1850’s Corsets were a bit different…

.. in that they were shorter and less pointed through the front.  The metal busk (front metal part that hooks to close it) had been invented, allowing for increasingly strong cinching and the ability to shape the body.  As with the corset on the right, “lips” were added for attaching the heavy petticoats so the weight would hang from the shoulders and not the waist.

In this they were similar to the 1600’s when they wore the “farthingale” which was a lot like a bicycle wheel around the waist.  This trend to support the skirts on the corset would continue to increase into the 1860’s until the crinoline hoop was invented that took all that weight away.

(Corsets of 1850 – note the gorgeous embroidery on boning points.  It would be another 40 years before they would be mass produced in abundance, so these were still made by a professional)