I like this piece of advertising from the Kabo Corset Company for one simple reason…it is very unusual to find a more expensive piece of giveaway advertising memorabilia from this specific category. I don’t know why this is the case, but I suspect the idea of putting someone’s undergarments on full display for all to see simply was not acceptable or the public was not quite ready for this exposure in Victorian America. This particular self-framed sign has great color in it, and cleverly adds the fancy feather headdress to match the colorful blue lace color in the corset. The brown and gold offset colors made for a beautiful piece of advertising. The Kabo Company differentiated their products with the slogan “Have No Brass Eyelets”, a benefit to help the wearer avoid any potential uncomfortable rubbing against the skin.
The Cabo Corset Company was owned by Mr. Simon Florsheim, who also owned the better known Florsheim Shoe Company. Mr. Florsheim started his business in the 1850’s as a fur trader, and after great success, started the Cabo Corset Company in 1880 in Chicago. By the early 1900’s the Fleishman family had relocated to New York City, where they remained in business until the mid 1940’s. Eventually as times changed the use of corset’s by woman (and some men in the early 1900’s) had drastically changed, leaving the family to spend more time on their shoe business, and close the Kabo Corset Company for good.