Ostrich Riding, Burlesque Queens, and Child Labor Laws: Part 1
What do these have in common?
Plumes!
Ostrich plumes have been used as extravagant adornments for thousands of years. When Howard Carter opened the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, he found ample evidence that the young Pharaoh loved to hunt ostriches. In fact, Tutankhamun’s funerary inventory included the pharaoh’s personal, ivory-handled hand fan complete with the original plumes that King Tut, himself, was said to have gathered as hunting souvenirs nearly 3,345 years ago.
Fast forward (with lightning speed) to the mid-16th century to find that ostriches were still avidly hunted in Africa for their fanciful plumes. At that time, these were destined as focal points for feathered headdresses worn by distinguished European kings and queens. Such regal accouterments left lasting impressions; the feather arts continued to spread in popularity throughout Europe, and this continued into the next century. By the late 17th century, most well-to-do men, especially those in the military, and nearly all fashionable women wore ostrich plumes, not just royalty.
The Victorian and Edwardian years were the eras when the general public became feather-obsessed. Even horses wore ostrich ornamentation during this time when strict social etiquette requirements became more arduous, opulent, and costly throughout Europe, the United States, and Canada. Especially popular were horse bridle plumes in every imaginable color and configuration. For funerals, both horses and hearses were beautified with bouquets of splendidly constructed black ostrich feathers.
Ostriches Arrive For The First Time in the United States
In America, two British immigrants intensely competed during the 1880s to open ostrich farming in California. One story tells that the first ostriches were brought into the U.S. by Dr. Charles Sketchley in 1883. Whereas other stories insist that it was Edwin Cawston in 1885. Regardless of the debate, Cawston’s farm overshadowed Sketchley’s historically.
It has, however, been generally accepted that the 20-year-old English immigrant, Edwin Cawston, was undoubtedly one of the two earliest ostrich farmers in the U.S., and records show that he chartered an American ship that brought fifty-two birds into Texas from South Africa. The second leg of that perilous trip took a dark turn when all but 48 birds died while traveling by train to Cawston’s newly acquired farm located on Main Street in Los Angeles for a relatively short time.
(Although, again, it should be noted that this story differs slightly from what is found in Cawston’s farm records. His obituary from 1920 has a very different account, which is often historically referenced. In what appears to have been a typo printed in the newspaper’s death notices, Cawston’s London obituary reads that only 18 of the expensive birds survived out of the 52, not 48.)
His investment paid off, primarily through the following ten years as the Victorian feather trade exploded. To accommodate the flourishing business, Cawston went on to build another farm just outside South Pasadena, which included enough agricultural acreage for growing food for the ostriches and ample land on which to rear the newly hatched chicks that survived and thrived.
This new South Pasadena farm instantly enticed visitors, especially when a special California railroad link was built to accommodate tourists wishing to visit ostrich farms. The real selling point at Cawston’s new location was his dedication to magnetic landscaping that featured interactive tourist attractions in addition to the main focus on his grand ostrich flock of over 200 birds. Eventually, the farm was such a crowd-pleaser that it became a kind of Disneyland-styled spectacle for tourists worldwide.
Cawston’s Ostrich Farm was renowned for acres of lavish gardens with artful grounds designed for memorable long strolls past manicured floral and plant displays via a web of sparkling gravel pathways. Surprise exhibits were found along the way throughout the grounds, including an elegant Japanese tearoom, a large aviary for exotic birds, and an exclusive retail store where chic and pricy feathered accessories, stylized plumes, decorated eggs, and souvenir knick-knacks were sold.
Tourists were also invited into buildings that housed the feather-working crafts, such as the “dye and curling” factory. And there were other types of production rooms available for tour where dozens of attractive young women, with carefully coifed hair and ‘Gibson Girl’ styled uniforms, worked side by side at long tables, dedicated to strenuous hours of hand-sewing flamboyant and costly feathered fashions. These stylish accessories included plume-covered purses, boas, muffs, ornate fans, and exquisite hats sold exclusively in Cawston’s store on-site or by mail-order.
A visit to Cawston’s Ostrich Farm also included heavily promoted walks through the stables, paddocks, and pens where large flocks of ostriches were kept and made available for visitors to touch, pet, feed, and even ride. Yes, ostrich riding and cart driving were adventures offered to those hearty guests who were far from risk-averse.
Thousands of amusing postcards with photographs of Cawston’s ostriches were produced during this time. Most scenes show tourists riding bareback or bridled ostriches. Many depict entire families cheerfully driving small carts harnessed to one of the giant birds.
However, a closer look at these photographs typically reveals that many of the ostriches were taxidermied and exhibited in elaborate photo-op displays, either outside in the gardens or inside a photography studio. Although ostrich-cart pleasure driving and racing did indeed occur, most ostrich-related riding photography involved stuffed presentations of the giant birds, which kept the overly eager Victorian and Edwardian guests safe from harm.
Cawston’s tourist trade became known worldwide, and as his endeavors blossomed, the entrepreneur eventually exceeded all expectations. He became especially keen on marketing and public relations. One indication of his success came in 1904 when the L.A. Times reported that Cawston had spent $61k in magazine and newspaper advertising alone that year.
