VOLUME XXXII The Historic NUMBER 4

Collection Quarterly FALL 2015

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ROLLAND GOLDEN: Art of Recovery EVENT CALENDAR EXHIBITIONS & TOURS

CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARD All exhibitions are free unless noted otherwise. The fall concert series will feature Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (September), Banu Gibson (October), and Little Freddie King (November). CURRENT Fridays, September 18, October 16, and November 20, 6–8 p.m.; doors open at 5:30 p.m. From Winnfield to Washington: The Life and 533 Royal Street Career of Huey P. Long $10 admission; free for THNOC members Through October 11, 2015 Williams Gallery, 533 Royal Street SCREENING OF ALL THE KING’S MEN Join us for a free screening of this 1949 classic as part of our programming for the It’s Only Natural: Flora and Fauna in exhibition From Winnfield to Washington: The Life and Career of Huey P. Long. One of Decorative Arts the show’s curators, Amanda McFillen, will introduce the film. Through November 28, 2015 Saturday, September 19, 2–4 p.m. Boyd Cruise Gallery, 410 Chartres Street Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street Curators will lead walk-throughs of the exhibition every Tuesday, noon–1 p.m., through November 24. Free The Katrina Decade: Images of an Altered City FINE PRINT BOOK CLUB SESSIONS Through January 9, 2016 Join photographer David G. Spielman for a fascinating discussion about THNOC’s latest title, The Katrina Decade: Images of an Altered City. Lunch will be provided. All participants Laura Simon Nelson Galleries, are expected to have read the book prior to the meeting. 400 Chartres Street Friday, September 25, and Saturday, September 26, noon–2 p.m. Rolland Golden’s Hurricane Katrina Series: 533 Royal Street A Selection $15 for those who register before September 19, $25 for those who register September 19 or Through January 16, 2016 later. Registration is required. Please call (504) 523-4662 or email [email protected]. Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street

TEXTILE DOCUMENTARY SCREENING PERMANENT Coton Jaune—Acadian Brown Cotton: A Cajun Love Story documents the history of handspun Acadian cotton blankets and the women who made them. After the screening, Louisiana History Galleries the filmmakers and other scholars will lead a discussion of Acadian weaving traditions. 533 Royal Street Saturday, October 17, 9:30 a.m.–noon Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Free; reservations are recommended; please contact [email protected] or (504) 523-4662. The Williams Residence Tour THNOC Architectural Tour LES COMÉDIENS FRANÇAIS LECTURE 533 Royal Street In commemoration of Louis XIV on the 300th anniversary of his death, this annual event Tuesday–Saturday, 10 and 11 a.m., 2 and 3 p.m. will take the form of a musical journey honoring the Sun King. Narrated by THNOC curator Sunday, 11 a.m., 2 and 3 p.m Howard Margot, the concert will feature musicians Daniel Lelchuk, Joseph Meyer, Jaren Philleo of Lyrica Baroque, and harpsichordist Pierre Queval. $5 per person Groups of eight or more should call (504) 598-7145 Monday, November 16, 6–7:30 p.m. for reservations or visit www.hnoc.org. Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street Free; reservations are required; please call (504) 523-4662. UPCOMING LECTURE AND BOOK SIGNING An Architect and His City: Henry Howard’s Nicholas J. Meis will discuss his book New Orleans Hurricanes from the Start, coauthored New Orleans, 1837–1884 with David F. Bastian, which examines the development and effects of major storms November 18, 2015–April 3, 2016 throughout New Orleans history. This event is being presented in conjunction with the Williams Gallery, 533 Royal Street exhibition The Katrina Decade: Images of an Altered City. Saturday, November 21, 2–4 p.m. At Home and at War: New Orleans, 1914–1919 December 9, 2015–May 7, 2016 533 Royal Street Free Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street

GENERAL HOURS 533 Royal Street Williams Gallery, Louisiana History Galleries, Shop, and Tours Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

400 and 410 Chartres Street Williams Research Center, Boyd Cruise Gallery, and Laura Simon Nelson Galleries Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

D The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly ON THE COVER: The Spirit Returns 2007; acrylic on canvas by Rolland Golden, painter The Historic New Orleans Collection, acquisition made possible by the Diana Helis Henry Art Fund of The Helis Foundation, 2008.0109.11; joint ownership with the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Fund, 2007.113.10

CONTENTS

ON VIEW/ 2 Two exhibitions chronicle the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in different ways. An Architect and His City sketches a portrait of New Orleans during the highs FROM THE DIRECTOR and lows of the mid-19th century. Off-Site One of the great things about working at a place like The Collection is our variety of activity. Exhibitions close and events come and go, but the horizon is always full with EDUCATION/ 7 new content and fresh ideas. In July we said goodbye to one of our most affecting A suite of new lesson plans connects New exhibitions, Purchased Lives: New Orleans and the Domestic Slave Trade, 1808–1865. Orleans to its Spanish heritage. The show garnered critical acclaim, national-news coverage, and our third-highest attendance total ever. More than 1,000 visitors came to see it in its final weekend alone, RESOURCES/ 8 and the comments we received in the exhibition guest book were truly humbling. THNOC to launch a new digital collection As we said goodbye to Purchased Lives, though, we were busy preparing for three new of needlework textiles. exhibitions that opened in late summer. Two of them deal with Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, one through the documentary photographs of David G. Spielman. The COMMUNITY/ 10 other features paintings by artist Rolland Golden that we acquired after the storm with On the Job assistance from The Helis Foundation. And, for the first time ever, we mounted a deco- Staff News rative arts exhibition in conjunction with our annual New Orleans Antiques Forum. It’s Recently Retired Only Natural: Flora and Fauna in Louisiana Decorative Arts marks the first multidisci- Become a Member plinary decorative arts show drawn entirely from our own collections, as well as the first exhibition by our curator of decorative arts, Lydia Blackmore. The Antiques Forum On the Scene sold out completely, and we always enjoy bringing together such excellent speakers with Focus on Philanthropy an enthusiastic audience. Donors Though we create a steady stream of events, exhibitions, and publications, some parts of our operation are simply irreplaceable. At the end of June we said goodbye to ACQUISITIONS/ 18 Senior Curator/Historian John T. Magill, who, in addition to serving as resident expert Acquisition Spotlight: an 18th-century on myriad aspects of New Orleans history, formed a huge part of our institutional manuscript exposes France’s contingency memory. I wish John an excellent retirement and thank him on behalf of the entire staff plans for Quebec. for being an invaluable colleague and friend for so many years. —PRISCILLA LAWRENCE Recent Additions ON VIEW

EXHIBITION The Katrina Decade: Images Disaster Response of an Altered City Through January 9, 2016 Two shows at The Collection capture artistic and documentary views of the 2005 levee breaches’ aftermath. Laura Simon Nelson Galleries, 400 Chartres Street As New Orleans and the Gulf region observed, in August, the 10th anniversary of Free Hurricane Katrina and the floods that followed, The Collection mounted two exhibi- tions that examine the aftermath of the disaster in strikingly different ways. The Katrina EXHIBITION Decade: Images of an Altered City features stark black-and-white photographs, by David Rolland Golden’s Hurricane G. Spielman, of houses, lots, and structures affected by the storm. Rolland Golden’s Katrina Series: A Selection Hurricane Katrina Series: A Selection presents colorful, expressive artworks from one of Through January 16, 2016 the region’s most acclaimed contemporary painters. Whereas Spielman strives for objec- Williams Research Center, tivity and verisimilitude in his images, Golden’s paintings mine the teeming pathos and 410 Chartres Street vulnerability of the city as it struggled to recover. Free “They’re both based on observation, but David’s work is, certainly by perception and by his own statements, designed to be neutral,” said John H. Lawrence, director of museum programs. “Rolland Golden’s pictures put you in the scene, as it were. Golden was almost like a painting machine following Hurricane Katrina. The subject and the

