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Overview
An award winning crinoline
This ‘Paris Prize’ cage crinoline was made by W.S. & C.H. Thomson & Co, and was awarded a prize at the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris, hence its name. The printed label reads: 'Thomson's Paris Prize No. 375'.
It was owned by Hannah Way (née Noseworthy, 1838–1912) of Christchurch.
W.S. & C.H. Thomson & Co
William and Charles Thomson went into business together in New York in 1856 and opened their first crinoline factory in 1857, according to an article on the company published in the Otago Daily Times in 1890. Thomson's soon came to dominate the international crinoline market. In its London factory alone, which the brothers opened in 1860, Thomson’s was reputed to have produced over 4000 crinolines a day. In 1861 they purchased the patents of Angélique Caroline Milliet, a French seamstress who is credited with inventing the first steel skeleton crinoline cage in 1856.
Thomson's produced a range of models of crinolines and crinolettes including the ‘Princess’, the ‘Empress’ and the ‘Pagoda’ as well as the ‘Paris Prize’. They came in white, grey and scarlet. The latter had become a popular colour for undergarments following the introduction of the cage crinoline, which had a tendency to swing and tip as the wearer moved, thus exposing a glimpse of their ankle or petticoat.