This woman's carved wooden busk is a charming example of American folk art. Busks have been an integral part of women’s underpinnings since the 16th century. They were typically made of metal, bone, wood, or baleen, and acted as stiffeners within a woman’s stays or corset. This wider example would have been inserted into the center front channel in a woman’s corset of about 1820 to 1840. Men also gave them to their darlings as love tokens. In America in the early to mid-19th century, a tradition developed for scrimshaw busks decorated by sailors for their beloveds back home.
A love-struck man probably carved this wooden example and inscribed the back—the part literally quite closest to his dear’s heart—with one such message: "If you find him faithful and true never / chance him for a new love me true as I do you / as God you for me did chuse I will you love and / not abuse.” The ornamental motifs, like the concentric heart, rosette, and pinwheel, are seen in a variety of folk arts from the New England area at that time.
Woman's busk of carved wood. American (New England), ca. 1820s-40s. 11 7/8 x 1 7/8 in x 1/4 in.