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2 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly C D recording of his feelings about it are just an incredible expression of his energy as an artist and his feelings about what happened.” The Katrina Decade grew out of Spielman’s book of the same name, which THNOC published in July, and the Golden paintings’ acquisition was made possible by the Diana Helis Henry Art Fund of The Helis Foundation. THNOC shares joint ownership of the works with the New Orleans Museum of Art. One of the paint- ings was a gift to the two institutions from the artist. Together, the two exhibitions represent the duality of recovery, one experienced by many residents as they worked A. Elysian Fields, Land of the Gods 2006; acrylic on canvas to resolve myriad practical problems while carrying heavy emotional burdens. by Rolland Golden, painter “What [Spielman’s] images can tell us is that although a tremendous amount of acquisition made possible by the Diana Helis recovery has happened in the last 10 years, there is still a lot to go,” Lawrence said. Henry Art Fund of The Helis Foundation, 2008.0109.5; joint ownership with the New “With Golden’s work, people can react to them in a very wide range of feelings and Orleans Museum of Art, the Sydney and Walda emotions.” —MOLLY REID Besthoff Fund, 2007.113.5 B. Death by Drowning 2007; oil on canvas by Rolland Golden, painter gift of Mr. and Mrs. Rolland Golden, 2008.0109.14; joint ownership with the New Orleans Museum of Art, 2007.119

C. West Bank, 2014 photograph by David G. Spielman 2015.0225.13

D. Seventh Ward, 2011 photograph by David G. Spielman 2015.0225.17

E. Helicopter Hands 2006; acrylic on canvas by Rolland Golden, painter acquisition made possible by the Diana Helis Henry Art Fund of The Helis Foundation, 2008.0109.8; joint ownership with the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Sydney and Walda E Besthoff Fund, 2007.113.8

Fall 2015 3 ON VIEW

Growing Up Together In An Architect and His City, THNOC traces the development of Henry Howard’s career alongside the bustling expansion of New Orleans during the 19th century.

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EXHIBITION One of the 19th century’s most prolific architects, Henry Howard (1818–1884)—designer An Architect and His City: Henry of iconic buildings such as the Pontalba buildings flanking Jackson Square and the planta- Howard’s New Orleans, 1837–1884 tions Madewood and Nottoway—called New Orleans home for nearly 50 years. During November 18, 2015–April 3, 2016 this time, the Irish native established his career, left an indelible mark on the landscape of Louisiana, and witnessed the growth of one of America’s greatest cities. The Historic New Williams Gallery, 533 Royal Street Orleans Collection will examine New Orleans as experienced by Howard in its upcoming Free exhibition An Architect and His City: Henry Howard’s New Orleans, 1837–1884, which opens November 18 at THNOC’s Williams Gallery. NEW FROM THNOC When Howard arrived in New Orleans in 1837, the city was the third-largest in America and facing an economic crisis and a yellow fever epidemic. Over the next several decades, Henry Howard: Louisiana’s Architect from the boom of the antebellum years through the upheaval of the Civil War and by Robert S. Brantley with Victor Reconstruction, Howard’s fortunes paralleled those of his city. McGee; photographs by Robert S. “Howard’s career coincided with a period of great change for both New Orleans and the Brantley and Jan White Brantley design profession in which he worked,” explained John H. Lawrence, director of museum The Historic New Orleans Collection programs. “You have the consolidation of New Orleans’s various municipalities occurring and Princeton Architectural Press, 2015 in 1852. From 1836 until 1852, there was a single mayor but three different councils, one $60, hardcover, 8.9 × 12 inches, 352 for each municipality. After consolidation, there was only one council.” pages, 330 color images The city also grew, with the upriver annexations of the City of Lafayette, Jefferson City, ISBN: 978-1-61689-278-4 Carrollton, and across the river to Algiers. With such an increase in size, the city provided Now available at The Shop at plenty of opportunities for builders and designers. One section of the exhibition will The Collection, www.hnoc.org/shop, display tools of Howard’s trade, such as building manuals and design guides. Howard was and local booksellers one of the first professionals to operate solely in the arena of design, rather than serving as contractor as well as architect. As Lawrence explained, at that time, “the profession of architect as we understand it today was only just coming into being in the .”

4 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly A. Canal Street, north side [700 block] (detail) 1873; architectural elevation by Marie Adrien Persac, delineator 1958.78.1.6

B. St. Charles Hotel 1850; pencil and watercolor bequest of Boyd Cruise and Harold Schilke, 1989.79.344

C. Lafayette Square, New Orleans, Louisiana between 1825 and 1899; wood engraving gift of Harold Schilke and Boyd Cruise, 1959.159.1

D. The Cotton Exchange 1873; wood engraving by John William Orr, draftsman 1974.25.3.204

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A companion to the new book Henry Howard: Louisiana’s Architect (THNOC and Princeton Architectural Press, 2015), this exhibition will give special consideration to the city’s architecture, urban growth, and municipal improvements. Featured items will include maps, rare books, and manuscripts, as well as contemporary photographs by Robert S. Brantley, the architectural photographer and author of the newly released Howard book. —TERESA DEVLIN

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Fall 2015 5 O N V I E W

OFF-SITE The Portage’s Progress

The following are holdings that have appeared outside The Collection, either on loan to other institutions or reproduced in noteworthy media projects.

Louis McFaul selected 13 THNOC images for an exhibition tracing the history of the Carondelet Canal, which replaced New Orleans’s found- ing portage route from the bayou to the river. The canal was filled in by the mid-1930s.The Pitot House is mounting the show, which runs through mid-October 2015, to commemorate the in-progress Lafitte Greenway, a bicycle and pedestrian path on the former site of the canal. The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) and Louisiana State Museum borrowed one work Spanish Fort bath house from The Collection for the exhibition Pierre 1923; photograph Joseph Landry: Patriot, Planter, Sculptor, on view by Charles L. Franck Photographers at NOMA October 16, 2015–March 20, 2016. The Charles L. Franck Studio Collection at The Historic New Orleans Collection, 1979.325.6367 Seaman’s Allegory ca. 1834; carved wood by Pierre Joseph Landry, sculptor Author Carol McMichael Reese will include six images from THNOC’s Charles L. Franck Studio Collection 1950.34 in her book Longue Vue House and Gardens: The Architecture, Interiors, and Gardens of New Orleans’ Most Celebrated Estate (Skira, 2015), to be released this November.

Dillard University refectory Operating room in Flint-Goodridge Hospital photograph 1932; photograph by Charles L. Franck Photographers by Charles L. Franck Photographers The Charles L. Franck Studio Collection at The The Charles L. Franck Studio Collection at The Historic New Orleans Collection, 1979.325.1923 Historic New Orleans Collection, 1979.325.1033

By Dawn’s Early Light: Jewish Contributions to Bruce E. Baker and Barbara Hahn reproduced American Culture from the Nation’s Founding four THNOC images for their book The Cotton to the Civil War, an upcoming exhibition at the Kings: Capitalism and Corruption in Turn-of-the- Princeton University Art Museum, will feature Century New York and New Orleans (Oxford three objects from THNOC’s holdings. The University Press, 2015), due out this October. show will be on view February 12–June 5, 2016, in Princeton, New Jersey. Steamboat loaded with cotton Locket with photo of Louis Moreau Gottschalk from The Picayune’s Guide to New Orleans (detail) New Orleans: Picayune Job Print, 1904 between 1867 and 1869 97-381-RL 1979.144.1

6 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly EDUCATION

Tracing the Spanish Tinge For the ninth year, THNOC and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra are working together to connect educators and students to Louisiana’s musical history.

