Heal and Son have just completed the erection of machinery for the purifying of feathers on a new principle, by which the offensive properties of the quill are evaporated and carried off in steam; thereby, not only are the impurities of the feather itself entirely removed, but they are rendered quite free from the unpleasant smell of the stove, which all new feathers are subject to that are dressed in the ordinary way.
Old beds re-dressed by this process are perfectly freed from all impurities, and by expanding the feathers the bulk is greatly increased, and consequently the bed rendered much softer.
The following are the present prices of new feathers:
Mixed, 1s per lb
Grey Goose, 1s 4d per lb
Foreign Grey Goose, 1s 8d per lb
Best foreign Grey Goose, 2s per lb
Best Irish White Goose, 2s 6d per lb
Best Dantzic White Goose, 3s per lb
Heal and Son’s List of Bedding, containing full particulars of weights, sizes, and prices, sent free by post, on application to their establishment, 196, opposite the Chapel, Tottenham-court-road.
Daily News, London 24 October 1846
Irish waterways history 