Bust-up: The Uplifting Tale of Otto Titzling and the Development of the Bra

by Wallace Reyburn

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0131087614
• ISBN13: 9780131087613
• Release Date: January 1972
• Publisher: Prentice-Hall
• Length: 106 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Titillating history spoof

There aren't many people who can definitively say they've started an urban legend, but Walace Reyburn, author of Bust-Up, is one. It's because of this book that many people erroneously believe the inventor of the bra was a man by the name of Otto Titzling (if you don't get it, say it aloud).Bust-Up is a nice, light, comical read that might make you titter a few times. The book is overflowing with numerous puns and plays on words. For example, Otto's assistant was a man named Hans Delving, and his main competition was Philippe de Brassiere. Go figure.I'm not sure where fantastical conjecture ends and historical facts begin in this little book, but there are more than a few veiled references to actual people and events. For example, the tale of Helga Lemurr seems inextricably related to Greta Garbo's early career.The book has plenty of interesting line drawings, including some which really set my brain a-whir. The most interesting drawing, in my opinion, is of a bra designed for trapeze artists. The support is needed on the top of the bra. I'd never really thought of that before.I enjoyed reading about the reasons for the relative unpopularity of a front-clasping bra and also the gender differences in names for this piece of apparel. Women call it a front-clasping bra whereas men call it a front-opening bra. It all depends on your point of view and what is important for you.