Denholm & McKay Co. (484-500 Main Street)

At the turn of the last century, the Denholm & McKay department store gave women another venue for purchasing corsets in Worcester. It was the only local department store in the early 20th century where women could buy Royal Worcester Corset Company products, a widely popular brand at the time.

Another downtown option for corsets was Denholm & McKay, aka "The Boston Store" at 484-500 Main Street. "Worcester Magazine" in June of 1909 said that Denholm & McKay was the only place in town where a woman could buy the Royal Worcester Corset Company's line of products, on the store's second floor. Denholm's had exclusive rights to the product line in the city. A photo of that store's corset department interior shows Royal Worcester's brands -- the Bon Ton, Royal Worcester, and others -- stamped onto custom mannequins which parade down the display cases. The city's chamber of commerce noted at the time the photo was published that "corset plants continue to be exceptionally busy, all reporting a record volume of business for the first half of this year, and many manufacturers have largely increased their plants." A few months earlier, the magazine claimed that "Worcester's manufacturers to-day are exporting more corsets than the total imports from all foreign countries and find the foreign demand steadily increasing." Denholm & McKay was a corset emporium in the midst of a city that was a global production center for this item.

The following text from a 1909 Denholm & McKay ad provides a fine example of the corset department's "pitch", promising much ease and comfort for the fitting, a task that was apparently a burden for women of the day:

A Timely Message to Every Miss, Maid and Matron

This is an era of progress and innovations, especially in the corset art, and the beautiful creations advanced for this season are indeed marvels of corset craft. Extreme slenderness, length of limb, and long, graceful lines are the attributes every woman must strive for if she would follow the present vogue - and a visit to our corset section will reveal how one may accomplish this with ease and comfort when properly fitted to a Bon Ton, Royal Worcester or an Adjusto Corset. These renowned corsets are originated and produced in our home city,and emanate from a plant that is world-famed for its model equipment, perfect sanitary conditions, and charming environments.

There are innumerable styles for every conceivable type of figure, at prices ranging from $1 to $12. We are featuring many beautiful batiste models that are admirable adapted for wear during the approaching warm months, and the visitors to our store, in whose honor this magazine issue is dedicated, are especially invited to see the "last word" in corsets.

Two expert corsetieres from New York city are here, whose advice and assistance will make the selection of your corsets a joy rather than a burden -- also, fittings may be arranged at any hour in our private fitting parlors. And further - you can buy Bon Ton, Royal Worcester and Adjusto Corsets in Worcester only at the Boston Store.

"A Timely Message to Every Miss, Maid, and Matron" Worcester Magazine, June 1909, p.233.

Worcester Magazine

Proper Fit (working title), Anne Marie Murphy, TidePool Press 2025. www.cityofcorsets.com