Practicing Captions

1. This white satin wedding corset, embellished with cream-colored ribbon and lace trim, dates back to 1885. During this period, upper class women were expected to wear a corset every day, beginning in childhood. This corset was created especially for a bride to wear only once—on her wedding day.

This caption addresses Emma’s corset within its contemporary cultural context. Rather than focusing on the actual garment, the caption gives visitors a more general picture of the use of corsets at the end of the nineteenth-century. It allows the visitor to understand that, while women wore corsets daily for almost their entire lives, this corset was special. It was designed for a woman to wear on one of the most important days of her life, and was never worn again. While addressing both the every day practice of wearing corsets, and why this specific corset is distinctive, it leaves out all of the specific details known about this particular garment. Because details of Emma Hendel Spang’s life are known, as well as details of her wedding day, and this caption neglects to mention them, it is not the strongest of the three choices.

2. This white satin corset was worn by Emma Hendel on October 22, 1885 during her lavish wedding to Isaac Spang in Reading, Pennsylvania. When laced, the waist of the corset measures just nineteen inches around. Judging by the ribbon and lace ornamentation and extremely high quality of craftsmanship, the corset was likely designed especially for Emma to wear on her wedding day.

This caption focuses on the physical details of the corset, but includes some personal details about Emma as well. More than the other captions, it reflects the description step of my methodology. By mentioning the measurement of the waist—just nineteen inches—visitors, particularly the female visitors, will most likely imagine living in a world where wearing a restricting corset to provide you with a tiny waist was expected. By describing the high quality of craftsmanship and pointing out the ornamentation, visitors will spend more time examining the physical details of the corset. Because Emma and Isaac are also mentioned, as well as some details about their wedding, visitors will understand the personal sentiment also involved with the corset, and connect more than if the caption was solely a physical description. This caption may be the best choice for the exhibit, as it brings in different aspects of the corset’s life—thought caption number three is my personal favorite.

3. Emma Hendel wore this white satin corset beneath a white satin gown, adorned with lace and diamonds, on October 22, 1885, during her lavish wedding to Isaac Young Spang at Trinity Lutheran Church in Reading, Pennsylvania. The exquisite quality of this corset reflected the magnificence of the event, described in the local newspaper as the most brilliant matrimonial event of the season.

This caption focuses on the people, places, and events that the corset encountered. It provides a brief description of the dress that Emma wore over the corset, which will allow visitors to envision the entire outfit, rather than just the corset. As an undergarment, the intention of the corset was to provide a woman with a specific body type. The visitors are privileged to see a very personal garment, which matched the luxury of Emma’s wedding and entire adult life. This caption provides the most detail about the actual wedding, which I believe will appeal to modern day visitors. It notes the fine craftsmanship and relates that to the lavishness of the entire event. By mentioning a description from the local newspaper, visitors learn how public this wedding was. This is the caption that will romance visitors the most, and depending on how it works within the entire exhibit, may be the strongest caption for our intended purposes.