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Spring 2012 2 Number XXIX Volume The QUARTERLY TWAR...... 6 Antiques Forum...... 10Acquisitions...... 16 THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANSCOLLECTION

INSIDE Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of

ay 1961, and one tune was sitting pretty atop M both the R&B and pop charts: “Mother-in-Law” became the first hit by a New Orleans artist to rule black and white airwaves alike. Ernie K-Doe was only 25 years old, and his reign was just beginning: decades after releasing his only number-one hit, he crowned himself Emperor of the World. A decade after his death, lovers of New Orleans music remain his loyal subjects. Journalist Ben Sandmel takes read- ers backstage in an intimately framed biography, the latest release from The Collection’s publications department. Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of New Orleans features exclusive interviews with Ernie, his family and friends, and more than one hundred musicians, including , Aaron Nev- ille, and Dr. John. The book is already generating buzz, with Eric Overmyer, cocreator of HBO’s Treme, observing that “Ben Sandmel has captured and conveyed the loopy genius, linguistic and musical, that was Ernie K-Doe. . . . The he Mother-in-Law Lounge, which prose is lively, the quotations generous, Tthrived in K-Doe’s image until the photos and graphics spectacular. This 2010, was a place that filled visitors is one of the five essential books on New with giddy wonderment. Their delight Orleans culture. You gotta get it.” ensued from the lounge’s welcoming In its broad outlines, K-Doe’s story environment and the surreal sensory parallels that of his beloved, beleaguered overload that walloped all who crossed city. He rose, fell, and rose again. He the threshold. This physical entrance weathered storms and lingered long after doubled as the conceptual portal into most considered him down and out. Ernie K-Doe’s eccentric parallel uni- Ultimately, Ernie K-Doe believed in verse—a festive, Fellini-esque realm himself and inspired confidence in oth- where shameless idolatry and unfettered ers. His core message was the indomi- happiness reigned supreme. (“There’s a tability of the human spirit, the belief lot of love in here” was a frequent, typi- that all things are possible with faith and cal reaction of first-time visitors.) The motivation. harmonious interactions of the diverse The following excerpt from the patrons affirmed them in the tradition book tells the story behind its protago- of Huey P. Long’s credo “Every Man a nist’s breakout hit, “Mother-in-Law.” King.” Or, as Ernie K-Doe often put it, “All you got to do is just keep the faith You know what you say when people tell in what you are doing. You set your goal you you can’t do something? ‘Fool, shut line, and don’t let nobody change you. your mouth up!’”

2 Volume XXIX, Number 2 — Spring 2012 Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of New Orleans This resolute stance helped propel Ernie K-Doe through years of scuffling before “Mother-in-Law” hit the top. It also helped sustain him through the long, lean years after his star had faded. He nur- tured himself during these tough times with glorious memories of May 1961, when “Mother-in-Law” became the best- selling record in America. The best-selling record in two Americas, actually—white and black—as delineated by Billboard magazine’s separate sales charts for pop and R&B. “Mother-in-Law” topped both charts, ruling pop’s Hot 100 for a single week and dominating the R&B survey for five. In pop it unseated Del Shannon’s “Runaway” and was in turn replaced by Ricky Nelson’s “Travelin’ Man.” (No other New Orleans artist, not even Fats Cover: Detail, Ernie K-Doe publicity photo, ca. 1961, courtesy Antoinette K-Doe. Domino, had ever reached this peak Opposite: Book cover photo by Cheryl Gerber, design by Alison Cody; “Mother-in-Law” sheet music, ca. 1961, courtesy Jurgen Koop. Above: K-Doe, King of Krewe du Vieux, with a song recorded in New Orleans. 2001, photo by Pat Jolly. Domino, in fact, despite his frequent lofty chart positions and astronomical sales, If K-Doe’s disdainful sentiments never had a number-one record.) On the in “Mother-in-Law” flirt with libel, his R&B side, “Mother-in-Law” displaced terse and deceptively cool delivery belie ’s “One Mint Julep” and was its caustic message. In New Orleans In 2010 The Collection bumped by Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me.” speak, this state of obvious annoyance— launched the (Charles and K-Doe would compete again which, as alert observers realize, could Musicians Biography Series at the Grammy Awards, when Charles’s imminently escalate into fireworks— to document the region’s rich “Hit the Road Jack” was voted best R&B is often telegraphed with the warning musical heritage. The first title, recording of 1961, leaving “Mother-in- “You are working my last single nerve!” Unfinished . . . Memories Law” as an also-ran.) K-Doe’s ominously understated, last- ON SALE of a New Orleans Music Man by Compared to these hits and most single-nerve delivery is complemented Harold Battiste Jr. with Karen others of the day, in both pop and R&B, by the sparse, less-is-more arrangement Celestan, won the Outstanding “Mother-in-Law” has very blunt lyrics. of producer Allen Toussaint. Toussaint, Contribution to Publishing Though tame by contemporary stan- a New Orleans savant award from the Black Caucus dards, they raised eyebrows in the early who emerged as a major creative figure of the American Library ’60s, especially overseas. The English in American , also plays Association in 2011. Both music weekly Melody Maker opined piano on “Mother-in-Law.” His lilt- Unfinished Blues and Ernie that “Mother-in-Law” “has made a big ing solo echoes the Afro-Caribbean- K-Doe are available for sale at showing in the States—more, we feel, influenced styles of such seminal New The Shop at The Collection on account of its simple melodic appeal Orleans pianists as and independent booksellers and rocking beat than the libellous sen- (Ferdinand LaMothe) and Professor nationwide. timents it contains.” But London’s New Longhair (Henry Roeland Byrd). A cen- Musical Express praised the song as “a cute tury before “Mother-in-Law,” the same comedy number in which Ernie tells his folk traditions had inspired the classical mother-in-law a few home truths about compositions of native son Louis Moreau herself.” Gottschalk.

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 3 Above: A crowd gathers outside Gallier Hall for K-Doe’s funeral procession, July 13, 2001, “Mother-in-Law” was so popu- photo by Tabitha Haggerty. Below: K-Doe and Billy Delle, WWOZ-FM, May 1990, photo by lar that it inspired two “answer songs”: Paula Burch-Celentano. “Son-in-Law,” by the girl group the Blossoms, also recorded by Louise Brown (“the other day he even hocked her wedding ring”), and “Brother-in- Law (He’s a Moocher),” by rockabilly artist Paul Peek (“He’s lazy, won’t work, never had a job—get out of my house, you big fat slob”). “Mother-in-Law” is still considered a classic of overlapping genres, including R&B, pop, rock, and the loosely defined “beach music” of the Carolina coast. It has been reissued on at least a hundred anthologies and con- tinues to spawn new renditions, includ- ing several Spanish-language versions, commonly titled “La Suegra.” In New Orleans, where the borders between musical genres are extremely porous, bands of every sort are asked to play “Mother-in-Law.” They’re expected to know it, along with K-Doe’s regional hits “T’aint It the Truth,” “Hello My Lover,” “Te Ta Te Ta Ta,” and “.” None of these other fine songs

