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OverviewFor 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. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Malcolm SmithPublisher: Michigan State University Press Imprint: Michigan State University Press Dimensions: Width: 17.80cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 25.40cm Weight: 0.658kg ISBN: 9781611863475ISBN 10: 1611863473 Pages: 194 Publication Date: 30 January 2020 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsReviewsRevelatory and ambitious, Hats exposes the diabolically efficient network of plumage hunters and fur trappers that girdled the late nineteenthcentury globe. No bird or beaver was safe--and all for the sake of a hat. --TESSA BOASE, author of Mrs Pankhurst's Purple Feather: Fashion, Fury and Feminism--Women's Fight for Change Author InformationMalcolm Smith is a biologist, a former chief scientist and deputy chief executive at the Countryside Council for Wales, and a former board member of the Environment Agency, Europe's largest environmental regulator, for England and Wales. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |