The Hat That Killed a Billion Birds : The Decimation of World Avian Populations for Women's Fashion.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sharp, Arthur G.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Millinery--United States--History--19th century.

Millinery.

Women's hats--United States--History--19th century.

Women's hats.

Feather industry--United States--History--19th century.

Feather industry.

Birds--Conservation--United States--History--19th century.

Birds.

Fashion--Social aspects--United States--19th century.

Fashion.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (397 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Jefferson : McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers, 2024.

Summary:

"During the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was common practice for milliners to decorate women's hats with birds' feathers and plumes-and sometimes with the birds themselves. As many as 300 million birds per year were killed for this fashionable enterprise, causing the extinction of some entire species and the endangerment of others. Lawmakers and bird aficionados were slow to react to the effects of this practice, which went on almost unabated for a quarter of a century. Then, noted naturalists like George Bird Grinnell, William T. Hornaday, and President Theodore Roosevelt, who recognized the economic benefits birds provided, banded together to pass meaningful legislation to protect them and to curb the production of murderous millinery. This book explores the troubled history of millinery and its complicated relationship to birds and conservation. It explores why it took so long for the slaughter to end and how the efforts of individuals and groups brought about change"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Intro

Introduction

1

The Birds Start Slipping Away

2

How Did It Happen?

3

Follow the Money

4

Bird Murder and Women's Hats

5

Bicycles, Tricycles, and Fashion Cycles

6

But Did the Ladies Listen?

7

Which Birds Is It Okay to Kill?

8

Who Was to Blame?

9

Fashion Writers Play a Key Role

10

Another Skirmish in the War Between the Sexes

11

Editorial License

12

Blow Guns, Knives, and Other Cruel Weapons

13

There's an Endless Supply of Birds-Isn't There?

14

Save the Birds

15

The Audubon Society Picks Up the Cudgel

16

"Arbird" Day

17

Laws Are Literally for the Birds

18

Who Owns the Birds?

19

The Turning Point Arrives

20

Embarrassment Knows No Boundaries

21

Regional Rivalries

22

The Audubonists' Antithesis

23

Reading the Signs

24

Silz Courts the Supremes

25

Welcome to Finley's World

26

Meet Max Schlemmer

27

Looking at the Moon Without ­Rose-Colored Glasses

28

Delaware Thanks the Milliners

29

The Law of Fashion Prevails

30

From Missouri to Massachusetts

31

Milliners and Hats Are on Top

32

The Milliners Fight Back

33

Two Sides to the Story

34

The Business of Business

35

Calling All Ladies

36

White Herons and Birds of Paradise

37

The Ostrich

38

Game Wardens

39

The Hunters

40

Birds Don't Have to Die When They Can Be Dyed

41

Those Who Refuse to See the Birds for the Trees

42

The Campaign Goes International

Epilogue: One Good "Tern" Deserves Another

Appendix A: Confusing Bird Protection Laws

Appendix B: Expansion of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918

Bibliography

Index of Terms.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Other Format:

Print version: Sharp, Arthur G. The Hat That Killed a Billion Birds

ISBN:

1-4766-5170-1