Bras Collection

Quatre Bras / Hamilton
Wellington defeats Ney at QUATRE BRAS, foiling Napoleons plan to prevent the joining of the British and Prussian armies

Charge of the 1st Life Guards at Genape, 1815.Watercolour by Richard Simkin, 1890 (c).Charge of the 1st Life Guards at Genape June 17 1815.Associated with the Battle of Quatre Bras, Napoleonic Wars

Waterloo 4 Bras Map 1815
Map showing Quatre Bras and Waterloo at the time of the battle. Date: 16-18 June 1815

Advert for J. Roussel underwear 1949
A blonde bombshell model wears a rather elaborate creation. Date: 1949

Fewer Falsies For Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio: July, 1949. X-ray testing for tuberculosis in six cities has revealed that the women of Cleveland use less synthetic torso curves than those of any of the other cities

Brazil & Bras Portrait
A map of Brazil with a portrait of its then president Venceslau Bras. Brazil had declared war on Germany in 1917 during World War One

Model in Bra and Girdle Posing with Beautiful Curves Approaching Sign
2630032 Model in Bra and Girdle Posing with Beautiful Curves Approaching Sign, 1948 (screen print) by American School, (20th century); Private Collection; Photo eGraphicaArtis; American

Advertisement for women's criss-crossed front panel bra and girdle. Date: 1954

Advert for Kestos lingerie 1939
Women wearing new girdles and high-line brassiers. Date: 1939

Sahary Djeli, oriental dancer
Sahary Djeli, Oriental dancer, appearing at the London Hippodrome with a dance in which she displayed particularly sinuous arm movements in what was known as the, Les Danse des Bras Date: 1911

Madame Bras as Dame Catherine in La Dame les Belles Cousines by Louis Charles Achille d Artois, Theatre du Vaudeville, 1823. Handcoloured lithograph by F

Advert for Marshall & Snelgrove brassiere 1937
Woman modelling the new Gothic, with its fashionable bust-line. 1937

Woman in Lingerie Sitting Reading a Book, 1955 (screen print)
2630050 Woman in Lingerie Sitting Reading a Book, 1955 (screen print) by American School, (20th century); Private Collection; Photo eGraphicaArtis; American, out of copyright

Atrophie progressive des muscles extenseurs du bras, Attitude du membre paralyse (colour litho)
5210364 Atrophie progressive des muscles extenseurs du bras, Attitude du membre paralyse (colour litho) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info)

Nude with raised arm (oil on canvas)
3956538 Nude with raised arm (oil on canvas) by Renoir, Pierre Auguste (1841-1919); 25.2x13.1 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: Nu au bras leve); Photo eChristies Images; French, out of copyright

Philomele & Progne - Fables by La Fontaine, 19th century (engraving)
DUV4214258 Philomele & Progne - Fables by La Fontaine, 19th century (engraving) by Grandville (Jean Ignace Isidore Gerard) (1803-47); Private Collection; (add.info)

Position de la lancette dans la saignee du bras (colour litho)
5210342 Position de la lancette dans la saignee du bras (colour litho) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Position de la lancette dans la saignee du bras)

Advertisement for womens undergarments. Date: 1940

Advertisement for womens undergarments

Salvation Army War Cry seller
A Salvation Army man stands in his bicycle clips while selling War Cries outside a corset shop. His bike leans against the wall. Stafford, England Date: 1986

1934 advertisement for Kestos Lingerie

Death of the Duke Frederick William of Brunswick - Oels at Quatre Bras the 16th June 1815. Coloured aquatint, artist unknown, contemporary, published by J Lorenz Rugendas, 1815 (c)

Estelle Lingerie Glamour Wear - Back to the Cave... as shapely as Eve. 1971

The Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, the Statue at Quatre Bras, Belgium, Engraving 1890
THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO, THE STATUE AT QUATRE BRAS, BELGIUM, engraving 1890, engraved image, history, arkheia, illustrative technique, engravement, engraving, victorian, Arts

Comic postcard, Mother and son in department store Date: 20th century

Wonderbra model Caprice Bourret helps promotes the 2nd anniversary of the National Lottery and the upcoming superdraw at photocall in Trafalgar Square London November 1996