This past February, the ninth installment of Musical Louisiana: America’s Cultural Heritage, The Collection’s annual concert series with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, investigated the centuries-old musical and cultural connections between New Orleans, Spain, and Spanish-speaking places in the Americas. Following the concert, the education departments of THNOC and LPO began the work of turning the concert material into resources for teachers and students, something they have done since Musical Louisiana’s inception in 2007. Taking inspiration from the detailed program notes, writ- ten by Williams Research Center Director Alfred E. Lemmon, as well as from the music itself, the two institutions produced a two-part bundle of lessons that “examine New Orleans and the Spanish world through different disciplines, with music, history, and A culture creating an enriching opportunity for experiential learning and listening,” said THNOC Curator of Education Daphne L. Derven. Geared toward seventh- to ninth-grade students—though easily adaptable to other levels—the “New Orleans and the Spanish World” lessons, six in all, offer different points of entry for educators based on the dominant subject matter: some of the lessons A. Mexican Music 1889; sheet music are more music-focused, whereas others are more applicable to social studies and history Junius Hart, publisher classes. Regardless, all the lessons are designed for flexible use, so that a music teacher can 86-1724-RL feel confident using the more history-focused plan, and vice versa. B. The Tango THNOC’s contribution examines the history of Louisiana as a former Spanish colony ca. 1947; watercolor-on-paper float design and New Orleans’s relationship with its neighbors in the Americas. In creating LPO’s by Alice Peak Reiss, designer portion of the guide, Amanda Wuerstlin, director of education and community engage- gift of School of Design, 1996.67.12 ment for LPO, drew from the music performed at the concert. In the lesson focusing on Hector Berlioz’s Roman Carnival, students are directed to create a “listening map” that diagrams the piece’s many changes in mood, tempo, instru- mentation, and dynamics. The lesson involving “El Choclo (Tango Criollo)” by Ángel Villoldo teaches students to recognize and perform the distinctive habanera rhythmic pattern. The lesson plans are available on the educa- tion pages of THNOC’s and LPO’s websites, and their release coincided with the start of the fall semester, giving teachers time to incorporate the material into their curricula. In addition, an educator workshop scheduled for Saturday, October 3, at the Wdilliams Research Center will allow THNOC and LPO to share their lessons with area educators in greater detail. —ERIC SEIFERTH B

Fall 2015 7 RESOURCES Points of Interest Forthcoming digital collection of needlework images includes the oldest known sampler in Louisiana history.

Scholars, collectors, and fans of women’s textile arts will soon have the ability to study, from the comfort of their homes, The Historic New Orleans Collection’s rich variety of needlework samplers, landscapes, and figure compositions, collected primarily by THNOC cofounder Leila Williams between 1935 and 1965. A group of more than 40 needlework pieces, dating from the 18th through early 20th centuries and including the earliest known Louisiana sampler still in existence, has recently been digitized, and the images will be made publicly available on THNOC’s website. Needlework presents special challenges for digitizing. “People need to be able to see indi- vidual stitches and the details,” said Melissa Carrier, the THNOC photographer who digitized the majority of the collection, “so you have to get it just right.” Those who think of embroidery as essentially a two-dimensional art are mistaken: one mixed-media piece—a favorite of both Carrier and of Decorative Arts Curator Lydia Blackmore, who initiated the digitiza- tion project—boasts nubbly three-dimensional tree trunks and leafy branches, fashioned from chenille, which rise an inch above a landscape featuring two figures rendered in stitches and watercolor on silk. The figures gaze upon a paper cupid attached to the silk. “It’s like a shadow- box,” Carrier said of the early-19th-century piece. “It’s ahead of its time.” The three-dimensional pastoral scene, like many works in the collection, sits in a frame under glass and cannot be scanned but must be photographed in situ. “Shooting through glass is hard,” said Carrier, who used a Hasselblad H4D camera. “Glass has warps, bubbles, scratches, shadows, and reflections,” which obscure the fine stitches crucial to understanding and appreciat- A ing needlework. Many pieces are too large to A. Sampler (detail) capture in one photograph, and Carrier was sometimes required to take and merge as many 1815; embroidery as four images. by Pauline Fortier Sarpy “Most of these works were made to be framed,” Blackmore explained. “The frame and gift of the Leon Sarpy family, 2004.0030 the embroidery are one object—you can’t separate them.” The pieces are usually anony- mous, and curators can only guess where and when a work was made based on its subject and style. “We need to have pictures of the back, too,” Blackmore said. “Most of these are likely in their original frames. Sometimes there are notes about the title or shop [where it was sold]—or sometimes wallpaper or newspaper on the back—that tell more about its past than we can tell from the front.” The earliest known sampler made in Louisiana is neither framed nor anonymous: the artist helpfully stitched her name, the date, and her age: Pauline Fortier (later Sarpy), at the Convent of New Orleans, December 8, 1815, age 10 years. Created as part of her education at the Ursuline Convent School, the sampler was discovered folded up in a family armoire.

8 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly B. Pastoral scene with chenille trees between 1800 and 1830; embroidery The L. Kemper and Leila Moore Williams Founders Collection, 1973.31

C. Children at play mid-19th century; embroidery The L. Kemper and Leila Moore Williams Founders Collection, 1973.70

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Birds, keys, and other subjects typical of samplers share the field with items more specific to her convent education: a ladder, an incense burner, altars, and a cross. While the pieces in Leila Williams’s collection tend to be representative of the genre— florals, pastoral scenes, and allegorical figures—Blackmore said she found herself drawn to those more out of the ordinary, such as a mid-19th-century interior scene in which two girls tickle a sleeping boy’s nose with a feather. A rendition of a curious abstract painting, atypical for its era, hangs on the wall above the children and invites the viewer to wonder what it depicts. Carrier enjoyed working with the mixed-media pieces, both for their aesthetic qualities and for the challenge they presented. “The hard ones were fun, like figuring out a puzzle,” she said. The most difficult piece to digitize was an allegorical scene with four women dressed from different centuries. “The thread is so fine,” Carrier explained. “I had to get the camera really close to get things like the cheekbones and the jewelry, the detail of the sandals. The woman is breastfeeding, maybe? I had to go back and do it again—I wasn’t happy the first time.” A needlepoint depiction of a beggar, created in 19th-century New Orleans, presented a 21st-century problem: the thick worsted wool used to create the stitches resulted in squares that behave like pixels when the image is rendered digitally. The result was a disrup- tive moiré pattern in the image. The solution was to take several photographs at very close range and merge them. The embroidery project was “different from what I’m accustomed to shooting,” Carrier said, pulling up an elaborate 19th-century landscape on her monitor. “Look at the texture. Someone went to all that trouble to make the side of a cliff—you want people to be able to appreciate all that work.” —THNOC STAFF C

Fall 2015 9 COMMUNITY

ON THE JOB Amanda McFillen POSITION: Associate director of museum programs, on staff since 2007 ASSIGNMENT: Co-curate the exhibition From Winnfield to Washington: The Life and Career of Huey P. Long

A. Bloody Sunday—Sept. 8, 1935 February 14, 1994; ink cartoon by Preston Allen “Pap” Dean The Anna Wynne Watt and Michael D. Wynne Jr. Collection, 2013.0027.2.172

