The Victorian Feather Trade
Murderous Millinery: The Fashion for Feathers and its Environmental Impact
Introduction
The Victorian era witnessed a surge in the fashion of adorning hats and clothing with bird plumage, leading to a controversial and environmentally destructive industry. This chapter explores the rise and fall of the plume trade, its ecological and ethical implications, and the emergence of bird protection organizations.
The Allure of Plumage
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, wearing bird feathers became a symbol of high fashion in Europe and the United States. Women sought elaborate creations made from the plumage of hummingbirds, egrets, and other attractive birds. Examples include:
Hummingbird earrings made by Harry Emanuel, a London jeweller, around 1865.
A dress trimmed with the skins of 300 robins worn at Dublin Castle in 1878.
Observed in 1886 on Fifth Avenue in New York, 542 birds on 700 hats, with common tern and quail being the most frequent.
The Plumage Trade
A confluence of factors fueled the plumage trade:
New manufacturing techniques: Enabled the mass production of feathered adornments.
Changing tastes: Created a high demand for fashionable headgear.
Expanding commercial networks: Facilitated the global sourcing of bird feathers.
The industry involved a global workforce of hunters, merchants, and milliners who catered to the fashion demands of women in Europe and the USA.
Controversies and Criticisms
The plumage trade faced strong opposition:
Conservationists: Raised concerns about the severe environmental impact of the trade.
Humanitarians: Criticized the cruelty inflicted on birds for fashion.
Targeted Species: Egrets and Ostriches
Egrets
Egrets (Ardea alba), a type of heron, suffered immensely due to the demand for their breeding plumage. They were slaughtered on a massive scale in Florida and nearly wiped out, becoming a symbol of the bird protection movement.
Ostriches
Ostriches (Struthio camelus), the largest living bird species, were initially hunted for their feathers and faced extinction. However, from the 1860s, ostriches began to be domesticated and farmed in Cape Colony, providing a seemingly sustainable source of plumes.
The Rise of the Plumage Trade
The fashion for adorning women's hats with dead birds' plumage began in the 1860s. Starting with British birds like robins, wrens and kingfishers, it extended to more exotic species, such as hummingbirds. Feathers, and later whole birds, were used on bonnets, dresses, fans, earrings, and shoes.
In 1875, a lady appeared at a ball wearing a dress trimmed with the plumage of eight hundred canaries.
Hummingbirds came from the West Indies and America, caught in nets or killed by blowing sand at them through tubes.
Birds of paradise arrived from New Guinea, shot with blunted arrows by indigenous hunters.
Lyre birds arrived from Australia, egrets from across the Americas, especially Florida and later Venezuela, and mirasol birds from the pampas, their feathers fetching at least dollars per kilo.
Colonization and steam shipping opened up new bird populations to exploitation, while better weapons accelerated the killing. Changes in fashion also impacted the species of birds most desired.
The Feather Trade Process
Birds were harvested from around the world and ended up at dealerships in New York, Paris, and London, where they were sold at quarterly auctions. Milliners and dressmakers transformed the feathers into stylish adornments for female consumers. Corpses were stuffed, eyes replaced with glass beads, wings rearranged, and feathers dyed to create striking colors. The finished articles appeared in high-street store windows, tempting and shocking the public.
The Extent of the Feather Trade
Trade catalogues and newspaper reports provide insight into the volume of the feather trade:
In 1892, one London auction room sold 6,000 birds of paradise, 5,000 Impeyan pheasants, 400,000 hummingbirds, and 360,000 feathered skins from India in a single week.
In 1898, the Society for the Protection of Birds (SPB) published a list of birds and feathers sold at the London Commercial Sales Room. For example, they sold:
Osprey feathers or aigrettes, 6,800 ounces
Peacock feathers, 22,107 bundles
Parrots, 35,497 skins
Hummingbirds, 24,956 skins
These figures do not reflect the true extent of the slaughter, as quantities expressed in weight obscure the real number of victims.
To produce a kilo of small plumes, 870 egrets had to be killed.
The killing of nesting birds resulted in the premature deaths of their chicks.
Bird species with small ranges were especially vulnerable to overhunting.
The Lady and the Law: Opposition to the Plumage Trade
While some women embraced the fashion for feathers, others found it repulsive. Concerns about species extinction and the sheer volume of the trade led to widespread disapproval and the rise of bird protection organizations.
In Britain, Eliza Phillips and Margaretta Lemon founded the SPB in 1889 to discourage the destruction of bird life for decorative purposes.
In the USA, the first Audubon Society was established in 1886 to prevent the killing of wild birds not used for food, the destruction of nests or eggs, and the wearing of feathers as ornaments.
Campaign Strategies
Bird protection organizations pursued two main strategies:
Legal Measures: Seeking changes in the law to prevent the collection, export, and sale of feathers.
Changing Consumer Attitudes: Fostering a shift in consumer behavior to reduce the demand for feathers.
Curbing the Slaughter: Legal Measures
Close seasons: Established to protect birds during the breeding season, such as the British Wild Birds Act of 1872.
Formal reservations or refuges: Created to prohibit hunting in specific areas.
Anti-hunting legislation: Enacted in the USA by individual states to protect local birds.
However, these measures were difficult to enforce and did not entirely stop the plumage trade.
