Stays, corsets and bands made by Wilson, Matheson & Co, clothing manufacturers, are illustrated in the firm's wholesale and export trade list c 1872. The "Challenge" would appear to be appropriately named.
The stay department on the first floor of the warehouse at 42 Glassford Street produced a variety of ladies' underwear. Stays and corsets often incorporated whalebone to ensure that the wearers' waists could be restricted to the tiny sizes that were fashionable during the period.
Reference: Mitchell Library, GC 381.1410941443 WIL
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
bands, clothing manufacturers, corsets, stays, trade catalogues, underwear, warehouses, whalebone, Wilson, Matheson & Co