Volume XXV, Number 4 Fall 2008 Ca j u n Do c u m e n t , 1974

Making a Net, © Charles H. Traub and Douglas Baz, 1974 Th e Hi s to r i c Ne w Or l e a n s Co l l e c t i o n Qu a r t e r l y 1 Clifton Chenier

Ca j u n Do c u m e n t , 1974 On view at the Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street December 2, 2008–February 20, 2009 Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Free and open to the public

Moss Gin

Retrieving Crawfish Nets

2 Vo l u m e XXV, Nu m b e r 4 — Fall 2008 2 Vo l u m e XXV, Nu m b e r 4 — Fall 2008 Ca j u n Do c u m e n t , 1974

For six months in 1974, Charles H. Traub and Douglas Baz lived We stayed off the interstate, smoked cigars, and ate local fare. in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, and photographed there and in the Food, landscape, and photographs got better the farther down the surrounding countryside. Their collective work encompasses many road we drove. As it became flatter, the horizon line became a hundreds of images depicting the land, the people, and life patterns question: What to do with it? You can’t keep making the same of Louisiana’s Cajuns. Cajun Document, 1974, which will be pictures of that twisted tree and vines entangled in swamp with a exhibited December 2, 2008, through February 20, 2009, at the kind of pseudo-lifeless stillness, a little maudlin and a little Gothic. Williams Research Center, is a selection of 30 images from that Something is missing: people. series. In his own words, Charles Traub shares the story of capturing Loo-wee-zee-anna! This is a little different; Beau! Where these images with Douglas Baz, whom he refers to as Beau: are we? They aren’t speaking English. Sounds like French to me. Yeah, but do you understand what they’re saying? Ne pas? “Cher, t’s been 35 years since we wailed down the Great River Road, this is Cajun land,” the lady says. It could have been New Iberia, two ‘boys’—postgraduates escaping from the brutal Chicago St. Martinville, Abbeville, or anywhere west of Baton Rouge, north Iwinter. Our minds drifted to the mythologies of the South; of New Orleans, somewhere between Crowley, Eunice, or Houma. and then wandered to Easy Rider, Don McLean’s “American Pie,” It’s where Gustav’s winds are blowing as I now write, September 1, the works of Faulkner, and the music of Leon Redbone. The 2008. And damn, I’ll always remember the first time: crawfish real point of the road trip is making a picture of the American étouffée, she served up. That trip was too short; we vowed to find Landscape: How can we do it differently—dream the dream on— out about these people and go back. something beyond Ansel Adams. We were cocky! Beautiful wooden A year later, in 1974, we’d done our homework; read a lot 4 x 5’s on big tripods; let’s make art! about Cajuns, Acadia, and southwest Louisiana—its politics and

All images: © Charles H. Traub and Douglas Baz, 1974

Cajun Woman Fiddler and Drummer

Th e Hi s to r i c Ne w Or l e a n s Co l l e c t i o n Qu a r t e r l y 3 Big Splash Landscape from Horseback its folklore. Cajun music, outside of Louisiana, was the domain of It’s hard to tell who photographed what. Our styles melded the Smithsonian Institution, though someone did seem to know together. It was a shared undertaking. There was no real plan— about chef Paul Prudhomme. Few of the people we knew could just the desire to see, experience, talk, engage, and photograph. tell the difference between filé powder and a workboat, or a Cre- We were outsiders to be sure, and the view is always that—of the ole and a Cajun. They couldn’t quite believe that we were taking curious onlooker. You can only know what you know and only a six-month sabbatical to photograph in a place called the Great photograph what you find intriguing. We tried to do just that: Atchafalaya River Basin, and document it all! “You all don’t even capture the land, the people, and the culture—all that seemed so do that style of work,” they said. curiously at odds with big city life, and even our own aspirations Well, we were going to make the definitive American docu- to the world of galleries, museums, and fancy publications. mentary of a vanishing and unique culture, a pocket of singular This “foreign” place allowed us to experience a part of Amer- patois-speaking people, descendants and survivors of a diaspora, ica that helped define this nation. There was something so genu- who had managed to protect some wonderful heritage. Yeah, we ine in these people that gave reason to our escapism. It allowed knew about Robert Flaherty, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Clar- us to see diversity and ethnicity that mingle and intermingle, and ence John Laughlin, and all the others. Our ambitions were no yet remain hermetic but not preserved. Even at the time, people less; we were determined to see what we could say about all this. knew that Cajun land, and all that it represented, was going to be Breaux Bridge, crawfish capitol of the world, was our epicen- lost. We saw the growth of box stores, shopping malls, interstate ter—our little rented cottage, a couple of trays in the bathroom highways, oil greed, and fast food, which would eventually level sink to develop film: rock and roll. And each day was a new adven- ‘our’ Acadia. ture…but not without a breakfast stop first at Mama Thibodaux’s We were inspired by Paul Tate, Jimmie Domengeaux, Barry for drip coffee, boudin, and eggs. We did it all—the fais do-dos, Ancelet, Dewey Balfa, Ralph Rinzler, and all of those individuals boucheries, trail rides, weddings, Mardi Gras, quarter-mile racing, who fostered the Cajun Renaissance. We thought that maybe our farming, fishing, hunting—you name it. document could help; it didn’t get seen much though. The world spun on. Our editor died and thus the book that was planned. And now, so many years later, the documenting seems all the more relevant as the storms keep surging, the wetlands receding, the fish and wildlife diminishing. Do what you can to safeguard it—at the very least your own memory of it. Every record counts. Every effort counts. What is a documentary? I have been thinking about what it is to witness and capture things, people and places throughout my professional career. Thus far, I can only tell you that it is the personal narrative of what a photographer sees. —Charles H. Traub Charles H. Traub is chair of the graduate program in photog- raphy, video, and related media at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

