Museum of Weird Books of Weird Books

Bust-Up

Bust-Up. The uplifting tale of Otto Titzling and the development of the bra Wallace Reyburn Prentice-Hall 1972 A titillating history from ancient corsetry to the modern bra. This is a detailed history of its development. Otto Titzling developed the brassiere. This uplifting volume recounts his exploits in business, his many associates and the marketing problems he encountered during the early 20th century.
	A black and white cover of six attractive women in sensual poses, their birthday suits covered with nighties. Either they are readying for bed, waiting for gentlemen callers, or both. Each of the models is dressed in past and present day nighties. None has any knowledge of past hair styles contemporary with their period costumes. Their abundant breasts depict no particular period in history. Next Back to the top
In 1904 Otto, age 20 was injured with his wife's buxom breasts while breast feeding. He also choked on a nipple. To forestall further injury, he invented the brassiere and became a pioneer like George Stetson (hat), Hugo Jantzen (bathing suits) and Charlie Kotex, the famed inventor of a period piece. Next Back to the top
	Unlike the Romans, who preferred draped, as opposed to fitted wear, the Greeks and the Egyptians were more inclined to stress the grace and definitions of the anatomy. This, then gave rise to the elegant statuary during the ancient world. Egyptians, however, always appeared to be readying themselves for mummification, the quintessential form of enhancing body lines. In the Egyptian corset the breasts lay bare. Egyptian weather fostered this delightful custom. Among the male population this gave rise to "erectus publicus" and much snickering among the women. Next Back to the top
A turning point in Otto's life came about when he was attending a circus and noticed that the female trapeze artist's breasts were falling into her throat and threatening to choke her. Even though she was wearing a bra it was the wrong kind. As an acute observer he was compelled to invent the other-way-up bra, saving the lives of all female trapeze artists!! Next Back to the top
	Otto never forgot the needs of desperate women who got tired of pushing Kleenex under their bras and having nothing in which to blow their noses while crying over their flat breast. Mindful of their desperation, he invented falsies, initially made with rubber, the supply of which depended on the weather in Malaya. Later, falsies graduated to latex. Otto's ingenuity, knowing no bounds, devised a small purse in the bra where women would put what they called "mad money." Mad money during the 1920's would be used in an emergency when some cad were to stick her with the restaurant bill or another cad threw her out of his flivver and she had no way to get home. That would make her mad - now having to pay for a taxi. So under false pretences, and inflation of another kind setting in, he invented the falsies. Otto trumpeted: "What God Has Forgotten, We Stuff With Cotton." Next Back to the top
Today more cleavage is shown and breasts are pushed together and lifted with springed bras to tempt the savage beast. There are now (well, in 1972 when the book was published) 170,000 bras sold annually in the U.S. This represents 340,000 bra cups so there is always work at the factories. Next Back to the top
	Here's a fine example of the ultra-point "sweater girl" look of the forties. Blast off! Next Back to the top