B. Revolver belonging to George McQuiston steel, wood The Anna Wynne Watt and Michael D. Wynne Jr. Collection, 2013.0310.2.2 As someone who loves our region’s history, and programming work: I help organize C. “Long Shot, Assailant Slain” I enjoy my role as associate director of our annual Williams Research Center from the New Orleans Times-Picayune museum programs, because I continually Symposium, film screenings, lectures, field September 7, 1975; facsimile reproduction of September 9, 1935, edition learn more about the people, places, and trips, book signings, and more, and I also The Anna Wynne Watt and Michael D. events that shaped New Orleans and the help curate exhibitions from time to time. Wynne Jr. Collection, 2013.0027.2.163 Gulf South. My role includes exhibition This past year I had the chance to work on the exhibition From Winnfield to Washington: The Life and Career of Huey P. Long with my two fellow curators, John H. Lawrence, director of museum programs, and Matt Farah, museum programs assistant. First we decided how we would organize the exhibition as a team. Since we knew we wanted to focus on Huey Long’s life from childhood through his death, and not just on his 17-year political career, we divided the exhibition into three sections. John curated the section on Long’s early life, Matt covered his political career, and I curated the part that dealt with his death and legacy. I began researching and surveying our holdings to see what kinds of material— objects, photographs, paper ephemera—we had related to Long. Thanks to recent donations, we have some wonderful new material, such as a great candid photograph A of Long sitting in the amphitheater of his

10 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly STAFF NEWS

New Staff Christopher L. Deris, associate preparator. Dale Gunnoe, head beloved Louisiana State preparator. Karyn Murphy, develop- University, and a revolver B ment associate. Jenny Schwartzberg, and suit jacket that belonged education coordinator. Heather M. to Long’s bodyguard George McQuiston. Szafran, reference assistant. Eric We borrowed several items from Tulane I also planned Tallman, security manager. University, the University of New Orleans, programming for and Louisiana State University, including the general public Changes a Share the Wealth Society enrollment that related to the Susan Eberle is now collections card and a handwritten death threat. I also exhibition. On July processor. Matt Farah is now contacted the WPA Film Library and was 12 we screened the museum programs assistant. able to obtain four short newsreel clips that documentary 61 Bullets, which explores Robert R. Gates III is now associate feature Long at various public events. I’m the circumstances and aftermath of Long’s preparator. Kara B. LeBeouf is happy that we were able to feature these death, and held a panel discussion with now associate preparator. clips in the exhibition because he was a very the filmmaker, Yvonne Boudreaux, as well powerful speaker, and it’s easy to see why as two of the film interviewees, Michael Publications people were drawn to him and why he was Wynne and Alecia Long. On September 19 Erin M. Greenwald published a so successful in gathering public support. we’ll screen the 1949 classic based on Long’s review of Brett Rushforth’s Bonds Once John, Matt, and I had chosen career, All the King’s Men. of Alliance: Indigenous and Atlantic our objects for the exhibition, we worked From Winnfield to Washington will be on Slaveries in New France in Louisiana with our registration and preparation display through October 11, and I hope History 56.2 (spring 2015). departments to design the installation you can come to The Historic New Orleans and coordinate the movement of artifacts Collection to see it. Creating an exhibition Robert Ticknor, reference assistant, within the museum. The preparation goes far beyond the work of a curator, or has taken up responsibility for writing department uses software that allows us curators. It’s truly a team effort. —AMANDA the history feature in French Quarterly to create 3-D models of our galleries and MCFILLEN magazine. For years, the articles were our objects so that we can work together to written by Senior Curator/Historian plan the layout well in advance. John T. Magill, who recently retired. Once our text panels were written we sent them to editors in our publications Honors department to be reviewed. The most In May 2015, Lauren Noel, market- important qualities that we want in our ing associate, earned a master of arts written text are accuracy, brevity, and degree in English, with a concentra- consistency in style. Our editors reviewed tion in professional writing, from the the labels and gave us feedback, and we University of New Orleans worked together until the text panels and labels were ready to be printed for Listening on the Edge: Oral History the exhibition. in the Aftermath of Crisis (Oxford Finally, once the exhibition was University Press, 2014), co-edited by mounted, John, Matt, and I met with our Senior Curator/Oral Historian docent staff to walk through the exhibition Mark Cave and Stephen Sloan of and answer any questions they had about Baylor University, was awarded the the objects in the show. The docents begin Oral History Association’s 2015 learning about each exhibition long before Book Award. Cave wrote the intro- it opens to the public, so that they are very duction, as well as a chapter related familiar with the topic and able to answer to The Collection’s oral history efforts any question a visitor might have. C following Hurricane Katrina.

Fall 2015 11 COMMUNITY

a bachelor’s degree in 1969, he pursued a throughout his THNOC career, in gallery master’s degree, also at UNO. Magill credits talks; television, radio, and internet appear- Professor Joseph Tregle for encouraging him ances; book clubs; professional meetings; to study New Orleans history. and almost every other type of gathering “I’ve always loved the histories of cities,” that brings people together for the apprecia- he said. “From the time I was a kid, I loved tion of Louisiana’s history.” the history of San Francisco and other As Magill rose through the ranks—from major cities like London and New York, cataloger, to head of the Williams Research as well as Honolulu, where my great-aunt Center’s Reading Room, to senior curator/ lived, and Auckland, New Zealand, where historian—he built lasting friendships with my mother was from. What interested his colleagues. “I don’t know anyone who me about New Orleans was not its overall doesn’t like John,” said Arceneaux. Maclyn history but how it grew and developed.” Le Bourgeois Hickey, curatorial conser- Magill’s longtime colleague and friend vation coordinator, remembers her first Pamela D. Arceneaux, senior librarian/ encounter with Magill fondly: “The day I rare-books curator, elaborated on Magill’s met John Magill, July 21, 1987, is the day he fascination with the development of urban became my friend, and so he remains.” infrastructure: “John has a real interest in Magill’s retirement promises to be filled sewerage, paving, drainage—you know, the with academic and personal enrichment. He yucky, unglamorous stuff—how buildings will continue to serve as a researcher for the are built, how they are serviced, the devel- Carnival organization Mystick Club and RECENTLY RETIRED opment of electricity, the transferral from will become the historian for a local social John T. Magill kerosene lamps to gas to electric power.” club. He has several writing projects in the Magill was hired as a curatorial cataloger works and one dream book project: a history For the past 30 years, “Ask John Magill” has by The Historic New Orleans Collection of New Orleans from 1880 into the 1930s. been the default response among THNOC in 1982, specializing in the cataloging of “I feel that is when the New Orleans that staff members to queries about New photographs. Because of his familiarity with we know today was really evolving,” he said. Orleans history. “John’s vast knowledge and the urban development of the city, as well His colleagues have plans for him as well: instant recall of much of the city’s history as a burgeoning interest in fashion history, “His daily presence at The Historic New is matched only by the wide range of his he became adept at identifying the dates Orleans Collection will be sorely missed,” interests: urban history, population move- of photographs by sight. At his retirement said Erin M. Greenwald, curator/historian. ments and census counts, city infrastructure party, Judith H. Bonner, senior curator, “I wish him the best of luck in this next (both above and below ground), the growth reminisced about this distinctive skill: “If phase of life and look forward to a contin- of retailing, neighborhood development, I showed a photo to John and said, ‘This ued friendship punctuated by long lunches Mardi Gras, plagues, and disasters, to cite street scene is dated 1916,’ he would say, at local restaurants.” —MARY M. GARSAUD just a few,” said John H. Lawrence, director ‘No, that can’t be 1916; the air-conditioning of museum programs. So, when the staff unit didn’t go on top of that building bid a happy retirement to Magill in June, it until 1917.’” was with gratitude for his many years as an From his first days at THNOC, Magill invaluable resource to both the public and immersed himself in The Collection’s his colleagues. holdings. “There was no such thing as a Born in New Orleans, Magill was raised computer when I arrived here; we barely in California. When his father retired from had a card catalog,” he said. “I’d play the , the family moved guessing games with the photography back to New Orleans in the early 1960s, holdings: could I identify the picture with- and Magill entered business school at the out looking at the back? And progressively University of New Orleans (then LSUNO). I became more knowledgeable about our “I wanted to go into advertising, but I strug- curatorial holdings.” gled in my business courses,” Magill recalled. Magill’s colleagues and the larger “My advisor pointed out, ‘You do really well community quickly came to appreciate in these history courses, of which you’re this knowledge. “Sharing what he knows John T. Magill and longtime colleague Pamela D. taking too many.’ So, I dropped out of busi- is one of John’s most admirable qualities,” Arceneaux, senior librarian/rare-books curator, clink ness and went into history.” After receiving Lawrence said. “His sharing has occurred glasses at Magill’s retirement party in June.