4 Volume XXIX, Number 2 — Spring 2012 achieved national success comparable to that of “Mother-in-Law,” but all are per- petual Gulf Coast favorites. Collectively they established the reputations of Ernie K-Doe and Allen Toussaint as masters of New Orleans rhythm and blues. This was no small achievement at a time when that field was quite crowded. A vast surge of creativity and commer- cial success energized the Crescent City from the late 1940s to the early ’60s, an era later dubbed the golden age of New Orleans rhythm and blues. A cursory list of its other luminaries includes , , Shirley and Lee, , , , , , , Huey “Piano” Smith, Frankie Ford, and Clarence “Frogman” Henry. and Dr. John, who emerged in the late ’60s, and and Herman’s Hermits. And he created K-Doe and his fans, the Warehouse, New (with siblings Aaron, Art, Charles, and a substantial and lasting legacy of top- Orleans, 1974, photo by Michael P. Smith, Cyril), who formed a decade later, also notch rhythm and blues recordings. . . . 2007.103.1356 stand in that illustrious number. So do Ernie K-Doe recorded “Mother-in- Everyone involved with recording the musicians who accompanied these Law” on April 25, 1960. But the song “Mother-in-Law” agreed that Toussaint artists on many of their records: saxo- that would become his signature tune sat hastily scrapped the song when K-Doe phonists and Nat Perrilliat, on the shelf for nearly a year before its didn’t take to it immediately. Beyond drummers and Smokey release, and it almost wasn’t recorded at this point of agreement, the narra- Johnson, bassists and Lloyd all. Accounts of the genesis of this epic tive road quickly forks again. Toussaint Lambert, and guitarists , number diverge on several key points. has repeatedly stated that singer Willie Justin Adams, and “Deacon” John For the most part, K-Doe claimed to Harper retrieved the song from the trash Moore, to name but a few. have written “Mother-in-Law” himself, and persuaded Toussaint to try it again. Ernie K-Doe felt thrilled when referring to his grim experience with his K-Doe, of course, credited himself; who “Mother-in-Law” reached the top. He own mother-in-law Lucy (or Lucifer, as else would have had the prescience to felt gratified decades later by its staying he called her) as ample proof of author- rescue the creased and crumpled lead power. But he never ever felt surprised. ship. Sometimes he simply cited Allen sheet from the wastebasket? “Don’t you “There ain’t but two songs that will stand Toussaint as the writer, acknowledging, never think,” K-Doe raved, “that I don’t the test of time,” K-Doe often declared. “There wouldn’t be no Ernie K-Doe if know what I’m doing. I could make ’em He would then pause at considerable dra- there wasn’t no Allen Toussaint.” In a or I could break ’em, I could throw ’em matic length before naming them: “The third, more complex version, K-Doe in the trash can and dig ’em out again first song is ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’ claimed to have originated the concept like I did ‘Mother-in-Law’! Oh, that was and the second song is ‘Mother-in-Law.’ and then coached Toussaint on how to a blessed day, that day I dug ‘Mother- Because people gonna have a mother-in- get it down on paper. in-Law’ out the trash can! It made Ernie law until the end of the world.” Toussaint’s recollection includes no K-Doe all over the world, and that’s why When the song hit number one, such collaboration, nor any real-life expe- I’m Ernie K-Doe today!” Toussaint, with Ernie K-Doe became a respected peer rience, on either K-Doe’s part or his own. typical tact and forbearance, offered of his R&B idols. He began performing “It was odd,” he told journalist Steve a differing account: “The story that at prestigious venues around America Wildsmith, “because I wasn’t married at ‘Mother-in-Law’ had gone in the trash and in the Caribbean. He cast a signifi- the time, so I had no mother-in-law. It is not fiction. But who pulled itout is cant shadow of musical influence over was just a joke used on television a lot in fiction.” Europe, especially the nascent world of those days—‘Take my mother-in-law . . . the British Invasion; in the UK his songs please!’ [The song] was such a huge suc- were covered by the likes of cess, but it came from such an odd place.”

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 5 Williams Prize

Lake Douglas’s Public Spaces, Private Gardens: A History of Designed Landscapes in New Orleans (Louisiana State University Press) has received the Kemper and Leila Williams Prize in FromFrom thethe DirectorDirector Louisiana History. Douglas, who teaches at LSU’s Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture, employs written accounts, archival data, historic photographs, lithographs, maps, and city planning documents—many of them previously unpublished— to explore public and private outdoor spaces in New Orleans and particularly satisfying aspect of contributing this the people who shaped them. A column is the opportunity to, quite simply, brag about Named for the founders of The Historic New Orleans The Historic New Orleans Collection. As you can see from Collection, the Williams prize is offered annually by THNOC our many activities recorded in the Quarterly, a commit- and the Louisiana Historical Association. Since its inception in ted and accomplished group of colleagues—the staff of The 1974, the prize has recognized excellence in research and writing Collection—works tirelessly to bring a variety of services to on Louisiana history. Recipients receive a cash award of $1,500 the public. In doing so, The Collection continues to earn and a plaque and are honored at the LHA’s annual meeting each kudos for its commitment to preserving the history and March. Public Spaces, Private Gardens is available for purchase at culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South. Our publica- The Shop at The Collection, 533 Royal Street in New Orleans, tions win awards and our research center receives continual www.hnoc.org or (504) 598-7147. acclaim for its service. Recently, several organizations have recognized The Collection for its collections and its visitor experience. On January 26 the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association presented The Collection with the 2011 Travel and Tourism Industry Louey Award for Travel Attraction of the Year. More than 300 members of the state’s tour- ism industry were on hand to see The Collection accept the award at the 2012 Travel Industry Summit at the Shreveport Convention Center. “To receive a Louey is truly an honor,” said Darienne Mobley, coexecutive director of LTPA. “It is one of the few awards in Louisiana that exclusively recog- nizes the accomplishments of tourism professionals across the state.” In its January issue Antiques and Fine Arts magazine named THNOC’s acquisition of an early 19th-century silhouette of statesman Thomas Bolling Robertson (see New Issue! page 16) one of the nation’s top 20 acquisitions of 2011. Other institutions recognized alongside THNOC were the The release of the 2012 issue of the Tennessee Williams Annual , the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Review marks eight years of fruitful collaboration between J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of The Historic New Orleans Collection and Dr. Robert Bray of Art. Middle Tennessee State University. The journal’s cover image, Also in January, readers of New Orleans magazine voted from THNOC’s Fred W. Todd Tennessee Williams Collection, THNOC one of the top three museums in the city, along catches the famed playwright, in dark sunglasses, during a relaxed with the World War II Museum and the New Orleans moment on the set of The Rose Tattoo (1955) with actors Burt Museum of Art. Then, in February, readers of Country Lancaster and Anna Magnani and, far right, his partner Frank Roads magazine named THNOC their Favorite French Merlo. The 2012 issue features an analysis of Williams’s treat- Quarter Cultural Experience in the magazine’s annual ment of Italian American themes in Tattoo—along with probing Favorite Things contest. essays on Rose Williams’s medical diagnosis, Tennessee’s debt to We are certainly proud of this recognition and thank European painting, and the celebration of the Williams cente- all of you for your presence and your support! nary on the New York stage. Submissions for the 2013 issue are —Priscilla Lawrence due July1; visit www.tennesseewilliamsstudies.org for guidelines.

6 Volume XXIX, Number 2 — Spring 2012 A series of three images showing change over time at 521 Royal Street. The photograph to the far right, by John Watson Riley, was captured specifically for the digital version of the Vieux Carré Survey.

A Beloved Resource Finds New Life in the Digital Realm

he Vieux Carré Survey com- Access Database to hold the data and ship of curator Howard Margot. As new prises 130 large binders con- begin the survey’s transition from the data and illustrations become available, T taining information on the physical to the digital realm. the digital survey is capable of expand- properties bounded by Canal Street, The conversion was challeng- ing to embrace them. Rampart Street, Esplanade Avenue, and ing—time consuming and labor inten- Perhaps the most striking change, the Mississippi River—information sive. Fortunately, the Collins C. Diboll however, is the flexibility of the digital including chain of title, images, maps, Private Foundation stepped up to assist survey. A searchable website—created charts, and historical building survey with the financial challenges of the proj- by David Martin of NolaFlash—allows data. No other resource among The ect. The foundation’s generous support searches not only by location but also Collection’s holdings is more frequently made it possible to complete the trans- by property owner, owner’s status as a used by visitors to the Reading Room formation of the survey. Over the course free person of color, architectural rating, of the Williams Research Center. Yet of 13 years, a total of 53,794 property building material, and, in limited cases, the survey has certain limitations. One transactions were entered into the data- sale price. The database also allows for is inherent in the structure of the data: base to recreate the nearly 3,400 chains key-word searches; queries can be made researchers can easily access information of title—and approximately 10,000 on building names and business types, about discrete addresses, but the lack of photographs, diagrams, and documents for example. Contextual information on an index prohibits targeted searches for were scanned and linked to property the block and city square in which any other terms. Another limitation looms records. given property is located, a hallmark of in the physicality of the resource itself: The digital version of the survey the original survey, remains a vital fea- the overstuffed binders and their pages does not simply replicate the original; it ture of the database. are fragile and worn from years of use. expands upon it. In 2010 The Collection The Vieux Carré Survey has taken With two goals in mind—pres- hired photographer John Watson Riley on new life as the Collins C. Diboll ervation and increased access—The to photograph every property in the Vieux Carré Digital Survey, accessible Collection’s systems department con- Vieux Carré. Additional visual docu- via the internet at www.hnoc.org/vcs. ducted an extensive analysis in 2000 to mentation includes several maps and We invite you to search at your leisure— determine how best to digitize the Vieux plans of the French Quarter. Chains of and for your pleasure! Carré Survey. Charles Patch, former title, which had stopped circa 1980, are —Carol Bartels director of systems, designed a Microsoft being updated under the ongoing leader-

