Weathervanes - Part I
Just as yesterday's ladies and gentlemen gowned themselves with hats, so too were their homes, sheds, and barns attired up top. In fact, towards the end of the 19th century, it was an exception to encounter a handsome building that was not adorned with a weathervane on its roof. Seafarers, landlopers, and farmers, consulted their vanes regularly as an indicator of the wind and weather. Today, these valuable old objects fashioned out of copper, zinc, iron, and wood are being removed from roofs where they are at risk from bandits with ladders, and even helicopters, and being sold for big prices. Currently, it is the most coveted category of folk art sculpture.