The Feather Trade |
|||
Decorating with Nature The Feather Trade Bird Count
|
The Ladies Revolt |
||
The Feather Trade |
|||
Decorating with Nature The Feather Trade Bird Count
|
The Ladies Revolt |
||
At the turn of the 20th Century, as more and more Americans moved from the country to more urban environments, they tried to bring the nature they had left behind into their homes and even into their fashion. People collected butterflies, dried flowers, and stuffed birds and mammals. Women wore hats decorated with feathers, entire birds, and even small mammals and reptiles! 
In the late 19th and early 20th century, millions of North American birds were killed for their feathers. Hunters would kill birds and take their feathers and often leave young chicks alone to fend for themselves. Entire populations of terns, herons, and egrets were destroyed all along the Atlantic Coast. 
On two days in 1886, ornithologist Frank Chapman walked the streets of New York City and recorded the types of birds he saw on ladies hats. On his walks he counted the wings, feathers, heads, and entire bodies of 174 birds representing 40 different species decorating the hats of ladies, including 21 hats decorated with parts of the 
In 1896, wealthy Boston socialite Harriet Lawrence Hemenway (1858-1960) read an article about feather hunting. She was so upset by what the article described that she decided she needed to take action. She contacted her cousin, Minna B. Hall, and together they organized a series of ladies teas. They asked the wealthy ladies who attended these teas to stop wearing hats with feathers. 