I wondered if this lamp ‘shade’ was made of ostrich feathers.
You don’t see ostrich feathers often anymore. In South Africa, ostrich feather dusters are quite common but that’s about it.
South Africa still has ostrich farms for meat and leather, but the days of the huge ostrich palaces built on the fashion for ostrich feather boas and hat ornamentation are long gone.
At all elegant Assemblies there is a room set apart for the lady visitants to put their feathers on, as it is impossible to wear them in any carriage with a top to it. The lustres are also removed upon this account, and the doors are carried up to the height of the ceiling. A well-dressed Lady who nods with dexterity can give a friend a little tap upon the shoulder across the room without incommoding the dancers. The Ladies feathers are now generally carried in the sword case at the back of the carriage. – Times, Dec 29, 1795. [read the rest about feather fashion here]There was a huge feather market hall in the city where I grew up but it is now a convention centre. The market used to hold auctions, and the sold feathers then left on ships from the nearby harbour.
Feather auction, 1920s
During the feather boom of the late 1800s, 450 000kg of feathers were exported per year. Ostrich farmers became immensely rich and built huge feather palaces.
After the world wars the boom ended and now the only export remaining is meat and leather.
