Inventor, Sculptor, Manufacturer, President of MaidenForm.
William Rosenthal
Born in Rakov, Russia on 29 Oct 1882 to Solomon Rosenthal and Sara Botwinick.
After discovering a need for the product in their dress making business, William and Ida Rosenthal created the "first modern uplift brassiere" in 1923. After the success of that item, business was expanded into lingerie, swimwear and other products, growing Maidenform into one of the largest makers of women's undergarments of its time. Under Rosenthal's leadership, sales grew from $100,000 in 1927 to over $30 million in 1958.
The Rosenthals gave up the dress shop in 1922 and started the Maidenform Brassiere Company with a capital investment of $4,500. Four years later, they had 40 machines turning out mass-produced bras. Forty years later, they had 19 factories producing 25 million bras annually.
Some of their innovations:
* The "uplift" bra, patented in 1927.
* The "training bra" (no definitive word on what they were training for).
* The "Chansonette bra," introduce din 1949. It had a cone-shaped cup stitched in a whirlpool pattern. The bra, which never changed shape, even when it was removed, was quickly dubbed the "Bullet Bra." Over the next 30 years, more than 90 million were sold worldwide.
When William died, Ida carried on and continued to oversee the company until her death in 1973 at the age of 87. The Maidenform corporation, which started with ten employees, now had over 9,000.
He passed away on 12 Apr 1958 in Bayville, New York.
obituary;
William Rosenthal
Born in Rakov, Russia on 29 Oct 1882 to Solomon Rosenthal and Sara Botwinick.
After discovering a need for the product in their dress making business, William and Ida Rosenthal created the "first modern uplift brassiere" in 1923. After the success of that item, business was expanded into lingerie, swimwear and other products, growing Maidenform into one of the largest makers of women's undergarments of its time. Under Rosenthal's leadership, sales grew from $100,000 in 1927 to over $30 million in 1958.
The Rosenthals gave up the dress shop in 1922 and started the Maidenform Brassiere Company with a capital investment of $4,500. Four years later, they had 40 machines turning out mass-produced bras. Forty years later, they had 19 factories producing 25 million bras annually.
Some of their innovations:
* The "uplift" bra, patented in 1927.
* The "training bra" (no definitive word on what they were training for).
* The "Chansonette bra," introduce din 1949. It had a cone-shaped cup stitched in a whirlpool pattern. The bra, which never changed shape, even when it was removed, was quickly dubbed the "Bullet Bra." Over the next 30 years, more than 90 million were sold worldwide.
When William died, Ida carried on and continued to oversee the company until her death in 1973 at the age of 87. The Maidenform corporation, which started with ten employees, now had over 9,000.
He passed away on 12 Apr 1958 in Bayville, New York.
obituary;
Inventor, Sculptor, Manufacturer, President of MaidenForm.
William Rosenthal
Born in Rakov, Russia on 29 Oct 1882 to Solomon Rosenthal and Sara Botwinick.
After discovering a need for the product in their dress making business, William and Ida Rosenthal created the "first modern uplift brassiere" in 1923. After the success of that item, business was expanded into lingerie, swimwear and other products, growing Maidenform into one of the largest makers of women's undergarments of its time. Under Rosenthal's leadership, sales grew from $100,000 in 1927 to over $30 million in 1958.
The Rosenthals gave up the dress shop in 1922 and started the Maidenform Brassiere Company with a capital investment of $4,500. Four years later, they had 40 machines turning out mass-produced bras. Forty years later, they had 19 factories producing 25 million bras annually.
Some of their innovations:
* The "uplift" bra, patented in 1927.
* The "training bra" (no definitive word on what they were training for).
* The "Chansonette bra," introduce din 1949. It had a cone-shaped cup stitched in a whirlpool pattern. The bra, which never changed shape, even when it was removed, was quickly dubbed the "Bullet Bra." Over the next 30 years, more than 90 million were sold worldwide.
When William died, Ida carried on and continued to oversee the company until her death in 1973 at the age of 87. The Maidenform corporation, which started with ten employees, now had over 9,000.
He passed away on 12 Apr 1958 in Bayville, New York.
obituary;
William Rosenthal
Born in Rakov, Russia on 29 Oct 1882 to Solomon Rosenthal and Sara Botwinick.
After discovering a need for the product in their dress making business, William and Ida Rosenthal created the "first modern uplift brassiere" in 1923. After the success of that item, business was expanded into lingerie, swimwear and other products, growing Maidenform into one of the largest makers of women's undergarments of its time. Under Rosenthal's leadership, sales grew from $100,000 in 1927 to over $30 million in 1958.
The Rosenthals gave up the dress shop in 1922 and started the Maidenform Brassiere Company with a capital investment of $4,500. Four years later, they had 40 machines turning out mass-produced bras. Forty years later, they had 19 factories producing 25 million bras annually.
Some of their innovations:
* The "uplift" bra, patented in 1927.
* The "training bra" (no definitive word on what they were training for).
* The "Chansonette bra," introduce din 1949. It had a cone-shaped cup stitched in a whirlpool pattern. The bra, which never changed shape, even when it was removed, was quickly dubbed the "Bullet Bra." Over the next 30 years, more than 90 million were sold worldwide.
When William died, Ida carried on and continued to oversee the company until her death in 1973 at the age of 87. The Maidenform corporation, which started with ten employees, now had over 9,000.
He passed away on 12 Apr 1958 in Bayville, New York.
obituary;
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