12 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly Participants in the New Orleans Antiques Forum’s preconference tour explored the picturesque Hilaire Lancon House, located on Bayou Teche in Franklin, Louisiana.

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS Founder Individual $35 Become a Member Founder Family $65 Full membership benefits BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP Family memberships are for one or two All members of The Collection enjoy the following benefits for one full year: adults and any children under 18 all residing • complimentary admission to all permanent tours and rotating exhibitions in a single household, or for one member • special invitations to events, trips, receptions, and exhibition previews and a guest. • complimentary admission to the Concerts in the Courtyard series • a 10 percent discount at The Shop at The Collection Merieult Society $100 • a subscription to The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly Full membership benefits plus: • a special gift HOW TO JOIN Visit www.hnoc.org and click the Support Us link or complete the enclosed envelope and return Mahalia Society $250 it with your gift. Full membership benefits plus: • a special gift • private, guided tours (by appointment)

Jackson Society $500 Full membership benefits plus: • a special gift • private, guided tours (by appointment) • free admission to all evening lectures

Laussat Society $1,000 Full membership benefits plus: • a special gift • private, guided tours (by appointment) • free admission to all evening lectures Jack Pruitt, Janine Skerry, • invitation to annual gala and Tom Savage at the 2015 New Orleans Bienville Circle $5,000 Antiques Forum Full membership benefits plus: • a special gift NORTH AMERICAN RECIPROCAL MUSEUM PROGRAM • private, guided tours (by appointment) Members of the Merieult, Mahalia, Jackson, and Laussat Societies and the Bienville Circle receive • free admission to all evening lectures reciprocal benefits at other leading museums through the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) • invitation to annual gala program. These benefits include free member admission, discounts on concert and lecture tickets, and • lunch with the executive director discounts at the shops of participating museums. Visit www.narmassociation.org for more information.

Fall 2015 13 COMMUNITY

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Henry Howard Launch On June 9, The Collection celebrated the release of Henry Howard: Louisiana’s Architect, copublished with Princeton Architectural Press. C D I. Dorothy Ball and author/photographer Robert S. Brantley ON THE SCENE J. John Adcock, Mercedes Montagnes, Robin Forum Fans and Riedlinger, and Tootsie Burk K. Will Widmer and Jeanne Firth Heralding Howard L. Tana Coman, John Menszer, and M. L. Eichhorn Antiques Forum Over four days in late July/early August, decora- tive arts lovers gathered for the 2015 New Orleans E Antiques Forum. A. Anne and Ron Pincus B. Paul Leaman and Marilyn Dittmann C. Hunt Slonem and Annette Blaugrund C D. Ellen Denker and Bradley Brooks E. Nanette Shapiro and Neal Alford F. Beth Carver Wees, Michelle Erickson, and Rob J Hunter F G. Keil Moss, Andrée Moss, and Ceil and Tom McGehee H. Katie McKinney, Jennifer Rebuck, Caryne Eskridge, Hannah Boettcher, and Philippe Halbert

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14 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly primarily in the Carrollton neighborhood. wanting to learn more about my city and Her paternal grandmother, Fabiola Pilié, state,” she said. lived one block away, and she was a font of Her love of history abided through the genealogical knowledge. “I grew up with the busy years of getting married, moving to history of my family,” Williams said. “My Hawaii, Washington, DC, and back home grandmother would share stories with me, to New Orleans, and raising four children— and I absolutely loved it.” Emilie, 34, Conrad, 33, Courtney, 29, and Pilié gave her children carefully David, 27, all of whom she discusses with researched family trees, written out in a the same excitement and pride she has for tabular format with generations extending her forebears. Williams has been and is still left to right. There, one can see the names active in many historical and literary orga- of Ignace Broutin, who came to Louisiana nizations, including the Daughters of 1812, in 1725 as a royal surveyor and designed which has commemorated the Battle of New the original Ursuline Convent, and Pierre Orleans with a wreath-laying ceremony for Denis de la Ronde, fils, one of the signers of over a century, most recently this January, Louisiana’s first constitution. with British diplomats in tow for the 200th Williams’s pride in the de la Ronde branch anniversary of the battle. “I was one of the FOCUS ON PHILANTHROPY of the family led to a formative experi- youngest when I joined [the Daughters], Jeanne Williams ence following her graduation from Loyola but I loved it because I love learning,” she University, where she majored in history said. “Every meeting I went to, I’d learn Jeanne Williams’s family tree is like a and education. Knowing that she wanted to something about my family history or New magnificent live oak, one she’s explored become fluent in French, she decided to learn Orleans history.” with tireless curiosity and prideful owner- the language in the country itself, in the Williams brought her zeal for learn- ship. She knows, for instance, that her town of her de la Ronde ancestors, Tours. She ing to The Collection when she became ancestor Louis de la Ronde accompanied arrived with little more than “the name of a a volunteer, in 2006. Common Routes: St. Iberville on his 1699 voyage up the mouth school where foreigners could learn French,” Domingue–Louisiana was her first exhi- of the Mississippi River—it says so in and, after staying in a hostel for a while, met bition, and she quickly fell in love with Iberville’s own journal from the expedition. an older couple, Jean and Ginette Blanc, the institution. “I love working with The In the parlor of her uptown New Orleans who, though extremely formal in manner, Collection,” she said. “The people are home are impressionist paintings by her instantly felt like family. “From the first wonderful. They do everything first class, great-great-aunts, Emilie and Marie de moment, it was a match made in heaven,” and they are exceptionally good stewards of Hoâ LeBlanc, who were among the first said Williams, who still keeps in touch with everything they have responsibility for.” Newcomb Pottery artists and whose faces Jean, as Ginette has passed on. “History is a series of links in a chain,” she and hands were immortalized in plaster by The experience prompted Williams to said. “It’s important that someone in each Ellsworth or William Woodward (only the become a tour guide when she returned to generation makes sure that the chain isn’t signature “Woodward” is inscribed on the New Orleans. “I came from Europe really broken.” —MOLLY REID back). In The Collection’s Counting House hang the two oldest known portraits of French colonists in Louisiana history, her relatives Pierre Denis and Marie Madeleine Broutin de la Ronde. Williams’s love of family and history suffuses her work, home, and recreation; she sees herself as a bearer of the knowledge gathered and preserved by previous generations. “Learning my roots, for me it’s a very visceral thing,” Williams said. “I feel attached to the earth, I feel that history, and I think it’s my purpose to carry that on.” Williams’s affection for history and genealogy started in childhood. One of 14 children—she’s number seven—she was born in New Orleans and grew up Plaster casts of Williams’s great-great-aunts, Newcomb artists Emilie and Marie de Hoâ LeBlanc

