Historical
Reminiscing with Robert B. Hitchings
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Bird Cages
"He called his jug of whisky a birdcage because it had many swallows in it."
The Virginian-Pilot, November 11, 1909
Last month I was in a thrift shop while waiting for my car’s inspection. I walked over from Casper Auto Works to the Thrift Shop. In one of the display rooms I happened to see a quaint, wooden, small birdcage, very clean and unusual. The price had been marked down to $2.50. I quickly snatched this precious gem up. At home my wife immediately fell in love with the birdcage.
Birdcages have been around since ancient times, especially in Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome, India and China. During that time rare birds were often kept especially for religious reasons. But in Europe birdcages were a sign of wealth for the aristocracy. Many birds were kept for their beautiful plumage and singing ability. However, it would be the canary bird that was often the favorite with its beautiful, bright, yellow-orange, plumage and singing ability.
My neighbors, the Barrett’s, had a blue parakeet that seemed to have the roam of the house. At night he was tucked away in his birdcage with a cover so he could sleep. This was in the 1950s. That bird always landed on my head as I entered their living room!
As I stared in amazement at this wooden and well-crafted birdcage, memories started coming back of favorite birds that were caged by Norfolk’s wealthy. My grandmother, Elizabeth Knight Hitchings (1878-1967), told me that many wealthy individuals on Granby and Freemason Streets had bird cages in their back yards. One caged bird that was most popular was the Virginia mocking bird with its lovely singing. Everyone loved to sit back and listen to its beautiful chirping at night. Many a host and hostess took pride in their small summer parties with jack o’lanterns and homemade lemonade or homemade ice cream being cranked in a wooden bucket by the host. Sitting in a well-cut-kept yard talking and listening to the mocking bird sing in the distance made the summer months most enjoyable. I also remember Grandma had in her Victrola cabinet a record called, Listen to the Mocking Bird by soprano Alma Gluck of the Metropolitan Opera. And as a child, I cannot forget the background music of the cartoons of Heckle and Jeckle cartoons. They were called magpies. Years later a Virginia law was passed that prohibited the caging of the Virginia mocking birds.
And one cannot forget the stories of Polly Parrots in cages, mocking the human voice. Grandma stated, when she lived with her family on Church Street and later Marina Street, her family has a pet bird called Polly, a beautiful green parrot. Yes, Polly was a wonderful bird up until it accidentally escaped out of its cage. Months later a policeman told Grandmother’s father of a parrot that had been in the hands of the prisoner’s city jail on City Hall Avenue. Yes, this was the pet bird of the family and everyone was thrilled to have Polly back home. But Polly had been with prisoners in Norfolk’s city jail for a whole month. It was not too long when Polly quickly displayed her new vocabulary of words that shocked the family. Polly had quickly picked up many four-letter words from her new prison mates. Yes, this was most embarrassing. As grandma would say, “These words would stop an eight-day clock. Polly had to go!
In February 19, 1903, there appeared a large article in The Virginian-Pilot with bold headlines, “A Real Vampire Is in Captivity Here.” A Norfolk man had purchased a bat from the island of Java in the East Indies. The bat was kept in a fancy birdcage that had no perch. This bat hung upside down. It’s the size of an ordinary rat, the newspaper reported. Whoever this Norfolk citizen was, he wanted to remain anonymous. According to the reporter, this bat was not a pleasant thing to look at. It was ugly! Frankly speaking, after reading the article I think the audience and reporter had been reading too much of Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula.
However, on July 5, 1904, The Virginian-Pilot carried an interesting article about the ever-growing business of saloons in our area. Around the early 1900’s saloons represened the largest number of small enterprises in the United States. And each saloon has in the back room a birdcage and a large round table where poker was played, not to mention the roulette table.
Over the years birdcages have been prized for their decorative appeal. In many countries, like China, the birdcage has been liberally decorated for the bird. Beautifully made, these cages reflect the era they were made. In Hong-Kong there is a special street where the residents display their birds and their beautiful antique birdcages. This happens to be a favorite stop for tourists visiting the old section of Hong Kong.
The old birdcages, charming, whimsical, elegant and so attractive represent an ancient art and a very contemporary preoccupation with our feathered friends. Looking at these old antique cages, they can transform something so simply built into something magical reflecting another era long ago.
And this article on birdcages all started when I purchased one simple wooden birdcage from the local thrift shop for $2.50.
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Robert B. Hitchings is a seventh generation Norfolk resident, graduating with an Associate's Degree in Biology from Old Dominion University and BA in history from Virginia Wesleyan University. During his studies he was awarded a scholarship at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, England, and he was an exchange student at Brooks-Westminster College, Oxford, England. From 1999-2014 he worked as head of the Sargeant Memorial History Room at Norfolk Public Library, and since then has headed the Wallace History Room at Chesapeake Public Library. He is also the President of the Norfolk County Historical Society, and for six years was a columnist for The Virginian-Pilot. Robert may be reached at nchs.wallaceroom@gmail.com