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Book Cover
E-book
Author Smith, Malcolm

Title Hats : a Very UNnatural History
Published East Lansing : Michigan State University Press, 2020

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Description 1 online resource (x, 171 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations (some color)
Series The animal turn
Animal turn.
Contents Introduction -- The earliest hats and hat decor -- A deadly felt revolution -- When the fur flies -- European flamboyance -- A feather in London's cap -- An American tragedy unfolds -- Ladies with influence -- The Davy Crockett revival -- The survivors' story -- Today's hats -- Appendix. The IUCN Red List classification
Summary For such simple garments, hats have had a devastating impact on wildlife throughout their long history. Made of wild-caught mammal furs, decorated with feathers or whole stuffed birds, historically they have driven many species to near extinction. By the turn of the twentieth century, egrets, shot for their exuberant white neck plumes, had been decimated ; the wild ostrich, killed for its feathers until the early 1900s, was all but extirpated ; and vast numbers of birds of paradise from New Guinea and hummingbirds from the Americas were just some of the other birds killed to decorate ladies' hats. At its peak, the hat trade was estimated to be killing 200 million birds a year. At the end of the nineteenth century, it was a trade valued at £20 million (over $25 million) a year at the London feather auctions. Weight for weight, exotic feathers were more valuable than gold. Today, while no wild birds are captured for feather decoration, some wild animals are still trapped and killed for hatmaking. A fascinating read, Hats will have you questioning the history of your headwear
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Extinct birds.
Extinct animals.
Featherwork.
Fur garments.
Hats -- History
amantecayotl (featherwork)
featherwork (visual works)
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- General.
Extinct animals
Extinct birds
Featherwork
Fur garments
Hats
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2019013217
ISBN 1609176227
9781609176228