Plumes : Ostrich Feathers, Jews, and a Lost World of Global Commerce

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The thirst for exotic ornament among fashionable women in the metropoles of Europe and America prompted a bustling global trade in ostrich feathers that flourished from the 1880s until the First World War. When feathers fell out of fashion with consumers, the result was an economic catastrophe for many, a worldwide feather bust. The authors draws on rich archival materials to bring to light the prominent and varied roles of Jews in the feather trade.