In 1995, a once-in-a-lifetime collection of early 1900s millinery trims came into our possession when we were fortunate enough to obtain the warehouse inventory of Max Herman and Co. and Successors from 37th Street, NYC. Tucked away in a barn in upstate NY for 50 years were many thousands of feather and flower hat trims. Most were made between WWI and WWII, and many still had their “Paris” and “Germany” labels of origin. (You can read more in this New York Times article.)
During the process of cleaning, sorting, organizing, and selling these trims, we set aside one of each color in each style whenever possible for posterity and stored them in clear, archival, resealable plastic envelopes for conservation and protection. Pictures of the entire collection were taken and uploaded here to serve as an online reference gallery of early 1900s feather work. It includes 394 styles and 2,017 trims. We hope you enjoy this visual reference.