Meanwhile, Cawston was quick to point out that he took great strides in caring for every bird on his farm, especially when it came to harvesting those expensive, cherished plumes. Although the term “plucking” was typically used in his promotional materials, Cawston passionately insisted that he had devised a way to cleverly clip the feathers with a special kind of shears so that the birds were handled gently and left unharmed; he stood firm that his birds’ feathers always grew back.
Finally, in November of 1911, Cawston sold all his ostrich farm-related assets at the handsome sum of $1.25 million (the equivalent of about $41 million today) and returned to his native England with his wife and children. Cawston Farms continued to enthrall tourists well into the 1930s but under the ownership and direction of local California bankers.
Edwin Cawston died of heart failure in London about nine years later, in 1920. He was only 54 years old and, at one point not long before his death, listed his job officially as a “retired ostrich farmer.”
Ostrich Plumes in Edwardian and Victorian Fashions
By 1910, the prodigious retail demand for those elegant ostrich plumes increased so that there were ten vast ostrich farms in Southern California alone and other similar enterprises scattered throughout Florida, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Arizona. These U.S. companies also continued to compete with the centuries-long established South African ostrich feather trade that was sold worldwide by this time.
During the Victorian and Edwardian eras, costly ostrich plumes were used throughout the fashion industry as opulent frippery that included dress trims, parasols, boas, and other accessories. Still, the glamorous feathers were especially favored for millinery designs. Entire stores at trendy luxury addresses throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe were solely dedicated to selling various styles and colors of sumptuous ostrich plumes destined for hats. Also, theatrical costumes, especially those worn at burlesque houses, featured lavish and colossal hand fans. These became so popular by the 1920s that they were readily marketed to young and risqué flapper fashionistas.
The 19th and 20th-Century Feather Trade
Something magical happens when ostrich plumes dance along with the wearer’s gentle movement or when even the slightest breath catches hold of the giant feathers. The eyes are instantly drawn to the graceful bowing in the breeze, and the hands yearn to touch the velvety softness; plumes are extraordinarily sensual and sublime.
Fashionable women during the Victorian and Edwardian eras were obsessed with the magnificence of ostrich plumes; these feathers eventually topped every woman’s head, regardless of socioeconomic status. Early on, the finest plumes were so costly that they were compared to gemstones and gold in price. But as time passed, the plume trade expanded, and feathers became available exponentially. Of course, they were especially favored by milliners who used even the tiniest fragments of ostrich feathers on bonnets and hats for their clientele. Indeed, the most lavish plumes were considered the most expensive, and a woman’s household wealth was immediately publicized if only by the style, color, and length of the ostrich plumes that decorated her clothing and accessories.
A hat or bonnet was always required during the 19th and 20th centuries, and millinery salons were seemingly on every corner that purveyed to every pocket. A woman’s chapeau gave creative freedom in self-expression and in a manner considered socially appropriate. With the help of a skilled milliner, every customer could choose a hat that would outline her face and accentuate her best facial features. A hat was a unique, one-of-a-kind work of millinery art that gave an instant glimmering glimpse into the owner’s personality.
Hats were, therefore, often decorated with imaginative artistry regardless of whether they were designed by high fashion designers, local millinery shopkeepers, or homemade. Every woman owned some type of custom-designed bonnet or hat, and likewise, so did their daughters.
Millinery flowers were the typical trim. They were hand-sculpted from silk chiffons, taffeta, and velvets, then hand-painted with dyes in much the same way watercolor paintings are rendered. Foliage was usually made from fine linen that was dyed or hand-painted, then waxed over for a glistening, dewy effect. Creative and often weighty millinery ornaments and the tips of feathers surrounding them were sometimes gilded with genuine gold leaf for that added touch of expensive elegance. And, of course, feathers of every kind and whole taxidermied birds adorned the most stylish hats. One favored design during the 19th century was to decorate a wealthy child’s bonnet with tiny taxidermied hummingbirds. In contrast, adult hats would typically feature larger birds and plumage, especially garnered from the carcasses of the bird-of-paradise and egret species.
In fact, so many millions of birds were killed during the Victorian and Edwardian eras that many avian species became extinct simply due to the business of fancy hat design. Birds such as parrots, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, egrets, toucans, larks, finches, and so many others went extinct, or nearly so, based solely on the use of feathers by the millinery industry. In one account dated about 1895, it was said that 30 million dead birds were imported each year to supply the demands of the millinery trades.
However, a change in attitude ensued when, in 1896, the Audubon Society came into existence due to the protests that emerged against such slaughters. This manifested in the passage of the Migratory Bird Act Treaty of 1918, which ended the practice of killing birds for fashion. However, the feathers could legally remain in the hands of the milliners for use in their designs, so hats continued to be lawfully trimmed with exotic bird feathers until the 1940s.
Notwithstanding, ostriches were not included in these rulings, and as the market for exotic feathers waned, ostrich plumes became all the more popular. Unlike other exotic bird feathers used in fashion, ostriches did not have to be killed to harvest their feathers.
And so, great efforts went into the design elements of the plumes. They were creatively dyed, heat or steam curled, split and gathered, or carefully trimmed and cut into sculptural trims. Finally, and most popular of all, ostrich plumes were willowed.
Enjoyed this interesting article. Beautiful pictures of hats and accessories. It gave much insight to the process of obtaining the feathers.
Interesting!