A Bird in the Hat
In 1908, the Times-Dispatch expressed a concern
about women’s hats. “We are willing to give the ladies a season of
probation until after the Easter millinery display, but when the exhibit
has been made, when all the new hats have been shown in their beauty and
obstructive glory, we do hope that they will uncover and give the
rearguard a chance to see the preacher.”
At the time, fashionable hats were for the most part large, unique and
elaborately trimmed. Many were cartwheels with fancy decorations that
included feathers of every kind of bird imaginable. The newspaper
readily admitted there was no place to put the hats; not many women were
willing to place their prized creations under their seats.
It’s hard to believe, but just at the turn of the century almost any
bird could lose its feathers to fashion. In the 1880s it was estimated
at least five million American birds were killed annually for ladies’
hats.
Even whole birds found their way to women’s hats. Fashion magazines
displayed birds as large as an owl with glass eyes starring directly
forward. One pictured a whole pheasant’s head and plumage. The article
did point out that a lady’s husband forbade her to wear the hat in the
country during the hunting season.
Then came the Audubon Society and in 1903 the General Assembly enacted a
statute to protect from death or capture the mockingbird, wren,
goldfinch, oriole, thrush, rain crow, wood robin, blackbird, martin,
starling and the cardinal, which had not yet been chosen as Virginia’s
official bird.
The ostrich feather was exempt. They could be plucked from the tail
feathers of living birds with no harm. A good supply was available from
South Africa and the south of France.
In 1901, Kaufman’s at 403 E. Broad St. offered a sale of “Extraordinary
Ostrich Plumes. From the cheapest to the most expensive, guaranteed to
be the best, select Ostrich Stock.” Prices ran from $1.25 for a 16-inch
plume to $6.95 for a 22-inch plume.
And if you had any problems with your feathers, the DeLeo New York
Feather Hospital, at 213 N. Fifth St., was ready to help, advertising,
“Old feathers made equal to new.”
As always, fashions change. It is said that when the first World War
began, women became more involved in different vocations. Remember the
old saying when there was an outstanding accomplishment, it “…was a
feather in her hat”? Today, figuratively speaking, women collect more of
those feathers than ever before.
Ray Schreiner is a volunteer at the Valentine
Richmond History Center and the Virginia Historical Society, and is an
avid reader of old newspapers.
