Whalebone is a hard material found in the mouth of some whales, and it used to be used to make things like corsets and umbrella frames. Full definition
More ships followed in the two following winters, after which gray whaling in the bay was nearly abandoned because «of the inferior quality and low price of the dark - colored gray whale oil, the low quality and quantity of whalebone from the gray, and the dangers of lagoon whaling.» (en.wikipedia.org)
Shropshire About Blog Whalebone Eclectic Instrumental Acoustic Folk Music woven with strands of Rock Blog. (blog.feedspot.com)
Sadly these corsets were reinforced with whalebone. (questchat.com)