History

It has been said that seeing a weather vane in your dream is an indicator of unpredictability or the feeling of going around in circles. However, most of us just dream of owning a building worthy of topping with a magnificent weathervane.

Luckily, today there is a seemingly endless variety of weathervanes in all styles and colors, suited for anything from the most humble backyard shed to the most imposing of structures. There are even weathervanes designed purely for garden ornamentation.

We have been looking upwards to our weathervanes for many centuries. Many point to depictions of a weathervane effigy of the Greek god Triton atop the Tower of the Winds in Athens in 48 BC as being one of the earliest artistic weathervane designs. Their first use, of course was practical. In early history, people were very close to nature and learned that a changing wind was a predictor of weather. Small banners were used to gauge the wind. In Old English, these were called fana. The word much later evolved into vane and thus weather vane.

Church steeples being the tallest structures in most villages, open to the wind and viewable from all directions, came to serve as a likely location for the community weathervane. Often these weathervanes became known as weathercocks as they bore a rooster as ornament.

This sort of ornamentation played out in all manner of designs, forms and effigies as folks displayed symbols of their cultures and traditions on their weathervanes.

In North America, the early colonists settled along the coast. Not surprisingly, their weathervanes depicted whales, sea birds, ships, lighthouses and other maritime themes. As the country expanded westward and moved to a more agrarian culture, the weather vane designs soon began to depict farm animals like pigs and cows. Of course the one creature most often depicted, regardless of the setting, has always been the beloved horse.

Today, there seems to be no end to the variety of subjects depicted on our weathervanes. Whatever your interest, vocation, profession or even budget, there’s a weathervane, wind vane or weathercock that will personalize your special place while adding a dash of accent and style in the bargain.

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