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 7 Fine Prints from the Permanent Collection

he Historic New Orleans Collection From the late 1890s many print- Characteristically, no two monoprints celebrates 38 printmakers who makers focused on the Vieux Carré, are created alike. During this process T worked in Louisiana from the including British-born Léon René the print must be transferred quickly late 19th century to the present in Fine Pescheret (1892–1971) and Bulgarian to paper or the ink may dry too quickly Prints from the Permanent Collection. The artist Jules Pascin (1885–1930). and unevenly. Woodward’s sensitively exhibition features portraits, landscapes, Harry Lee Gadbury’s (20th century) rendered 1890s monoprint, a medium marine scenes, still lifes, and genre scenes concern for the effects of advancing atypical for the artist, demonstrates produced through various printing tech- technology is evident in his depiction his skill in this difficult technique. A niques. On view are works by notable of a blind man standing on a corner rare double-sided by Charles artists including Thomas Hart Benton, while automobiles pass. An etching Surendorf (1906–1979) features a 1934 Henry Casselli, Elizabeth Catlett, by Morris Henry Hobbs (1892–1967) self-portrait on one side and a 1935 sur- Ralston Crawford, Caroline Durieux, depicts daily life in a busy café. Ralston realist scene on the other. Mabel Dwight, Morris Henry Hobbs, Crawford’s (1906–1978) modernist Werner Hoehn (1882–1940) and Sadie Irvine, John McCrady, Clarence lithograph presents abstract, geometric Caroline Durieux (1896–1989), native Millet, Jules Pascin, Joseph Pennell, Sue louvered shutters. New Orleanians who resided for a time in Jane Smock, Ellsworth Woodward, and Several of the portraits on dis- , are represented with sympathetic William Woodward. Several prints come play are rare, particularly Ellsworth from limited editions of 20 or fewer; Woodward’s (1861–1939) painterly Morning Coffee, Old New Orleans, 1947, many have never been published. monoprint of his young wife, Mary. by Morris Henry Hobbs, 1959.185.21

8 Volume XXIX, Number 2 — Spring 2012 portraits of African Americans. Hoehn’s lithographic proof, Sangolo, portrays a pensive lad in profile. Durieux, who pio- neered new technical methods of print- making, created electron prints with radioactive ink. Her In Memoriam shows a despondent woman; the geometric patterns of her subject’s plaid tignon, hoop earrings, and patterned dress cre- ate a rich visual surface. New Orleanian Henry Casselli’s (b. 1946) Generations represents three ages—a time-weary elderly woman, a hopeful young woman, and a babe in arms. Sculptor-painter Elizabeth Catlett (1915–2012), a former chair of ’s art department, resided in New York and Mexico until her recent death. Her 2004 woodcut portray- ing abolitionist is powerful in its contrasting darks and Refinery at Night, between 1947 and 1953, by John McCrady, 1998.104.1 lights, simplified forms, and linear pat- terns. Jack Jordan (1925–1999), who chaired the art department at Southern through a wringer to transfer the image for paintings of steamboats. His Refinery University at New Orleans for three to paper. An 1882 etching titled Pilot at Night, executed for the Standard Oil decades, evokes an underlying narrative Town Grocery by Philadelphian Joseph Company, captures the effects of indus- of race and poverty in his 1970s lino- Pennell (1857–1926) depicts a commu- trial light radiating in the evening sky. cut Going Home. A man clad in overalls, nity near the mouth of the Mississippi. The prints in this exhibition, which viewed from the back, heads toward a Swampland, an unsettling lithograph by present a broad range of artistic sub- distant cabin, a hole worn through his regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton jects, document the evolution of print- shoe sole. His hands and feet are exag- (1889–1975), shows a rowboat afloat on making in New Orleans. Collectively, gerated in size. The swaying house, swirl- the mirror-still waters of a bayou and a they underscore the artists’ versatility in ing landscape, and undulating forms in skull perched atop a cross in the imme- portraying rural, urban, industrial, and this energetic composition precede simi- diate foreground. marine life in Louisiana. lar canvases by contemporary painters. Louisiana has long appealed —Judith H. Bonner Sue Jane Smock’s (b. 1937) circa 1971 to sportsmen, including President linocut Bitter Blossoms portrays a cluster Theodore Roosevelt. Walter DuBois of generic faces growing from a single Richards (1907–?) produced a litho- treelike stalk. Nonagenarian Father graph titled Duck Blind, Bayou Club, Hermann, a 1957 aquatint by Guy depicting a popular hunting club where Fine Prints from the Livingston Woolley (1893–1973), rep- Roosevelt once hunted. Visiting artists Permanent Collection resents a psychological view of human were also attracted to harbor scenes. tribulations by focusing on the gnarled Mabel Dwight’s (1876–1955) 1929 On view in the hands of an elderly cleric holding a cross. lithograph Derelict Banana Boatman Boyd Cruise Gallery II Several prints in the show reflect focuses on the drudgery of life as a dock- 410 Chartres Street artists’ interest in Louisiana’s terrain, worker. This print contrasts with her ON VIEW its marshes and rivers. Joseph Jefferson Old Southern Graveyard, a bucolic scene Tuesday–Saturday (1829–1905), who gained international with lambs lying among tombs. 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. fame for his role as Rip Van Winkle, John McCrady (1911–1968), who produced monotypes of southern taught at the Arts and Free and open to the public swamps while on tour. He customarily Crafts Club of New Orleans and at his painted an image on tin and rolled it own French Quarter art school, is known

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 9 wo hundred years ago, as the ents the 2012 New Orleans Antiques prepared for war Forum, Circa 1812. Tom Savage, direc- Twith Great Britain, Louisiana tor of museum affairs for Winterthur joined the Union as the 18th state—the Museum, Garden and Library, will serve first added to the coastal south outside as forum moderator. of the original 13. For two centuries The four-day event will be held from Left to right: Tablespoon and teaspoon by Anthony the Pelican State has exerted a distinc- Thursday, August 2, through Sunday, Rasch, New Orleans, ca. 1821; courtesy of The tive influence on the region’s history and August 5, beginning with optional Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson; photograph by Skip Comer. Card table attributed to culture. Louisiana’s principal city, New guided tours on Thursday and continu- Duncan Phyfe, 1815–1825; courtesy of The Metropolitan Orleans, has served as a design center for ing with daily sessions Friday through Museum of Art, partial and promised gift of James and the decorative arts and as a magnet for Sunday in the Boyd Cruise Room of the Laura Freeman, 2004 (2004.538); photograph © The the importation of these arts from other Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Metropolitan Museum of Art. Detail, armoire attributed parts of the country and overseas. In rec- Street. to the workshop of François Seignouret, New Orleans, 1800–1825; 2009.0027, gift of John Geiser III in ognition of the bicentennial of Louisiana Registration will open June 1; visit memory of Marjorie Peirce Geiser and John Geiser Jr. Tall statehood and the War of 1812, The www.hnoc.org/antiques.htm for details clock dial by Aaron Willard, Boston, ca. 1800; courtesy of Historic New Orleans Collection pres- or call (504) 523-4662. a private collection; photograph by Thomas Neill.