Fall 2015 15

COMMUNITY

DONORS April–June 2015

The Historic New Orleans Collection is honored to recognize and Garrity Print Solutions, A Harvey Hotel Monteleone thank the following individuals and organizations for their financial Company Judge and Mrs. Henley A. Hunter and material donations. Karen Walk Geisert and Gene Mr. and Mrs. R. Andrew Jardine Geisert Michael S. Jones Patricia and Jeremy Gelbwaks Jane Adams Jackie Brice Marie Louise de la Vergne George E. Jordan Melissa A. Gibbs Samson Alexander Dr. Andrea Starrett Brown Susan B. Deckert Madeline and David Jorgensen Jean M. and James H. Gibert Anonymous Elizabeth and Kemper Williams Patricia C. Denechaud Peter Colt Josephs Brown George D. Gibson Dr. E. Ramon Arango Kathleen L. and Richard A. Jeanne and Mark Juneau Mr. and Mrs. Robert N. Bruce Jr. Derbes Henry W. Giles Jr. Pamela D. Arceneaux Evie M. and A. Keith Katz Frances M. and John M. Bruton Ana-Maria C. Dobrescu Virginia C. Goodwin and Tim Jeanne M. Ardoin Gilbride Dr. Nina M. Kelly Tootsie Burk Linda Donnels Geraldine P. Aucoin Mr. and Mrs. Pat Gootee Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Killeen Mike Cafferata and Mark Monte Nancy Donnes Jacqueline Provosty Avegno Priscilla and Nathan Gordon Nancy Kirkeby Amelia M. and Neil C. Cagle Judith S. and Jeffrey R. Doussan Tiki and Arthur J. Axelrod Marianne Green Kristine Kolva-Bartleson Cahn Family Foundation Inc. Elizabeth A. Drescher Jenny Bagert and Dave Sobel Janice Donaldson Grijns Ronald G. Kottemann Donna Kay Campbell Margaret M. Dziedzic and James Clinton Bagley James Emile Guercio Corine Kuehlthau Shirley G. Cannon Marunowski Karan Bailey Russell B. Guerin Carole and George Kulman M. Nell Carmichael Dr. and Mrs. Valentine Earhart Judy Bajoie Dr. and Mrs. Frank A. Hall Jenny and Barry L. LaCour Marilyn D. Carriere J. Peter Eaves Baptist Community Ministries Rhonda S. Hall Jon G. Laiche Charles Case and Phillip St. Bernard E. Eble III Björn Bärnheim Cloud Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Edwards Steven Halpern Nora Nolan Lambert Jeanette and Robert Barras Cesar A. Castillo Louise N. Ewin Dr. and Mrs. William Hammel Elizabeth M. and James C. Landis Baskerville Janice and John Catledge Deborah Fagan Margot E. Hammond Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Langley Lawrence E. Batiste Rodolphe Chamonal Sonny Faggart Mrs. Roger P. Hanahan Dr. Margot C. LaPointe and Joan W. and Roland Becnel Roger Zauel Heidi and Samuel Charters Col. and Mrs. Walter G. Fahr Rebecca and Wayne Hanley Deena S. Bedigian John H. Lawrence Chris Christian and Rick Ellis Kay Fallon Ronald Harrell and M. Christian Judge Peter Beer Mounger Elsie L. Layton Mrs. William K. Christovich Dr. Ina J. Fandrich Col. and Mrs. Joseph Bekeris Martha Harris and Morgan Lyons Mr. and Mrs. Clyde H. LeBlanc Sarah Churney Jean M. Farnsworth Aimée and Michael Bell James Harvey Lorraine LeBlanc Rosemary Ciaccio Michael Fedor Marjorie P. Belou Cameron Hatch Pierre LeBrument Jerald L. Clark Sheila Ferran Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel V. Capt. Clarke C. Hawley Lili LeGardeur Mrs. John F. Clark III Dr. Terrance “Terry” and Merle Benjamin III Sam Hazell Justice Harry T. Lemmon and Susan Clements Fippinger Susan and Stephen Bensinger Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon Gary Hendershott College of DuPage Mr. and Mrs. Michael Fitzpatrick Myrna B. Bergeron Henri M. Louapre Polly and Dan Henderson Linda and Martin Colvill Helen Flammer and Raúl Fonte Cheryl M. and Dixon B. Betz Dr. J. Bruce Lowe The Herman and Seena Lubcher Mr. and Mrs. James P. Conner Mr. and Mrs. Harold Jude Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Beyer Flanagan Charitable Foundation Inc. Cynthia C. Lucas Colleen M. Coogan Kellie Martin Bieber Joanna and Carl Foltz Mr. and Mrs. John H. Hernandez Maison Dupuy Donna Capelle Cook and Tony Christopher G. Bird Kevin Herridge Mamsie and John Manard S. Cook Dr. R. Fortier-Bensen and Sylvia Eric R. Bissel Bensen Judith Talbot Heumann Drs. Jamie M. Manders and William C. Cook James M. Riopelle Stanley Blackstone Mr. and Mrs. Barry M. Fox Dr. Donald R. Hickey Asta V. Cotonio Howard M. Margot C. J. Blanda Fred W. Smith National Library Earl J. Higgins Mr. and Mrs. Ralph C. Cox Jr. for the Study of George Donald M. Marquis Drs. Erin Boh and Corky Willhite Washington History Antiques and Interiors Angela Crowder Nora Marsh and Julian Doerr Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bonner Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Gregor Hoffman Dave Crowley Gregg J. Frelinger Mutter Alice Robichaux Bonneval Nancy A. Hogarth Dr. Sammy R. Danna Dr. Phillip F. Fuselier Kimball P. Marshall, PhD William E. Borah Mona H. Hollier Joe Darby Laura Fussell Edward F. Martin Isabelle and Lester Bourg Lanier L. Hosford Dr. A. C. Davis Jackson R. Galloway James A. McAlister Angela Bowlin Susan K. Hoskins Jan E. Davis Betsie Gambel Gretchen McAlpine Nina Bozak Hotel Management of New Eileen M. Day and Alan J. Cutlec Lesa Gamble C. James McCarthy III Mrs. Philip Breitmeyer II Orleans