Game laws were hard to police, and reservations required constant monitoring.
Birds migrated, and even policed sanctuaries could not protect them outside their boundaries.
Milliners could buy birds from unprotected areas or smuggle illegally hunted plumes.
National and international legislation was essential to make real progress. The Lacey Act of 1900 in the USA prohibited the interstate shipment of birds killed in violation of state laws.
International Cooperation
International laws prohibiting the possession and sale of wild bird feathers were necessary. The 1913 Underwood Tariff Act finally prohibited the importation of feathers of wild birds for non-scientific or educational purposes.
Challenges in Britain
The struggle to end the trade in bird plumage was more tortuous in Britain and its colonies. Despite repeated efforts from the SPB, a ban on the importation of plumage proved elusive. A Plumage Bill was eventually enacted in 1921, bringing an end to the cruel but lucrative trade.
Obstacles to Reform
International Dimension: Critics argued that if Britain ceased to import feathers, the trade would simply shift to the continent.
Militancy of Milliners: The millinery trade mounted vocal defenses and prevented legislation that might interfere with their business.
Supply and Demand: As long as demand remained strong, someone would always be willing to provide the feathers, even if it meant resorting to poaching and smuggling.
The Press, the Pulpit and the Schoolmaster: Shaping Public Opinion
Bird protectors devoted energy to reshaping public opinion, aiming to change fashion permanently. They created a steady stream of pro-bird propaganda targeted at female readers.
Tactics Employed:
Appealing to the clergy
Delivering lectures on birds, illustrated with lantern slides
Taking to the streets in sandwich board protests
Creating lending library for schools
Newspapers were also a conduit to influence public opinion.
Shaming tactics
Comparing feather-wearing women to savages
Blaming women for abuses against birds in articles and poems.
Enlisting Women in Conservation:
Targeting influential individuals and institutions run by and for women
The Audubon Society concentrated on recruiting women’s clubs, entreating ‘the club women of America’ to use ‘their powerful influence’
The RSPB asked female members to refrain from wearing the feathers of any bird not killed for purposes of food, the ostrich excepted.
Influencing Milliners:
Conservationists targeted both the sellers and the buyers of plumage in the hope that one group would have a redeeming influence on the other. Bird protectors on both sides of the Atlantic grasped this opportunity, forwarding propaganda to willing milliners and making them more aware of the ecological cost of their precious feathers. In 1904, for instance, the Audubon Society sent 500 copies of William Dutcher’s pamphlet on the snowy heron to the Millinery Merchants’ Protective Association for distribution among its members.
Ostriches and Egrets: Contrasting Fates
The chapter contrasts the experiences of two bird species: the ostrich and the egret. The ostrich was officially exempted from pledges of plumage abstinence and was considered a sustainable source of feathers, while the egret was a tragic victim of the millinery industry.
The Ostrich Excepted
Ostrich plumes were seen as a sustainable and humane alternative to the plumage of small birds. Ostrich farming grew in the 1860s as farmers in Cape Colony began to rear the birds on their estates, plucking them alive and sending their feathers to Europe. South Africa took the lead in the ostrich farming business, other states also showed an interest in the industry. Ostrich feathers assumed a more benign character when farmers started to rear the birds on their estates, plucking them alive and sending their feathers to Europe. Early successes, such as the one by Mr L. von Maltitz, stimulated others to expand the production.
Technological Advancement:
Bespoke Ostritch Egg Incubator
This Incubator were credited to Douglas, a South African pioneer, the incubator enabled multiple eggs to be hatched at once and relieved the parent birds of the duty of sitting on them while they developed, reducing damage to their feathers and fooling the females into laying additional eggs. It consisted of two drawers (8 - 9 feet long) in which the eggs were lied, an apparatus of flannel, and screws beneath them, are raised or lowered to the extent of two or three inches. Over the drawers, and along the top of the whole machine, there is a tank filled with hot water.Below the machine, and in the centre of it, is placed a lamp placed below the machine. The eggs are lie in the drawer for six weeks.
Domestication of Ostriches
The keepers in Belle Vue Zoo noted:
Ostritches can ‘peck themselves within 12 inches of the base of the neck’.
The rise of the ostrich industry was connected to the environmental and humanitarian concerns associated with the plumage trade. The shift from hunting to farming was made possible by technological advances, such as the ostrich egg incubator. Zoos and menageries also played a role in the naturalization of ostriches in Europe.
Sarah Abreyava Stein had previously demonstrated how the Jewish entrepreneurs were placed in Central positions for the ostrich feather trade and were visible into all the main arenas. Moreover, the Jewish Merchants in Livorno had played a crucial part in the Mediterranean feather trade, choreographing the movement of feathers across the Sahara via camel train. It was concluded that with the global Jewish diaspora, the ostrich feather trade could not function effectively and would not have assumed the form it did.
Questionable Humanity of Plucking
The question of cruelty in live plucking was debated. Some argued it was painless and a pain-free alternative to killing wild birds. Others expressed skepticism and suggested potential violence in the process.
Vegetarian Anti-vivisectionist Anna Kingsford, advocated that the usage of Ostrich feathers were a pain-free alternative, much like sheeps being shorn.
Preservation of Ostriches
Domestication of the Ostrich
*It was discovered