10 Volume XXIX, Number 2 — Spring 2012 Thursday, August 2 Peace Then Plenty: Duncan Phyfe and the Rise of the New York School of Optional preconference tours: morning Cabinetmaking, 1812–1825 walking tour of the historic French Peter Kenny Quarter or day trip to St. Francisville, Ruth Bigelow Wriston Curator of Louisiana, to visit three magnificent American Decorative Arts and plantation houses Administrator of the American Wing The Metropolitan Museum of Art Friday, August 3 Reception The Historic New Orleans Collection Welcome 533 Royal Street Priscilla Lawrence, Executive Director Jack Pruitt Jr., Director of Development Sunday, August 5 and External Affairs New Treasures at The Historic The Historic New Orleans Collection Saturday, August 4 New Orleans Collection Andrew Jackson, Consumer Priscilla Lawrence Opening Remarks Marsha Mullin The Historic New Orleans Collection 1812: An Overture Vice President, Museum Services, and Tom Savage Chief Curator “Only Superficial”?: The Importance of Director, Museum Affairs The Hermitage: Home of President Wall and Floor Coverings During the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library Andrew Jackson Early National Period Lynne Dakin Hastings Circa 1812: A Most Interesting Time in The Federalization of Vernacular Design Museum Consultant the Coastal South Eugene Darwin Cizek John H. Lawrence Professor of Architecture and Latin Collecting For a Federal Period Southern Director of Museum Programs American Studies House The Historic New Orleans Collection Tulane University School of Architecture Morgan Delaney Collector Burned and Rebuilt: The White House Alexander Wilson and the Beginnings of in the War of 1812 American Ornithology Closing Remarks William Seale Christopher W. Lane Priscilla Lawrence Author, Historian Co-owner, The Philadelphia Print Shop Jack Pruitt Jr. The Historic New Orleans Collection “The Hunters of Kentucky”: Origins, The Importance of Commerce and Trade Influences, and Objects of America’s in Southern Clock Making, 1760–1825 Optional brunch with the speakers: Frontier Riflemen Robert Cheney Antoine’s Restaurant R. Scott Stephenson Director of Science Technology and Clocks Director of Collections and Interpretation Skinner, Inc. The American Revolution Center

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 11 Become a Member Membership Benefits All members of The Collection enjoy the following benefits for one full year: • Complimentary admission to all permanent tours and rotating exhibitions • Complimentary admission to the Concerts in the Courtyard series • A 10 percent discount at The Shop at The Collection • A subscription to The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly • Special invitations to events, trips, receptions, and exhibition previews

New Benefits of Membership! Membership Levels

Responding to your requests and FOUNDER INDIVIDUAL $35 to the increase in program benefits, FOUNDER FAMILY $65 The Collection is offering new Full membership benefits opportunities for membership at the Founder level. MERIEULT SOCIETY $100 Full membership benefits plus: Founder Individual Membership: • a special gift $35 for one person MAHALIA SOCIETY $250 Founder Family Membership: $65 Full membership benefits plus: for one or two adults and any children • a special gift under 18 all residing in a single household, • private, guided tours or for one member and a guest (by appointment) We value your association with our community. Should you have any JACKSON SOCIETY $500 questions related to membership, you Full membership benefits plus: may call (504) 598-7109. • a special gift • private, guided tours (by appointment) How to Join • free admission to all evening lectures

To become a member of The LAUSSAT SOCIETY $1,000 Historic New Orleans Collection, Full membership benefits plus: visit www.hnoc.org and click the • a special gift Support Us link, or complete the form • private, guided tours on the enclosed envelope and return (by appointment) it with your gift. Memberships at • free admission to all evening lectures the Founder Family level and above • invitation to annual gala evening include benefits for up to two adults and any children under 18 residing in BIENVILLE CIRCLE $5,000 a single household, or for one member Full membership benefits plus: and a guest. • a special gift • private, guided tours North American Reciprocal Museum Program (by appointment) Members of the Merieult, Mahalia, Jackson, and Laussat Societies and the Bienville • free admission to all evening lectures Circle receive reciprocal benefits at other leading museums throughout the United States • invitation to annual gala evening through the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) program. These include free • lunch with the executive director member admission, discounts on concert and lecture tickets, and discounts at the shops of participating museums. Visit sites.google.com/site/northamericanreciprocalmuseums for more information.

1212 Volume Volume XXIX, XXIX, Number Number 2 2 — — Spring Spring 2012 2012 Focus on Philanthropy Timothy Killeen

o one understands the impor- tance of preservation better Nthan Timothy Killeen. After falling in love with the Gulf Coast and its unique environment as a young boy, he committed his career to fighting for the safety and integrity of the region’s coastal wetlands. He has worked for the state of Louisiana for more than 30 years, and even though he could retire soon, he has no plans to do so. This unwavering dedication to conservation is what first drew him to The Historic New Orleans Collection and convinced him to become a member. In 2006 Killeen attended a lecture at the Jefferson Parish Library, given by Director of Museum Programs John English-speaking home, and the reten- for free,” says Killeen. “It’s there for free, Lawrence and Curator/Historian John tion of the French language was not a no excuses. It’s especially great for stu- Magill, on the exhibition Common priority. “My grandmother spoke fluent dents—grammar school, high school, Routes: St. Domingue • Louisiana. “I was French, but . . . [the family] was starting college. If you want to see it, it’s there.” amazed,” says Killeen. “Growing up to get away from it because they wanted As for himself, Killeen is a typi- here and studying Louisiana history, you to assimilate. My mother knew a little cal Louisiana sportsman—he’s a fan of have this little paragraph in your history bit of French, but a loss of the culture spending time outdoors fishing, bik- book about the Haitian slave revolt, had occurred.” ing, and hunting. And like any good but we didn’t really learn about the far- The paternal side of Killeen’s fam- Louisianian, he’s a fan of local music. reaching effects of what happened in ily, meanwhile, departed Ireland dur- When he’s not slogging through mud Haiti to the culture of New Orleans.” ing the potato famine of the mid-19th doing research or slogging through Killeen recognized the similarities century and eventually settled in Algiers. paperwork analyzing results, you can between his work at the Department of Killeen’s father, a decorated World War probably find him at a concert. Natural Resources and The Collection’s II veteran, and his brothers were active “I think The Collection’s Concerts commitment to cultural and architec- in the Algiers Irish Association, helping in the Courtyard are great—you need to tural preservation. “Natural history to preserve their Irish connections for have that social aspect to an institution. and cultural history go hand in hand, younger generations. Plus, with the smaller group you can feel especially in Louisiana,” he explains. “The Collection, as a leader in like you’re closer to the artists performing.” “It’s very similar to what we do trying preservation of cultural resources, helps Killeen knows that the fragile to preserve coastal resources.” He likens protect what is in danger of being lost,” natural beauty of the Gulf Coast is his passion for the outdoors and wet- Killeen observes. “It gives people a bet- intertwined with its distinctive culture. lands to The Collection’s passion for old ter understanding of our traditions.” “We understand that we don’t have New Orleans architecture, for keeping When asked about his favorite a pristine environment—it has been its “integrity.” aspect of The Collection’s work, he impacted, and we have to be realistic. He also knows intimately what can immediately mentions the accessibil- But the reason why people enjoy the happen when culture is not conserved. ity of exhibitions, programming, and outdoors here, and the culture of this Killeen’s mother’s family emigrated from the Williams Research Center. “What I area, is because of those resources, and France to South Louisiana in 1873. The appreciate is that The Collection offers we have to protect them.” family was eager to adapt to its new, a lot of historical information to people —Lauren Noel

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 13 Donors The Historic New Orleans Collection is honored to recognize and thank the following January–March 2012 individuals and organizations for their financial and material donations.