16 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly

Celia and Colin L. McCormick Brooke Randolph Sticking Up For Children Tribute Gifts Drs. Georgia McDonald and Sherman Raphael Elizabeth Stout Tribute gifts are given in memory or in honor Andy Mayer Adrienne Mouledoux Rasmus Lenora Costa Stout of a loved one. Dr. Graham J. McDougall Jr. and Ronald C. Rasmus Jenepher Stowell Bank of New Orleans in memory of Lissa Christine Capo Ceil and Thomas C. McGehee Deborah Rebuck Mary Lee Sweat Adelaide W. Benjamin in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer Adrian McGrath Leslee K. Reed Frances Swigart Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bonner Jr. in memory of Lissa Christine Capo Robert E. McWhirter Dr. and Mrs. Richard J. Reed Jim Tapley Marcie duQuesnay, Ralph Cox, and Members of Bourgeois Virginia B. Meislahn William Reese Mr. and Mrs. William M. Tebow Bennett LLC in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer Evelyn Merz and John Berlinghoff Dr. James L. Reynolds Patrick Thibodeaux Sandra Douglas Campbell in memory of James R. “Reggie” Milling Benson Woodward LLP Dr. Frederick A. and Suzanne Campbell Sheryl L. Thompson Rhodes III Jennifer A. Mitchel and Scott M. David N. Capo in memory of Lissa Christine Capo W. Howard Thompson Ratterree Nijme Rinaldi Jaimee Carreras in memory of Lissa Christine Capo Mr. and Mrs. James W. Thornton Dick Molpus Robert E. Rintz Center for the Study of the Black Belt, the University of West Lawrence J. Torres Jr. Elizabeth P. Moran Carolyn and Louis N. Ritten Alabama, in honor of Kevin T. Harrell, PhD Maria Michele Triche and Richard Matthew B. Moreland and Florence Robinson Deborah C. Conery in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer Bretz Marshall C. Watson Jr. William W. Rosen Carl M. Corbin Jr. in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer Julia Triplehorn Mary Martin Morrill Ruth S. Rosenthal Debbie and Rick Courtney in memory of Lissa Christine Capo Wade Trosclair Cynthia D. Morris and Thomas Dr. Marianne and Sheldon L. Claudia J. D’Aquin in memory of Lissa Christine Capo R. Klei Mr. and Mrs. John J. Uhl Rosenzweig Margo Delaughter in honor of Jennifer Navarre Roxanne Mouton Mary Ann Valentino Royal Antiques Ltd. Coaina and Tommy Delbert in memory of Lissa Christine Capo Dr. Gordon H. Mueller Joseph Bayer Vella Virginia Dare Rufin Terry and Mike Fontham in memory of Lissa Christine Capo Lilian and John E. Mullane Julie Vezinot Eva Rumpf Linda, George, and Paul Hebbler in memory of Lissa Christine Capo Patricia Murphy Mary Vicroy and Pat Whelan Marilyn S. Rusovich Lanier L. Hosford in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer Craig W. Murray Colette D. Villere-Ford Mr. and Mrs. Shelby Russ Jr. Claudia K. Kheel in honor of Mallory Taylor and John H. Lawrence Patricia Mysza and Alan Audrey Voelker Elizabeth H. and John H. Ryan Chad Leingang in memory of Lissa Christine Capo Freedman Eleonora B. Vogt Sylvia Ryan LSU Health Science Center Foundation in memory of Lissa Katherine B. Nachod William E. Wadsworth Gordon Sandrock Christine Capo Neal Auction Company Inc. Dolores J. Walker Mary Satterlee LSUHSC School of Medicine in memory of Lissa Christine Capo The New Orleans Advocate Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ward Alvin Schaut Dominic Massa in memory of Lissa Christine Capo Cynthia L. Nobles Dr. William W. Waring Juliane Deare Schexnayder Emily McCulloch in memory of Lissa Christine Capo Teri and Randy Noel Leo Watermeier Dianne Schlosser Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Moerschbaecher III in memory of Lissa Phoebe O’Brien Elfriede S. Westbrook Christine Capo Florence and Richard Mr. and Mrs. Michael R. O’Keefe Schornstein Josette and Brad White Frances N. Salvaggio in memory of Lissa Christine Capo Dr. Joseph F. O’Neil Jane Schramel Walter H. White III Leslie D. Schroth in memory of Lissa Christine Capo Martin B. Oramous Lisa Schwartzberg Dwayne Whitley William Solomon in honor of James and Carolyn Solomon Carol Osborne Betty-Carol Sellen Catherine A. Whitney St. Charles Ave. Association’s board members in memory of Lissa Christine Capo Shyrlene and Michael Oubre Naif Shahady Marylyn Geiser Wiginton Robert H. Staton in honor of Judith H. Bonner Mary Kay and Gray S. Parker Annelies J. Sheehan Frank Williams Effie M. Stockton in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer Mrs. Godfrey Parkerson Dr. Alan E. and Joan Sheen Jason Williams Lucile and Harry Trueblood in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Patrick F. Taylor Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Barry J. Siegel Noël B. Williams Fischer Dr. Gene F. Pawlick Leatrice S. Siegel Shelly Wills Officers and directors of the Whitney Bank in memory of Elizabeth Donald Payne Lindy and Jon Silverman Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Wilson Nicholson Fischer Chadwick Pellerin Kate Simister Edie and John M. Wilson Judy D. and Sidney L. Pellissier Norma and Bob Simms Nancy T. and Charles C. Wilson Bookplates Robert S. Perkin Dr. Vaughan Baker Simpson Dr. James M. Winford Jr. Dr. William J. and Joan R. Perret Diana Smith Dr. and Mrs. William J. Woessner Donations are used to purchase books that will be Ashton Phelps Jr. Gayle B. Smith Nancy G. Wogan marked with a commemorative bookplate. Mrs. William K. Christovich in memory of Richard J. “Dick” Capt. Robert Phillips and Juan Patricia and Edwin Soulier Jack Hamilton Working Barona Brennan Sr.—Louisiana Eats! The People, the Food, and Their Southern Foodways Alliance Toni Wright Stories, by Poppy Tooker (Gretna: Pelican, 2013) Carlton Polk E. Alexandra Stafford and Melody Young and Steven D. Mrs. William K. Christovich in memory of Frances Collens Curtis— Judith and Frank S. Pons Raymond M. Rathlé Jr. Martin Old Limoges: Haviland Porcelain Design and Décor, 1845–1865, by Demetrius Porche Harriet and Norm Stafford Barbara Wood and Robert Doares (Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2005) Darlette and William Powell Tom Stagg Mrs. William K. Christovich in memory of Mary S. Fitzpatrick—New Karen L. Puente Orleans, Days and Nights in the Dreamy City: Locals Share Their Howard C. Stanley Favorite Places, by Mary Fitzpatrick and Virginia McCollam (New Linda and Corky Pugh Dennis Stark Orleans: Preservation Resource Center, 2013) Phyllis Raabe and William T. Anne D. and Richard B. Stephens Abbott Clare B. and John A. Stewart Jr.

Fall 2015 17 ACQUISITIONS

Related Holdings ACQUISITION SPOTLIGHT When France Was Down, a Scheme to Move Quebec South

Quebec, Fur Trapping between 1860 and 1899; wood engraving by Alfred Rudolph Waud, draftsman 1977.137.18.410 i,ii

Pierre Clément de Laussat Papers 1693–1835; manuscript collection MSS 125

Carte Du Canada et de la Louisiane Qui Forment Essai sur les moyens de transporter à la a minister or other high official at court, la Nouvelle France et des Colonies Angloises Louisiane la Peuplade du Canada . . . . stresses in his arguments the considerable 1756; engraving with watercolor 2014.0352 size of the French Canadian population: the by Jean Baptiste Nolin Jr., publisher 1982.18 1739 census had counted 39,683 inhabitants, In 1758, things were not going well for a number that he estimated to have risen Villars Family Papers France’s colonial enterprise in Canada: to well over 53,000 by 1758. (By contrast, 1668–1934; manuscript collection 95-3-L halfway through the French and Indian the population of Louisiana did not reach War, she had already lost Acadia (Nova 48,000 until 1795.) Scotia) to the British and, in spite of The author notes with pride how the recording an important military victory relatively small French Canadian popula- that year at Ticonderoga, had good reason tion had held out so long against the British, to fear further territorial losses. This with their standing army of 10,000 men and 40-page manuscript essay documents the North American population of at least one little-known historical fact that the French, million—these were colonists worth saving! guarding against the possibility that they Nevertheless, the document provides clear might lose their Canadian colony alto- evidence that the French feared the loss of gether, had a contingency plan for moving their stake in Canada. These fears and more the entire French Canadian popula- were realized in 1763 when France, having tion south into both the upper (Illinois already ceded Louisiana to Spain, was forced Country) and lower () to cede all of Canada to Great Britain. provinces of Louisiana. The two known The author viewed the migration of the variants of this manuscript are both in the Quebecois as necessary to prevent British Acts of the Royal French Administration French National Archives: one 10-page expansion westward; provide needed agricul- concerning Louisiana 1717–1771; manuscript collection version and one similar in length to The tural products; and expand commerce and MSS 268 Collection’s. The unsigned author, likely preserve the beaver-pelt trade. The author

