We received a reference question from the National Audubon Society that we were not about to answer, but it's an interesting question so I wanted to pose it to the list. Apparently the Audubon Society was formed in Boston in 1896 when Harriet Lawrence Hemenway started a movement among her friends to stop wearing hats with bird feathers on them (they were highly fashionable at the time and birds were being killed for their feathers). The organizing going on in Boston caught on and women across the country started promoting milliners who sold birdless hats, lobbying for protective legislation, and working to change what was considered fashionable. Jenna Weissman Joselit relates this story in "A Perfect Fit: Clothes, Character and the Promise of America," although it may be in other books as well. The Audubon Society staffer who contacted us is looking for an "audubonnet," the term given to the non-feathered hats that the Audubon Society ladies encouraged milliners to make as an alternative. She thought we might have one since the movement started in Boston. Does anyone know of an institution that owns an audubonnet, or any other artifacts/ephemera (milliner ads?) related to the birdless hat movement? 1899 and 1900 would probably be the likeliest years for such hats, although inclusive dates would be 1896 to 1906ish. It may be that very few hats were actually labeled "audubonnet" in some way, even though there might be a number of birdless hats out there that were created in response to this movement--I just don't know for sure at this point. Thanks in advance for any help with this question. Rainey Tisdale Collections Manager The Bostonian Society 206 Washington Street Boston, MA 02109-1773 617-720-1713 x24 617-720-3289 Fax For more information about The Bostonian Society, or to become a member, visit our website: www.bostonhistory.org ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).