Danna M. Acker Mr. and Mrs. Murray A. Calhoun Richard P. Flatau Marshall Hevron Lee R. Adler Maria Cannon R. Ann Ford Sharon L. and Gregory R. Hidden Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Adler Shirley G. Cannon Terry Forrette Mr. and Mrs. L. Alex Himmelberg Rev. and Mrs. Warwick Aiken Jr. Capital One Bank Richard L. Forstall Inez Adele Hinckley Carrie Aldridge Mr. and Mrs. Carlo Capomazza di Ben Foster Brad Hinker Allstate Sugar Bowl Campolattaro Mrs. Richard L. Fowler Robert W. Hinson Mr. and Mrs. Allain C. Andry III Marian Cardinale Stephen Fox Dr. and Mrs. Gregor Hoffman Antoine’s Restaurant Fred Carra Fran and George Villere Fund Mary Hoffschwelle and Carroll Pamela D. and Paul L. Arceneaux Walter Carroll Jr. Mrs. Charles W. Frank Van West Tarah Doggett Arcuri Cashio, Cochran, LLC Larry D. Franke Mona H. Hollier Deborah and Mervin Aubespin Doris Cavey Gregory Free Mr. and Mrs. Stanhope F. Hopkins Mr. and Mrs. Richard Autin Beverly and Charles Cerise Allison and George Freeman Lee Horvitz Colleen Aycock Samantha Cerney Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Mr. and Mrs. Harley B. Howcott Jr. Karen and Scot Babbitt Certified Security Systems LLC Foundation Preston Huey Mr. and Mrs. James A. Babst Shannon C. and Arnold S. Chabaud Betty Froeba Mr. and Mrs. James M. Huger Dr. Vaughan Baker and Amos Simpson Chadwick Family Foundation Dr. Rusty and Jamie Frye Mary Lynn Hyde Mr. and Mrs. F. Macnaughton Ball Jr. Heidi and Samuel Charters Capt. Don A. Gagnon Joe M. Inabenett Sylvia A. Barker Mr. and Mrs. Judson Chase Glorianne Gargano and John A. Powell Mr. and Mrs. Marvin L. Jacobs Marilyn Barnett Mr. and Mrs. William K. Christovich Robert R. Gates III Dr. Thomas W. Jacobsen William M. Barnett Dr. Carolyn Maureen Clawson John Geiser III Mr. and Mrs. R. Andrew Jardine Judy Y. Barrasso and Brent B. Barriere ClearBridge Advisors LLC Lorraine P. Gendron Mrs. Neill P. Jeffrey Mr. and Mrs. Beauregard L. Bassich Michael Cohen The General Federation of The Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Joy B. Bates Dr. and Mrs. Hugh M. Collins Women’s Clubs Brown Foundation Laura Butler Bayon and Lucile Bayon Shirley Colomb and Don Clausing German Seamen’s Mission New Orleans John Burton Harter Charitable Hume William C. Cook Dale Gibson Foundation Trust Mr. and Mrs. John D’Arcy Becker Estate of Carl M. Corbin Sybil G. Gibson Mr. and Mrs. Joel C. Johnson Hilton S. Bell Mr. and Mrs. Orlin R. Corey Charles W. Gillis and Thomas Uskali George E. Jordan Adelaide and Edward Benjamin Louis Costa Madeleine B. and Robert B. Golden Dr. and Mrs. Robert C. Judice Yolande and Stephen Bernard Elliott Cowand Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John M. Goodwin II Jeanne and Mark Juneau Henry Bernstein and Jerry Zachary Carole C. and Joseph R. Daley Elaine and Pat Gootee Lally G. and Alois S. Jurcik Mary Ross Berridge Dr. Joseph S. D’Antoni Dr. and Mrs. Roger Graetz Jan Kasofsky and Edward Flynn Liz and Chris Bertucci Winston De Ville Greater New Orleans Community Margie Doskey Katz Mr. and Mrs. Dixon B. Betz Jan V. Dean Data Center Nancy Killeen Drew Bevolo George Denegre Jr. Sharon H. Grimes Timothy P. Killeen Winnie L. Biggio Deutsches Haus Mr. and Mrs. Douglas L. Grundmeyer R. Richardson King Birmingham Museum of Art Library Claire and Stephen Dick Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence C. Guice Jr. Mary G. and Thomas A. Klaasen Edwin J. Blair Fredric A. Diegel Michael Guiden Robin Klimach and Andreas Hablutzel Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel P. Blessey Dr. and Mrs. Thompson M. Dietz Susan and Jimmy Gundlach Irene G. Klinger Nell T. Boersma Douglas G. Dike Susan Jones Gundlach, gift of the Henry W. Krotzer Jr. Dr. Elizabeth M. Boggess Suzanne and George Dorion children of Eugenie and Joseph Mr. and Mrs. Garril Kueber William E. Borah Dr. W. Lake Douglas and Debbie de la Jones: Susan Jones Gundlach, Suzanne B. and Joseph R. Labadot Judith M. and Bruce G. Bordes Houssaye Joseph Merrick Jones Jr. and Mary Myrick Langlois The Boswell Museum of Music Lori Donaldson Dowden Eugenie Jones Huger Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Lapeyre Jean Bragg Lana Laws Downing Michael Hahn Mr. and Mrs. G. Charles Lapeyre Mary Aldigé Brogden Roger Drake Katie Hall LaPorte CPAs and Business Advisors Prof. Harvey Brooks Dr. and Mrs. J. Ollie Edmunds Jr. Dr. Florent Hardy Jr. Catherine Lasky and Andy Romero David Broussard Mr. and Mrs. Lucas H. Ehrensing Rubie M. Harris Farrell C. Latour Brigid Brown Dr. and Mrs. Gresham T. Farrar Edward T. Haslam Chris Lauer Hugh C. Brown Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick R. Favaloro Sr. Sara C. Hauge Mr. and Mrs. John H. Lawrence Leland Brown and Will Sibbald Clare Fiasconaro Haynie Family Foundation Frederick Lee Lawson Mr. and Mrs. Peter G. Burke Tim L. Fields Theresa S. and William P. Heimel Paul J. Leaman Jr. Jan and Frank Burnside Jr. Diane J. Finley, MD Edward J. Hemard III Christine and Price LeBlanc Eileen Burton Sevilla White Finley Mrs. Daniel R. Henderson Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. LeBlanc Winifred E. Byrd Grace M. Flanagan Patrick Henley

