Sydney Gazette, 11 August 1825

Not an occupation I can find out much about. Feather curlers were used by milliners to produce suitable feathers for their hats. However, if you read down through these advertisements you’ll see they’re offering a different, if related, service. Bearing in mind here, hats were necessary fashion accessory, and if yours was looking a bit run down, you could get it cleaned and the feathers refreshed or, presumably, replaced, without the expense of buying a new hat. You could even get feathers dyed and new trim added to help a favourite hat become fashionable again.


Sydney Herald, 18 March 1834

As above, the service was often provided as part of a dressmaking or millinery business, but at other times, particularly later in the century (see the bottom ads), feather cleaning, curling and dying is the whole business. I guess it was a good occupation for a woman wanting to support herself in a smaller city.


Sydney Morning Herald, 8 April 1851


The Star (Ballarat), 9 December 1861


Ballarat Courier, 11 March 1870


The Mercury (Hobart), 10 November 1873


Cornwall Advertiser (Launceston), 10 September 1875


The Mercury (Hobart), 24 April 1880


Launceston Examiner, 3 September 1880


Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton), 2 January 1883


The Record (South Melbourne), 8 June 1883


Tasmanian News (Hobart), 21 September 1885


Bendigo Advertiser, 11 January 1890


Brisbane Courier, 26 December 1896


The Clipper (Hobart), 22 November 1902

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