Spirella Corset

Souvenir corset from Spirella Corset Company, Niagara Falls. Marcus Merritt Beeman invented a type of corset bone called Spirella in 1904. The device was a flattened metal coil to be inserted into a typically female undergarment for rigidity to achieve an augmented physical appearance. The invention was seen as an improvement over whale baleen or reed which could crack and dig into the body. The Spirella device held its shape and provided flex without breaking. Marcus Merritt Beeman, William Wallace Kincaid and Jesse Homan Pardee partnered to found the Spirella Corset Company Incorporated which manufactured a variety of undergarments for a female market. Factories were located in USA, UK, Canada, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Spirella Corset Company employed "Corsetiers", typically women, to visit potential customers at home and generate sales. Salespeople carried samples and equipment to acquire measurements for orders.
Circa 1907 Spirella Corset Company built a manufacturing plant in Niagara Falls, Ontario at the corner of River Road and Hiram Street.