Corseting and cinched waists were the fashions of the time in the 19th century and corset stays were long, narrow, and often times elaborately decorated rods that were slid into the fronts of corsets to keep them firm and stiff.  These stays and the case in which they are held are decorated with images and text eluding to the sexuality of women and how men are often effected by it, and often times, even duped by it.