14 Volume XXIX, Number 2 — Spring 2012 Justice Harry T. Lemmon and Judge John T. O’Connor Andrasta Seatts Jan and Allen Weiner Mary Ann Vial Lemmon Ray Odrey Byrne Norman Sherwood Carmelite B. Wellman Dr. and Mrs. Alan T. Leonhard Roger H. Ogden Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd N. Shields Nora Wetzel Leah Levkowicz Dr. Joseph F. O’Neil Sally Shushan Mercedes B. Whitecloud Joyce R. Lewis Siobhan O’Quinn Sylvia S. Shushan Sue S. Whitten George Long Mr. and Mrs. Brian J. O’Reilly Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Barry J. Siegel Mr. and Mrs. Mark Wiginton Dr. Alfredo Lopez Christine and Stanford Owen Anita Silvernail Arnold P. Wilking Jr. Jacquelyn S. Lothschuetz Marilyn Mineo Paladin Edward M. Simmons Joe Wilkins Louisiana Colonials Mr. and Mrs. John W. Parham Mr. and Mrs. R. Hugh Simmons Dan and April Wilson Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra The Parlange Family Ginger Borah Slaughter Drs. Barbara C. and Charles S. Jean and Bill Lowrey Lynne Parmenter Bertie Deming Smith Wingo Margie L. Luke Bettie Pendley Bruce A. Smith Dr. and Mrs. Glenn Winter Rachel Lyons Faith Peperone Mr. and Mrs. Fred M. Smith Dr. and Mrs. William J. Woessner Nell and Barry Mabry Jeanie and Claiborne Perrilliat Judith M. Smith Warren J. Woods Richard M. Magill Jo Ann and David K. Persons Linda T. Smith Jane and H. L. Dufour Woolfley Brigitta L. and John F. Malm Rob Peterson Monica and James Smith Dalton L. Woolverton Jacob Manguno Mr. and Mrs. R. Hunter Pierson Jr. Rachel A. Smith Michael D. Wynne Archie Manning Clara Frederick Pincus Olga and James Smoak Donn Young Anne Marbot Mr. and Mrs. David D. Plater Margaret B. Soniat Mr. and Mrs. George Villere Young Linda Marchand Ormonde Plater Southern Eagle Sales & Service LP Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Young Dr. Kenneth and Judith L. Margolis Mr. and Mrs. Andrew L. Plauché Jr. David Speights Anton Zanki Dr. Dawn Marsh JoAnne G. and Carl J. Plessala E. Alexandra Stafford and Raymond Patricia “Pat” Zavoda and Joseph P. Kimball P. Marshall, PhD Judith A. and Frank S. Pons M. Rathlé Jr. “Pat” Byers Barry Martyn Sylvia Todd Porteous Mrs. Frederick M. Stafford Victor D. Ziminsky Jr. Master Digital Corporation Estate of Ernest Noel Posey Claire and Harry C. Stahel Thomas Zimmer Dr. and Mrs. Alvin Mathews Kris Pottharst Arthur P. Steinmetz Diane K. Zink and Robert M. Becnel Molly and Montgomery Matthews Mr. and Mrs. John B. Potts II Colette H. Stelly Robert J. May Sheila and Vincent Provenza Temple Stephens Tribute Gifts Mr. and Mrs. Henry G. McCall Sidney C. Pulitzer Irma M. Stiegler Tribute gifts, given in honor of or in Sharon McClelland and David Raymond Pumilia Micki Beth Stiller memory of a loved one, are unique Robichaud Mr. and Mrs. Harley C. Rabig Dr. and Mrs. Richard L. Strub expressions of thoughtfulness. Bethlyn J. McCloskey Julia W. and Anthony Radosti Ann Dubuisson Sturgill Mary Jane and Lem McCoy Kathryn E. Rapier Mr. and Mrs. Daniel E. Sullivan Ann Babington in honor of Jessica Mr. and Mrs. Stanley McDermott Jr. Scott M. Ratterree Ruth J. Summitt Dorman and Sarah Doerries Mr. and Mrs. Terry McFillen Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Rault Jr. Anne Reily Sutherlin Marilyn Dittmann and Paul Leaman Mr. and Mrs. Thomas T. McGinn Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan H. Ray Caroline K. and Matson C. Terry II Jr. in memory of Maree Adeline Jack B. McGuire Patricia K. Reed Marjorie Geiser Thomas Horn David Sharon Means Richard L. Reinhardt Diane D. Thompson Dr. W. Lake Douglas and Debbie de Mr. and Mrs. Donald Keith Midkiff Rosângela Rennó Mr. and Mrs. Jack W. Thomson la Houssaye in memory of Vicomte Florence and Maury Midlo Carl B. Ricketts Emily L. Thornton Gildas de Freslon de la Freslonniere Elizabeth Peabody Miles Hill Riddle Jr. Charlotte L. Todd Founders Chapter-Louisiana Rev. Byron Miller J. Richard Rivoire Roulhac B. Toledano Colonials Inc. in honor of Erin Patrice S. and Chris L. Miller Dr. Theodore Rose Mrs. Thomas J. Tomeny Jr. Greenwald Judy D. Mills Edith L. and Paul S. Rosenblum Lawrence J. Torres Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John Kallenborn in Reynold Minoli Mr. and Mrs. William Rowland Gennaro Toscano memory of Maree Adeline Horn William E. Moorman Joe Rubinfine Timothy Trapolin David Susan R. Moreau Dr. and Mrs. Alfred J. Rufty Jr. Catherine Burns Tremaine Melanie L. Mauldin in honor of Tim Matthew B. Moreland Nancy Russo Pamela S. Turner Trapolin James Morris Mary and Jerry Ryscavage Dr. and Mrs. Robert G. Turner Suzanne and Michael J. Mestayer Dr. and Mrs. Robert F. Mortenson Jr. St. Mary’s Dominican High School Michael Ural in memory of Maree Adeline Margo Moscou Rev. Burl Salmon and Robert Henkel Michael Valentino Horn David Mr. and Mrs. J. Frederick Muller Jr. Frank Saucier Warren P. and Peggy M. Villemarette Dr. and Mrs. Coleman S. Schneider Todd P. Murphy Stephen A. Scalia Mr. and Mrs. St. Denis J. Villere in memory of Maree Adeline Teresa Neaves, from the Don Lee Lydia and Howard Schmalz Mr. and Mrs. St. Denis J. Villere III Horn David Keith New Orleans in Film Helen L. Schneidau John E. Wade II Nell Nolan Young in memory of her Collection Judge and Mrs. Patrick M. Schott Mr. and Mrs. John E. Walker aunt Anita Marinoni Nolan Pitot New Directions Publishing Heidi Schroeder William J. Warren Corporation Elizabeth Lee Scott Beth and Jim Wee Christine and Matthew Nowakowski Georgia Scott Merlyn Weilbaecher

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 15 he was appointed the state’s attorney gen- Most sites in the photos are rec- eral, a position he held until 1820 when ognizable to viewers familiar with the he was elected Louisiana’s third governor. present-day French Quarter: Jackson His authority compromised by escalating Square; Brennan’s Restaurant, 417 tensions between established Creoles and Royal; Le Pretre House, Dauphine at newly arriving Americans, Robertson was Orleans; and the LaBranche Buildings, acquisitions forced to resign in 1824. He was appointed Royal and St. Peter. Some no-longer- The Historic New Orleans Col- to a federal judgeship in Louisiana, which operating businesses include A&P, lection encourages research in the he retained until his death. Royal and St. Peter; Dixie’s Bar, 701 Williams Research Center at 410 Char- Escaping the French Revolution, Bourbon; Toney’s Spaghetti House, tres Street from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saint-Mémin came to the United States 210 Bourbon; Buck Forty Nine Steak Tuesday through Saturday (except hol- in 1793. Here he taught himself engrav- House, 216 Bourbon; and Maison idays). Cataloged materials available to ing and drawing, and made profile Blanche and D. H. Holmes department researchers include books, manuscripts, portraits using a device called a physi- stores, Dauphine and Iberville Streets. paintings, prints, drawings, maps, pho- onotrace, invented by fellow Frenchman In some images people can be seen tographs, and artifacts about the history Gilles-Louis Chrétien ca. 1783. His strolling along Bourbon and Royal and culture of New Orleans, Louisiana, technique allowed him to capture deli- Streets, far fewer than the throngs that and the Gulf South. Each year The Col- cate facial and clothing features, evident crowd the French Quarter during car- lection adds thousands of items to its in the Robertson profile. Saint-Mémin nival today. Among the costumed revel- holdings. Though only selected gifts are traveled throughout the United States ers are some men dressed in drag—one mentioned here, the importance of all and is credited with making nearly garbed as a 1920s flapper, others in the gifts cannot be overstated. Prospective 1,000 such portraits. He returned to evening dresses and bouffant wigs popu- donors are invited to contact the authors France in 1814 and from 1817 until his lar in the mid-1960s. Most individuals of the acquisitions columns. death served as director of the Musée des are not costumed but provide an excel- Beaux-Arts in Dijon. (2011.0408) lent picture of casual clothing from the period. Curatorial One notable shot shows Pete For the fourth quarter of 2011 Fountain’s Half-Fast Walking Club near (October–December), there were 30 the Washing Well Laundryteria, 841 acquisitions, totaling over 220 items. Bourbon, marching in costume toward Shortly before Virginia-born Thomas Pete Fountain’s French Quarter Inn. Bolling Robertson (1773–1828) was Then popularly called Pete’s Place, it is appointed secretary of the territory of now the site of Oz bar, 800 Bourbon. Orleans by President Thomas Jefferson The photographs appear to have been on August 12, 1807, he posed for a pro- shot in the morning, since Bourbon is file portrait by Charles B. J. F. de Saint- not yet filled with litter and mounds of Mémin (1770–1852) in Richmond. discarded beer cans. A sign of the times The chalk portrait, drawn on pink is a Lucky Dog cart advertising 35-cent paper and framed under eglomised glass, dogs. (2011.0378.1-66) was recently acquired by The Historic —John T. Magill New Orleans Collection through The Joe Wilkins of New Orleans recently Collection’s Laussat Society. donated a collection of 66 black-and- Robertson, who studied law at the white snapshots, most of which he took Library College of William and Mary, served on Mardi Gras, March 2, 1965, in the For the fourth quarter of 2011 (October– in several governmental capacities in French Quarter. Some dated “196_” December), there were 28 acquisitions, Louisiana during its territorial period are most likely from that same year or totaling 106 items. and early statehood. After his stint as the following Mardi Gras, February 22, Although sugar was the major crop secretary, he briefly took on the post of 1966. In one shot, masking-tape Xs can in the immediate New Orleans area in federal land commissioner in 1808. In be seen in the windows of Pepe’s Piano the 19th century, the city was also an 1812 he became the state’s first mem- Bar, 327 Bourbon—a possible remnant important center for the business of cot- ber of the House of Representatives from 1964’s Hurricane Hilda or 1965’s ton. In 1860 approximately two-thirds and served until 1818. The next year Betsy. of all American cotton was produced