Death of Lt-Col William Miller of the 1st Guards at the Battle of Quatre Bras. One of 16 lithographs by J Atkinson depicting incidents of British bravery during the late campaigns on the continent

Soho, London - window display of lingerie. 1973

Quatre Bras / Dupray / 1815
Wellington defeats Ney at QUATRE BRAS, foiling Napoleons plan to prevent the joining of the British and Prussian armies Date: 16 June 1815

Wartime underwear article, Britannia and Eve magazine, 1940
Page from Britannia and Eve magazine, September 1940, reporting on various types of foundation garments to ensure a controlled figure under clothing

LES QUATRE BRAS, looking towards WATERLOO.Coloured aquatint, 1815, published by R Bowyer, 1816.Associated with Napoleonic Wars, Waterloo (1815). Aquatint, colour Date: 1815

Advert for J. Roussel lingerie 1939
Personally for you. A belt by J. Roussel gives you the feeling of slimness and freedom. The Roussel method of expert individul consideration given to each figure control problem

Advert for Maiden Form bra with uplift 1936
For lovely rounded uplift support. Inter-lude. To accomplish a lovely classic roundness of contour, Maiden Form creates Inter-lude brassieres which - by semi-circular stitching - give firm uplift

Advert for Kayser Bondor undergarments & nightdresses 1953
Kayser Bondor, 7 steps to loveliness at prices you can afford. 1953

Advert for J. Roussel underwear 1948
A blonde bombshell model wearing the Roussel suspender belt garment, with bullet padding bra. 1948

Drawing of an armillary sphere
Armillary sphere. 18th century engraving of an armillary sphere, here termed an artificial sphere. This is a model of the celestial sphere

Quatre Bras 1815
The Gordon highlanders at the battle of Quatre Bras - an officer is shot on his horse

The Prince of Orange at the Battle of Quatre Bras, 16 June 1815. Painted in 1817 - 1818, by Jan Willem Pieneman

Quartel da Luz, (Barracks of Light), 1895. Artists: Wilhelm Gaensly, Rudolf Friedrich Fra
Quartel da Luz, (Barracks of Light), 1895. From Sao Paulo by Gustavo Koenigswald. [S. Paulo, 1895]

Labrador dog cuddling up to baby guinea pigs
A labrador dog cuddling up to three baby guinea pigs -- their mother had died when they were born, so they were being kept warm in a nice padded bra. (2 of 3) Date: circa 1970s

Battle of Quatre Bras, 16 June 1815. Aquatint by T Sutherland after W Heath, published by J Jenkins, 1 Dec 1815. From ?Napoleonic Wars

Advert for Madame Bellanger corsetmarker 1912
Advertisement for Madame Bellanger, Edwardian women wearing long-line corsets, with straight-front giving no curving to the figure, and also a bra with uplift and fastener to the front. Date: 1912

Advert for Madame Bellanger corsetmarker 1911
Advertisement for Madame Bellanger, Edwardian women wearing long-line corsets, with straight-front giving no curving to the figure, and also a bra with uplift and fastener to the front. Date: 1911

Braine-l Alleud, Belgium - Lions Mound monument
A large manmade hill, topped by the Lion of Waterloo monument, in the Belgian region of Braine l Alleud, standing on the site of the Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815, and the Battle of Quatre Bras

Advert for Kestos lingerie 1938
You can t have line till you wear Kestos. Date: 1938

Advert for Kestos lingerie for sport 1933
Advert for a brassiere for sport activities. Kestos gives her comfort and allows her complete freedom of movement. Date: 1933

Francois De LA Noue
FRANCOIS DE LA NOUE Protestant general, known as Le Bayard Huguenot for his bravery, and Bras de Fer for the artifical left arm replacing one lost in battle. Date: 1531 - 1591

Advert for Kestos lingerie 1937
Backless bras for evening and sports wear. 1937

Estelle Lingerie Glamour Wear - Backless Bra, Easy Tights. 1971

Advert for Kestos lingerie 1939
The new high-line brassiere by Kestos. Achieves the modern accentuated breatline. For you, a new grace. For your gowns, a new perfection. Date: 1939

Advert for Bon Ton Girdles 1934
Gentle persuasion to figure perfection. Bon Ton is the sure soltion of figure problem. If accentuation is needed to give you beauty of line

