“Falling into Feathers”: Jews and the Trans‐Atlantic Ostrich Feather Trade Author(s): Sarah Abrevaya Stein Source: The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 79, No. 4 (December 2007), pp. 772-812 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/521065 . Accessed: 14/04/2015 15:12 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Modern History. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 128.97.227.198 on Tue, 14 Apr 2015 15:12:14 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions “Falling into Feathers”: Jews and the Trans-Atlantic Ostrich Feather Trade* Sarah Abrevaya Stein University of Washington On August 30, 1912, Isaac Nurick shipped seven cases packed with 1,708 ostrich feathers from Oudtshoorn, in the western Cape, to London. The cases, which would sail aboard the Saxon, bore his trademark, which featured Nur- ick’s initials and the first letter of his town. The feathers, and six more cases besides, were to be received by the National Bank of London and sold at public auction in December, likely by one of Nurick’s favored brokerage firms, Figgis & Co.