16 Volume XXIX, Number 2 — Spring 2012 in the area east of the Mississippi River. was published by Louis Grunewald at Morales’s land along the Tchefuncte New Orleans boasted numerous cotton 26 Chartres Street, in the block now River, and held him captive aboard a presses; wharves; insurers; cotton factors, occupied by the Marriott Hotel, and Spanish naval schooner. who acted as agents for the planters; and bears carrier notations for E. W. Bogel in In his December 4, 1804, letter to brokers, who represented the interests Baton Rouge and W. Nash in Natchez. Adam Comstock of Greenfield, New of private investment houses and textile (2011.0292) York, Morgan describes in detail his manufacturers. Indeed, antebellum New Captain Obadiah Congar (1768– shipboard captivity and escape. Having Orleans was developed to a great extent 1848), mariner and commercial ship- escaped his captors, Morgan successfully by men who made their fortunes in cot- master for 50 years from the port of filed suit to recover personal property ton and its related businesses. But while New York, willed his journal “to the the Spanish had taken from him. Soon the sugar industry generated an annual Seamen’s Friend Society, with instruc- thereafter, American officials arrested report on sugar production in Louisiana, tions to have a book prepared out of it, García y Muñis, inflaming Spanish loy- printed in New Orleans, there was no and three thousand copies to be printed alists who demanded his release. comparable report on cotton produc- and circulated among seamen at his The David Bannister Morgan let- tion. Other than a very few items and expense.” According to the editor, Rev. ter complements an earlier Collection some general articles in DeBow’s Review, Henry T. Cheever, it was Congar’s hope acquisition. David Bannister Morgan’s most antebellum publications on the that his life and religious experiences survey of land along the north shore of subject focus on national or interna- might be useful to others. His career Lake Pontchartrain at the junction with tional aspects of cotton production at sea took him to many places around the Tchefuncte River (1977.128) was rather than the local trade. The library the world—the West Indies, Jamaica, prepared on July 23, 1804, less than two recently acquired an unusual book Ireland, England, China, Malaysia. months prior to the surveyor’s abduc- on cotton in New Orleans published Although he made several trips to New tion. (2011.0313) in Paris in 1859 in the Armenian lan- Orleans and briefly maintained a mer- A gift of Ms. Laura Butler Bayon guage, demonstrating far-reaching inter- cantile business in Natchez in the early and Ms. Lucile Bayon Hume, the est in the trade. Nor Orleani Bambaki 1820s, Capt. Congar’s editor reports Farar, Mercer, and Butler Family Papers Mshakutiwne, or La Culture de Coton little of what the captain’s journal may include personal correspondence of Dr. à la Nouvelle-Orleans, discusses cotton have included about his impressions of William Newton Mercer (1792–1874) production, contains numerous depic- those cities. The captain is quoted, “Our and his wife, Ann Eliza Farar (1796– tions of the tools and processes unique fears at leaving New York, lest some 1839), owners of Laurel Hill Plantation. to handling cotton in that period, and is person on board might have the yellow Mrs. Mercer’s mother, Mary Ellis Farar, a beautiful example of the bookbinder’s fever, were great; and no less so were they previously owned the plantation located art. (2011.0432.1) lest some of us might take the disease in near Natchez, Mississippi. Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard New Orleans.” Eventually he settled in Mary Ellis Farar’s niece, Ann Ellis (1818–1893), arguably one of the Florida, becoming mayor of Jacksonville (1794–1878), married Judge Thomas Confederacy’s ablest generals, married in 1844; he died while on a visit to New Butler (1785–1847) of the Louisiana his second wife, Caroline Deslonde York at the age of 81. (2011.0351.1) Third District Court. A politician and of St. James Parish, in 1860. A scant —Pamela D. Arceneaux planter residing in St. Francisville, four years later, following a lengthy ill- Louisiana, Judge Thomas Butler led ness, she died on March 2, 1864, in two failed Louisiana gubernatorial cam- federally occupied New Orleans while Manuscripts paigns in the 1820s. The newly acquired her husband was away commanding For the fourth quarter of 2011 (October– papers contain correspondence relating troops near Jacksonville, Florida. Her December), there were 34 acquisitions, to Butler’s political aspirations. funeral drew thousands of people in an totaling approximately 88 linear feet. Judge Butler’s great-grandson, James outburst of patriotism and sympathy The Historic New Orleans Collection Pierce Butler (1880–1941), served as the for the Southern cause, and Louisiana has recently acquired a letter of David president of the Canal Bank and Trust composer Theodore von La Hache Bannister Morgan (1773–1848), a and chairman of the Louisiana Flood (1822–1869) wrote a piece for the statesman, surveyor, and soldier who Control Committee. In 1927, in recog- occasion. A copy of Elegy on the Death played a prominent role in the Battle of nition of his campaign for adequate flood of Mme. G. T. Beauregard for the Piano New Orleans. A decade prior to the bat- control, the Times-Picayune awarded Forte was recently given to the library by tle, in September 1804, Captain Manuel Butler its Loving Cup. A proponent of Elizabeth P. Miles. The sheet music, “à García y Muñis captured Morgan, the controversial decision to dynamite la mémoire de Mme. G. T. Beauregard,” who had been surveying Juan Ventura the levee at Caernarvon, Louisiana, in

