Object Details
sova.nmah.ac.0585
- Creator
- Maidenform, Inc.
- Photographer
- Avedon, Richard
- Names
- Coleman, Beatrice
- Coleman, Joseph
- Inventor
- Rosenthal, Ida
- Rosenthal, William
- Topic
- Advertising campaigns
- Sex in advertising
- advertising -- 20th century
- Women in advertising
- Brassieres -- 20th century
- Parachutes -- 1940-1950
- Symbolism in advertising
- Homing pigeons -- 1940-1950
- World War, 1939-1945
- Provenance
- The collection was donated by Maidenform, Incorporated in May 1997.
- Creator
- Maidenform, Inc.
- See more items in
- Maidenform Collection
- Biographical / Historical
- The history of Maidenform, Incorporated began at Enid Frocks, a small dress shop in New York City owned and operated by Enid Bissett. Ida Rosenthal was a Russian Jewish immigrant and seamstress at Enid's shop. In 1922, Ida and Enid decided that the fit and appearance of their custom-made dresses would be enhanced if improvements were made to the bandeaux style bras then in vogue. They gathered the bandeaux in the middle in a design modification that provided more support in a manner they believed enhanced, rather than downplayed, a woman's natural figure. Ida's husband, William, added straps and further refined the style. The called their bras "Maidenform", in counterpoint to the "Boyish Form" brand then in vogue. Initially, the bras were given away with each dress they sold. As the bras gained popularity they began selling them, and eventually the bras became so popular they stopped making dresses altogether and shifted to full-scale brassiere manufacturing. The first Maidenform plant opened in Bayonne, N.J. in 1925. After World War II, the company began marketing heavily in Europe and Latin America. Eventually, Maidenform operated plants in West Virginia, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Documentation for the development and manufacture of a "pigeon vest" is also included in the collection. The pigeon vest allowed troopers to carry homing pigeons with them as they parachuted behind enemy lines. During World War II, Maidenform manufactured these pigeon vests and silk parachutes for the war effort. Maidenform advertising campaigns were enormously successful, and generated controversy as well as praise. The now famous "I Dreamed" campaign was launched in 1949; this campaign ran for 20 years, making it one of the longest running campaigns in the history of advertising. The advertisements featured models in everyday or fantastic situations, elaborately costumed but wearing only a Maidenform bra above the waist. This campaign was followed by the "Maidenform Woman" campaign which was credited with boosting sales by 200 percent in some stores. The "Dares to Dream" campaign played off the "I Dreamed" tagline in 1984, and in 1987, the "Celebrity" campaign began. The "Celebrity" ads were notable for the absence of women in lingerie; instead, well-known male actors discussed their feelings about women and lingerie in print and commercial advertisements. The tone of the advertising shifted in 1992 with a series of ads called "The Women's Advocacy" campaign. Maidenform was family owned and operated until 1997. After the death of William Rosenthal in 1958, his wife, Ida, became the president of their company. In 1963, she suffered an incapacitating stroke. At this time, son-in-law Dr. Joseph Coleman became head of the company. Upon his death in 1968, his wife (the only surviving child of Ida and William) Beatrice Rosenthal Coleman, gained complete control over the business until her death in 1990. The Ida and William Rosenthal Foundation, a philanthropic and charitable institution founded in 1953, is run by granddaughter Catherine Brawer.
- Extent
- 35 Cubic feet (87 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
- Date
- 1922-1997
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0585
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Advertisements
- Newsletters
- Tear sheets
- Photographs
- Videotapes
- Clippings
- Business records
- Citation
- Maidenform Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
- Arrangement
- Collection organized into eleven series. Series 1, Company History, 1922-1990 Series 2, News Articles, 1941-1997 Series 3, Patents, Trademarks, and Registrations, 1871-1979 Series 4, Publications, 1931-1997 Series 5, Sales and Marketing Materials, 1929-1997 Series 6, Advertising, 1929-1997 Series 7, Photographs, 1927-1993 Series 8, Patterns, circa 1950s Series 9, World War II Activities, 1941-1946 Series 10, Labor Relations, 1937-1990 Series 11, Miscellaneous Unprocessed Materials
- Processing Information
- Processed by Jennifer Snyder and Mimi Minnick, August 1997-July 1999; revised Jennifer Snyder, 2002; revised Alison Oswald, 2003; corrections David Haberstich, 2005.
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. The donor has imposed restrictions on reproduction, broadcast or use of the collection for commercial purposes of any kind by third parties. Reproduction, broadcast or other use of the collection for commercial purposes of any kind by third parties is subject to prior written consent. These permissions will be required until July 2047. Please see the repository for further details.
- Genre/Form
- Advertisements
- Newsletters -- 20th century
- Tear sheets
- Photographs -- 20th century
- Videotapes
- Clippings
- Business records -- 20th century
- Scope and Contents
- Patent and trademark documents, advertisements, sales and marketing material, market research, photographs, packaging, company newsletters and magazines, and business records documenting the history of the Maidenform Company from 1922 to1997.
- Restrictions
- The collection is open for research use. Only reference copies of audiovisual materials may be used for research.
NMAH.AC.0585
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84cb6d644-c876-42a4-8825-697caee580c6
NMAH.AC.0585
ACAH
- Record ID
- ebl-1503510186677-1503510186714-0
