Undergarment Boudreaux showed the world that an American woman could establish and run a company, and she also caused a revolution in the underwear industry. In 1913, a New York socialite named Mary Phelps Jacob created the first modern brassiere by tying two handkerchiefs together with ribbon. Jacob's original intention was to cover the whalebone sticking out of her corset, which was visible through her sheer dress. Jacob began making brassieres for her family and friends, and news of the garment soon spread by word of mouth. By 1914, Jacob had a patent for her design and was marketing it throughout
William Preston Phelps was struck dead by the train. Phelps' wife Anna died just six months later. Phelps began to drink heavily, and in 1906 he remarried but divorced in 1909. By his late 60s, William started to fade with the sadness of his wife Anna and son Edward passing away, and his finances weakened. In 1914, he began to borrow money from a Lowell financing firm, and quickly got into debt. After Phelps pulled a gun on his friend and neighbor in the winter of 1917, the authorities were notified. The police came and escorted the aging artist away, and was labeled