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 17 Culinary Forum hopes of sparing the city of New Orleans Tribes and Temples. The following year Creole Sweet: The Praline and Its World during the Great 1927 Mississippi River Blom succeeded Gates as director of The Collection joins with Dillard Flood, Butler later managed reparations the Department of Middle American University to present a day-long forum made to St. Bernard and Plaquemines Research, a position he held until 1940. featuring talks and panel discussions Parish residents whose lands were While at Tulane Blom was an important on the vending, production, and intentionally flooded. Highlights of the contributor to scholarship about Maya consumption of the quintessential Farar, Mercer, and Butler Family Papers hieroglyphics and culture—but his pro- Louisiana candy and its cousins. include Butler’s 1927 Loving Cup tro- fessional successes did not extend to his Historian Jessica Harris and other phy, as well as a scrapbook containing personal life, which, by the late 1930s, distinguished speakers will serve as news clippings concerning both the was falling apart. ON THE SCENE guides on a culinary journey stretching award and Butler’s flood control efforts. Blom’s first marriage ended in from Mexico to Jamaica, from Puerto (2011.0344) divorce in 1938; two years later, alcohol- Rico to the Pelican State, and into The Historic New Orleans Collection ism abruptly ended his career at Tulane. praline-loving households worldwide. has recently acquired materials relat- Relocating to Mexico, he met and ing to the career of Danish explorer married Swiss photographer Gertrude Friday, June 8 and archaeologist Frans Ferdinand “Trudi” Duby (1901–1993). Blom died Reception: 6–8 p.m. Blom (1893–1963). The Frans Blom at San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, 533 Royal Street Collection includes a small number of Mexico, on June 23, 1963, at the age photographs and postcards Blom sent of 70. Trudi Duby Blom continued her Saturday, June 9 to correspondents in New Orleans. husband’s work until her own demise in Registration: 8 a.m. Highlights include a note regarding a 1993, at the age of 92. (2011.0428) Forum: 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Maya archaeological dig and a postcard —Mary Lou Eichhorn Williams Research Center sent to Dr. Rudolph Matas. 410 Chartres Street Blom was equally at home in Registration required: $50 per person; Age New Orleans’s art and literary $35 for Dillard faculty, THNOC communities as in the jungle ruins of Director of Publications members, and students. Jessica Dorman Central America. Counted among his Head of Photography Call (504) 523-4662 for reservations. many friends were William Spratling, Keely Merritt Design Sherwood Anderson, William Faulkner, Theresa Norris Lyle Saxon, and society columnist The Historic New Orleans Collection 10th Les Comédiens Français Dorothy Dix, who wrote of her experi- Quarterly is published by The Historic Lecture New Orleans Collection, which is oper- ence accompanying Blom on an expedi- ated by the Kemper and Leila Williams Julien Poydras: Planter, Statesman, Poet tion to Yucatán: “Going to Mexico with Foundation, a Louisiana nonprofit cor- poration. Housed in a complex of his- A prominent landowner and statesman, Frans Blom is like being shown over toric buildings in the French Quarter, Julien Poydras (1726–1824) was also a heaven by an archangel.” facilities are open to the public, Tuesday through Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. until man of letters. Following a biographical Blom first encountered Meso- 4:30 p.m., and Sunday, from 10:30 a.m. address by THNOC curator Howard american ruins while working in the oil until 4:30 p.m. Tours of the History Galler- ies, Williams Residence, and Courtyards and Margot, actress and attorney Janet exploration industry, and in 1922 he Architecture are available for a nominal fee. Daley Duval will read an English- landed a job as assistant to archaeolo- Board of Directors language translation of Poydras’s poem gist Manuel Gamio in the Dirección de Mrs. William K. Christovich, Chair Fred M. Smith, President “La Prise du morne du Bâton Rouge Antropología in . Blom’s Drew Jardine, Vice President par Monseigneur de Galvez.” Printed in John E. Walker, Past President personal research at Palenque caught John Kallenborn 1779 under the sponsorship of Carlos the attention of top scholars, resulting E. Alexandra Stafford III of , the poem describes the in his being offered a Harvard schol- Hilton S. Bell Spanish capture of Baton Rouge from Executive Director arship. In 1924 he joined Tulane Uni- Priscilla Lawrence the English. versity’s newly formed Department of The Historic New Orleans Middle American Research under the Collection 533 Royal Street Thursday, July 12 direction of William Gates. New Orleans, Louisiana 70130 6:30 p.m. In 1925 Blom and anthropolo- (504) 523-4662 [email protected] Williams Research Center gist Oliver La Farge led an expedi- QUARTERLY www.hnoc.org 410 Chartres Street tion through Mexico and Guatemala, ISSN 0886-2109 Admission: Free © 2012 The Historic New Orleans

a journey later recounted in the book T he Collection Open to the public; seating is limited.

18 Volume XXIX, Number 2 — Spring 2012 Staff Changes Collection has an ongoing internship Mark Cave, senior curator and oral his- program. She was our first student intern In the Community torian. Matt Farah, research assistant and from the prestigious Institut national du Both Pamela D. Arceneaux and Erin project specialist. Andy Forester, program- patrimoine in Paris. Chouleur worked Greenwald presented a variety of New mer/systems analyst. Erin Greenwald, for six weeks with Jason Wiese, assistant Orleans–themed lectures to passengers curator and historian. Goldie Lanaux, director of the Williams Research Center, aboard Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the head registrar. Howard Margot, curator. to process and catalog the Jean Baptiste Seas. Anita Kazmierczak-Hoffman will Elizabeth Ogden, docent and project spe- Longpré archive (MSS 627). be serving as CaMMS (Cataloging and cialist. Bobby Ticknor, docent and recep- Julie Bursch is a graduating senior Metadata Management Section) men- tionist. and history major at Tulane University. tor for the Association for Library and Like many student volunteers from Technical Services, a division of the Volunteers Tulane, Bursch learned about The American Library Association; the pro- Marie Castaing, Durban Clark, Sara Collection through the university’s his- gram matches experienced catalogers Gothard, Ellen Harris, Capt. Clarke tory department and its Center for Public with library school students and individ- Hawley, Beth Lubel, Jean Paul Perrilliat, Service. Originally from Nashville, uals new to the profession of cataloging. Elizabeth Reade, Lydia Schmalz, Bursch will be working on the Collins C. The American Association of Museums Gloria Slater, Susan Williams, Colleen Diboll Vieux Carré Digital Survey. awarded a 2012 AAM Emerging Willoughby, and Lisa Wilson, docent Vasser Howorth is earning a mas- Professional Fellowship to Jennifer department. ter’s degree with a concentration in Rebuck and a 2012 AAM Mid-Career archives from LSU’s School of Library Professional Network Fellowship to Erin WRC Spotlight and Information Science. A native of Greenwald to support their attendance Marie Chouleur, originally from Nîmes, Oxford, Mississippi, Howorth will also at the organization’s annual meeting in France, is a graduate of the École natio- be volunteering primarily on the Collins Minneapolis/St. Paul this spring. nale des chartes in Paris, with which The C. Diboll Vieux Carré Digital Survey.

Guests mingled on March 23 as The Collection hosted a cocktail party for participants in the 2012 Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival. Among those enjoying the festivities were (top left) Amy Dickinson, Christian Jules LeBlanc, and Janet Daley Duval, and (top right) Annette Saddik and Denys Landry. On April 11 the Counting House was packed to the rafters for the launch of Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of New Orleans. Karen Celestan, author Ben Sandmel, and the one- and-only K-Doe statue fielded questions from the ON THE SCENE audience (below left), while Joe Honeydripper, Geannie Thomas, and Ernie Vincent (below right) mingled following the Q&A.

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 19 Kemper and Leila Williams Foundation THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION Nonprofit Organization Museum • Research Center • Publisher U.S. Postage 533 Royal Street • New Orleans, Louisiana 70130 PAID (504) 523-4662 • Visit The Collection at www.hnoc.org New Orleans, LA ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Permit No. 863

The Shop at The Collection

Louisiana Bicentennial Candles

n the decade since its founding, INouvelle Candle Company of Scott, Louisiana, has become one of the most respected candle makers in the industry. In recognition of the company’s excel- lence, Nouvelle has been selected as the official candle manufacturer of the 2012 Louisiana State Bicentennial. A spe- cial Louisiana Bicentennial collection spectacular layered candle that Nouvelle A portion of Nouvelle’s retail sales features four fragrances—Atchafalaya, has christened Layers of Louisiana. will be donated to the Louisiana State Vieux Carré, Live Oak & Magnolia, Nouvelle playfully describes the signa- Bicentennial Commission to help fund and River Road—that richly evoke the ture candle of the collection, Kingfish, the year-long celebration. state’s unique landscape and history. as “complex, bold, and somewhat cor- The candles range in price from Each fragrance may be purchased in a ruptive, like the famed Populist him- $15 to $45 and are now available in The single-scent candle or combined in one self.” Shop.

20 Volume XXIX, Number 2 — Spring 2012