for the “Backless Brassiere.” Her invention idea was for a device that was lightweight, soft and separated the breasts naturally. Soon after she started her own company under an alias called Caresse Crosby, which was a two-woman sweatshop that manufactured her brassiere in downtown Boston. Having her own business was not all that enjoyable for Mary and so she sold her “Backless Brassiere” patent to Warner Brothers Corset Company for $1,500. Which was a meager sum as over the next 30 years, Warner Brothers Corset Company made over $15 million.Though Mary did not get many accolades for her invention of the modern day brassiere before she died, she was able to see her idea blossom and become an immensely popular garment for millions of women.Further Info:
Inventor of the Month – Who is Mary Phelps Jacob?
