History of the Ostrich Trade
Ostrich & Leather Trading uses various types of leather in its products, one of the more popular being the exotic Ostrich leather.
The Ostrich has been roaming the earth since prehistoric times and is endemic to Africa. Oudtshoorn, a town in the Little Karoo in the South of South Africa, is considered the capitol of Ostrich farming in the world. The feathers were originally harvested from the wild free roaming wingless birds. Around 1850 these birds were caught and domesticated for their plumage. At this stage the feathers were the rage, especially in Europe where the likes of Queen Elizabeth 1 of England and Queen Marie Antoinette of France were particularly partial to this status-symbol. Around the end of the 19th century the demand for ostrich feathers dropped significantly and after WWII the ostrich trade extended to marketing the skins and the meat.
Ostrich leather is regarded as an exotic leather product alongside crocodile, snake, lizard, camel and emu among others.
The preparation and tanning of Ostrich skins is a lengthy, intricate, specialised and expensive process providing the exceptional quality of our Ostrich leather products. The leather is distinctive for its pattern of bumps or vacant quill follicles, ranged across a smooth field in varying densities.
Stay safe, until next week…………
Sharon