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# Underwear archive to be sold by Lichfield auctioneer
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/underwear-archive-to-be-sold-by-lichfield-auctioneer/
- Published: 2023-06-20T06:02:00.000Z
- Updated: 2023-06-19T15:40:45.000Z
- Description: A collection showcasing the legacy of lingerie is being sold by a Lichfield auctioneer this month.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 19:01, News

A collection showcasing the legacy of lingerie is being sold by a Lichfield auctioneer this month.

Dating back to the 19th century, the items include 150 years of ladies’ foundation wear.

The archive covering more than a dozen boxes of garments will be sold by Richard Winterton Auctioneers on Monday (26th June).

The lots include utilitarian corsets dating back to 1855, modern bridal wear and military underwear made for members of the Auxiliary Territorial Service in the Second World War.

Many of the items were rescued by Jim French when a Midlands manufacturer closed in 2004\. They have been held in storage ever since.

His wife Sue said she had decided to pass on the collection following her husband’s death in 2020.

> “Jim’s wisdom saved the Cooper collection from being destroyed – it is a remarkable archive which really demonstrates the evolution of foundation wear.  
>  
> “Back in Victorian times, if a woman didn’t wear a corset she was considered a loose woman. People also believed that corsets protected them from chest infections and pneumonia.  
>  
> “Designs changed hugely over the decades, with products evolving into stunning outerwear or seductive underwear – and yet at the same time, we were still making some of the same corsets in 2004 as were designed in the 1960s.”  
>  
> Sue French

The catalogue for the auction is online now at [www.richardwinterton.co.uk/auction-dates](http://www.richardwinterton.co.uk/auction-dates?ref=lichfieldlive.co.uk).