18 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly ACQUISITION SPOTLIGHT RECENT ADDITIONS When France Was Down, a Scheme Louisiana Purchase Announcement, to Move Quebec South Bicycle Songs, and Merieult’s Trade Woes

acknowledges that authorities will have to Despite the gravity of the news related in persuade inhabitants to leave their homes this broadside, there was still space available by appealing to their patriotism and their in the lower right corner for three Baltimore distaste for English customs and religion, merchants to promote their wares. and by extolling the advantages of living Broadsides printed on large sheets of in a milder climate with greater agricul- paper were meant to disseminate infor- tural opportunities. According to the plan, mation quickly, were intended for wide the Canadians would be offered a large distribution, and were soon discarded. number of inducements to move south, These ephemeral announcements rarely including generous land grants, complete survived past their immediate release, freedom of trade with Indians, exemp- and no other extant copies of this one are tion from taxes and fees, the rescinding of known. —PAMELA D. ARCENEAUX certain trade monopolies, and the permis- sion to sell Louisiana tobacco in France. In Carta de las Costas de . . . el Golfo the most surprising incentive mentioned in de Mexico the document, colonists would have been 2014.0250 able to form deliberative assemblies to ensure equitable distribution of their privi- Telegraphe Extraordinary This rare Spanish admiralty chart of the leges, with a special deputy at court who 2014.0039 Gulf Coast dates to 1846. The extent of the would voice their opinions and complaints map runs from the old province of Nuevo to the Minister of the Navy. This arrange- The Telegraphe, a newspaper published in Santander, in northern Mexico, along the ment would have given them a much more Baltimore between 1795 and 1807, issued northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico to fair and democratic existence than any of a special broadside extra on Saturday St. Joseph’s Peninsula in northern Florida. their brethren in France at that time could morning, October 22, 1803. Less than 48 Despite its publication date, the engrav- have hoped for. hours earlier, the United States Senate had ing itself must have been completed prior Compelling as this document is in its formally approved the Louisiana Purchase to the United States’ annexation of Texas, broad strokes, it is often most fascinat- Treaty, immediately doubling the size of in December 1845, because “Republica de ing in its details: the lament that France the young nation as well as obtaining the Texas” appears in the northwest corner of spent five million pounds a year importing strategically important port city of New the map. tobacco from Holland and England; the Orleans. This recently acquired special issue The longitude and latitude of the entire admission that French sea captains charged is likely the second printing of the momen- northern Gulf Coast is used to delineate double the going rate to transport slaves tous news, preceded only by the printing the various bays and rivers detailed in the to the New World; and the suggestion— of the treaty in the capital city’s leading engraving. Bays from the northern Gulf clearly unsubstantiated—that silkworms, newspaper, the National Intelligencer, and Coast of modern-day Mexico and southern cochineals, and camels would all thrive Washington Advertiser, on October 21. Texas—Corpus Christi, Matagorda, and in the Louisiana climate. Several of the Entitled Telegraphe Extraordinary, Galveston—are included, along with a observations on flora and fauna—not all the broadside states, “Yesterday at about of them chimeric—match almost verba- 5 o’clock, P. M. the Senate ratified the tim reports made by French Louisiana LOUISIANA TREATY; twenty four votes officials to the new French intendant, in the affirmative, and seven in the nega- Pierre-Clément de Laussat, more than 40 tive. . . . We congratulate our fellow-citizens years later. Did these clichés originate with on the prompt approbation given by the the early French naturalists and writers of Senate to this important act.” The full text travel memoirs, then make their way to of the treaty follows, giving the names of Laussat’s era via retransmission in docu- its architects, Robert R. Livingston, James ments like this one? —HOWARD MARGOT Monroe, and François Barbé-Marbois.

Fall 2015 19 depiction of the Rio Grande delta. In and praised the healthful pleasures and indepen- around Louisiana, the chart shows details of dence of bicycle riding. The cyclist’s life, as the Sabine River and its delta, as well as the depicted in “The Wheelman’s Song,” is “one Mississippi River from Natchez to the delta unfading spring /Green and blooming till below New Orleans. its close.” The map includes depth soundings, One of the recently acquired pieces, “The coded by water color and clarity, through- Bicycle March” (2015.0159.4), written by out the portion of the gulf shown, but the Laurent L. Comes in 1892, is “respect- majority cluster around the Louisiana, fully dedicated to the New Orleans Bicycle Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida coasts. Club.” The club, organized in the 1880s, The soundings surrounding the Mississippi had more than 80 members in 1892, when River delta and Mobile and Pensacola Bays it built a clubhouse at the corner of Baronne must have been especially helpful to seamen and General Taylor Streets. The event navigating those waters. —MATT FARAH was important enough that Mayor Joseph Shakspeare came and laid the cornerstone Bicycle Sheet Music for the building, and the dedication cere- 2015.0159 mony was written up in the Daily Picayune. was seized, her private cargo, a shipment It seems likely that the sheet music was of cochineal dye—red pigment derived The development of the bicycle in the produced to commemorate that event. This from insects—was allowed to remain in second half of the 19th century had a acquisition complements The Collection’s Merieult’s possession, provided he deposit in profound impact on the society and culture scrapbook from the Louisiana Cycling Club the city treasury a promissory note equal to of those pre-automobile decades. Providing (98-62-L), a different bicycling group in the dye’s value. Unfortunately, the tropical a healthy and enjoyable way to exercise, not New Orleans active around the same time. climate—and a considerable delay between to mention a relatively inexpensive method —ROBERT TICKNOR the time of the property’s seizure and that of of transportation, bicycles prompted the its release—caused much of the perishable growth of a subculture of enthusiasts, called Jean-Francois Merieult Petition to the cargo to spoil and lose more than half its wheelmen, who organized rides, held races, Duke of Santa Fe Regarding Business value. Hoping to find a more favorable trade and formed cycling clubs. During this time, Losses environment in a neutral European port, before the advent of radio, sheet music 2014.0289 Merieult subsequently shipped the remain- was a common means of bringing popular ing cochineal dye to Hamburg. When a song into the American home. The recent While traveling in France in 1808, promi- second ship, the Tanner, made the return acquisition of 18 pieces of bicycle-themed nent New Orleans merchant and slave trip to Vera Cruz, the new Spanish viceroy, sheet music shows how the two trends trader Jean François Merieult (1756–1818), Félix Berenguer de Marquina, illegally merged for a short time around the turn for whom The Historic New Orleans seized its cargo, the contents of which are of the century. With titles such as “The Collection’s Merieult House was built, not specified in Merieult’s letter. Pretty Little Scorcher” and “The Crackajack met the Duke of Santa Fe, Miguel José de Traveling first to Madrid and then to March and Two Step,” these songs often Arzana (1745–1826), a former viceroy of Paris in search of restitution, Merieult New Spain who was then serving as Spanish contended he was the victim of unfair ambassador, based in Paris. Two years later, trade practices and government corrup- Merieult wrote to Arzana to seek his aid tion. Spanish officials, feeling Merieult had in securing reparation for financial losses already profited handsomely, quickly tired sustained while attempting to ship goods of his pleas for additional relief, yet Merieult through the port of Vera Cruz. struggled for years to convince foreign offi- Merieult and his business partners had cials to compensate him for his losses. been responsible for the shipment to Havana Merieult’s letter to the duke complements of $150,000 in government funds aboard other related holdings, including his certifi- the brigantine Martha. The vessel departed cate of citizenship (2008.0100.29), a legal Vera Cruz but, in order to evade a British statement he gave at the US Consulate in blockade, took refuge in the Mississippi Paris (2008.0100.26), and an illustration by River, where Juan Ventura Morales, inten- Boyd Cruise of the Merieult House, which dant of New Orleans, ordered the currency serves as The Collection’s Royal Street to be offloaded and deposited in the city entrance (2004.0078.2.4). —M. L. EICHHORN coffers. While the Martha’s public cargo

20 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly Dar Pelgar (detail) The Historic New Orleans 1878; needlework Collection Quarterly by Rosa Klock gift of the Director’s Residence, Tower Grove Park, 2010.0228 EDITOR Molly Reid

DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Jessica Dorman

HEAD OF PHOTOGRAPHY Keely Merritt

ART DIRECTION Alison Cody Design

The Historic New Orleans Collection is a nonprofit institution dedicated to preserving the distinctive history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South. Founded in 1966 through the Kemper and Leila Williams Foundation, The Collection operates as a museum, research center, and publisher in the heart of the .

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