Advert for Gossard corsets 1937
Follow the line of beauty. That indefinable something! Soon as you wear a Gossard you know, beyond all question it is there

Ballet Move / Plie
A ballerina performing a PLIE (pronounced Plee-ay ), which simply means a bend. The dancers arms during the plie are doing a Corps de bras in unison with the body. Date: 1930s

Faust Trying Seduce Marguerite Goethe Faust 1825-27
Artokoloro

Antoine-Jean Duclos after Jean-Michel Moreau, French (1742-1795), Frontispiece: Aida
Antoine-Jean Duclos after Jean-Michel Moreau (French, 1742 - 1795), Frontispiece: Aida© de la sagesse, on se sauve de l amour dans les bras de la raison, 1777, etching and engraving

The Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, the Statue at Quatre Bras, Belgium, Engraving
THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO, THE STATUE AT QUATRE BRAS, BELGIUM, engraving 1890, engraved image, history, arkheia, illustrative technique, engravement, engraving, victorian, Arts

After the Bath, 1895 (pastel on mounted paper)
XIR154636 After the Bath, 1895 (pastel on mounted paper) by Degas, Edgar (1834-1917); 70x70 cm; Musee d Orsay, Paris, France; (add.info.: La Sortie de Bain; woman drying her left arm; ); French

Wall Light (Bras de lumiere); Andre-Charles Boulle, French, 1642 - 1732, master before 1666; Paris, France, Europe; about 1700 - 1715; Gilt bronze; Object: H: 56 x W: 35.6 x D: 24.9 cm (1 ft)

Thomas Picton (1758-1815) English soldier. In the Peninsular campaign he commanded the Fighting Division in Spain (1810) and distinguished himself at Busaco, Fuentes de Onoro, Badajoz, and Vittoria

Great Tit (Parus major) adult male and female, perched on washing line with bra, Leicestershire, England, January

Advert for Debenham & Freebody womens lingerie 1940
We have mastered the art of corsetry. This belt is specially designed to give nipped-in waist line and flat diaphragm made of triple-thread lastex with floral bastiste panels in front and back

Advert for Kestos lingerie 1940
Advertisement for womens backless brassiere. Date: 1940

Advet for Kestos panty 1935
Two blondes model the skin- tight, boneless, seamless " Silicute" pantie-girdle by Kestos teamed up with Kestos bras. Date: 1935

Advert for Kestos brassiere and girdles 1932

Advert for Kestos lingerie 1934
Advert for a brassiere for sport activities. Kestos A women can concertrate on her game and win Date: 1934

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"From Quatre Bras to Hamilton: A Brief History of Bras" In the Charge of the 1st Life Guards at Genape, amidst the chaos and bravery, one can't help but wonder if any thoughts were spared for undergarments. However, in an unexpected turn of events, a vintage advert for J. Roussel underwear from 1949 emerges as a reminder that even in times of war and battle, women's comfort was not forgotten. As Cleveland embraced change with "Fewer Falsies, " it became evident that bras played a significant role in shaping society's perception of beauty. The iconic Brazil & Bras Portrait captured this essence perfectly – showcasing how lingerie could enhance femininity and confidence. Fast forward to 1954 when an advertisement showcased a revolutionary women's criss-crossed front panel bra and girdle. This innovation marked a turning point in fashion history by providing both support and style simultaneously. Traveling back to 1939, Kestos lingerie took center stage with its timeless elegance. Models donning these exquisite pieces posed gracefully alongside beautiful curves approaching signs – epitomizing the allure that bras brought into every woman's life. However, not all moments associated with they were glamorous; some were tinged with sadness like the Death of Duke Frederick William of Brunswick during Quatre Bras/Dupray in 1815. Yet even amidst tragedy, undergarments remained an integral part of daily life. Estelle Lingerie Glamour Wear beckoned women "Back to the Cave, " reminding them that beneath their fashionable exterior lay foundations built on comfort and support – much like our ancestors sought refuge within caves long ago. During wartime struggles in 1940s Britain, Britannia and Eve magazine shed light on practical yet stylish underwear options available to women during those challenging times. It served as a testament to resilience - proving that even during adversity, fashion found its way through hardship.