Douglas Baz founded the photography department at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, and is a freelance documentary and fine-art photographer. Hauling in the Net

4 Vo l u m e XXV, Nu m b e r 4 — Fall 2008 Fourteenth Annual Williams Research Center Symposium Th e Ac a d i a n Di a s p o r a For registration information, visit www.hnoc.org or call (504) 523-4662.

Friday, January 30, 2009 11:30 a.m. Acadian Settlement in the Atlantic Colonies The Historic New Orleans Collection, 533 Royal Street John Mack Faragher, Arthur Unobskey Professor of American History and Director, Howard R. Lamar 6:00 p.m. Reception Center for the Study of Frontiers and Borders

Saturday, January 31, 2009 Yale University Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, 621 St. Louis Street 12:00 p.m. Lunch 8:00 a.m. Registration 1:30 p.m. Invitation to Symposium 2010 8:50 a.m. Welcome 1:40 p.m. Cajuns and Their Material Culture Priscilla Lawrence, Executive Director Malcolm L. Comeaux, Professor Emeritus The Historic New Orleans Collection School of Geographical Sciences 9:00 a.m. Introduction Arizona State University Glen Pitre, Symposium Moderator 2:25 p.m. Avec espoir pour l’avenir: With Hope for the Writer/Filmmaker, Côte Blanche Productions Future 9:15 a.m. An Overview of the Acadian Diaspora An interview with Barry Jean Ancelet, Granger & Carl Brasseaux, Director, Center for Cultural Debaillon Endowed Professor of Francophone and Eco-Tourism Studies, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of Louisiana at Lafayette by Glen Pitre 10:00 a.m. Break 3:10 p.m. Moderator’s Comments and Closing Remarks 10:20 a.m. The Acadians, A Founding People of Canada 3:30–5:00 p.m. Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street Maurice Basque, Director, Institut d’études acadiennes Questions and Answers Université de Moncton Meet the speakers and view the exhibitions: Cajun Document, 1974 11:00 a.m. 18th-Century Acadians in Belle Île en Mer Evangeline: From Tragic Heroine to Cultural Icon Claire Bettag, CG, CGL, Genealogist

Ev a n g e l i n e : Fr o m Tr a g i c He r o i n e t o Cu l t u r a l Ic o n On view at the Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street December 19, 2008–April 25, 2009 Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Free and open to the public

hough written over 160 years ago, The exhibition Evangeline: From THenry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Tragic Heroine to Cultural Icon explores Promotional photograph of epic poem Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie the relationship between Longfellow’s actress Dolores Del Rio from still resonates with Acadians throughout poem and the Cajuns living in south Illustration by Howard the 1929 film Evangeline, North America. The poem tells the story Louisiana. Since the poem’s publication, Chandler Christy between 1929 and 1932 of the virtuous heroine Evangeline, Cajuns have embraced it as a part of from the 1905 edition of (1993.132), gift of who is separated from her new husband their culture. Showcasing maps, books, Evangeline (88-444-RL) Jim Fontaine Gabriel during the Acadian exile from prints, and ephemera, the exhibition will Nova Scotia. Evangeline spends the rest of her life traveling all over bring this story to life. Among the highlights are still images from the United States searching for her lost love. Although a fictional the 1929 silent film Evangeline, shot in St. Martinville, Louisiana, tale, the poem is based on the true story of le grand dérangement. as well as a copy of the poem (1905) illustrated by renowned artist Over 3,000 of the Acadians exiled in 1755 eventually settled in Howard Chandler Christy. Louisiana and are now known as Cajuns. —Amanda McFillen

Th e Hi s to r i c Ne w Or l e a n s Co l l e c t i o n Qu a r t e r l y 5 Prints Past & Prints Present: Limited Editions from Louisiana

rints form the foundation of The Historic New Orleans Collection. When General L. Kemper Williams began Pamassing historical artifacts in the 1930s, the first object he acquired was a print depicting the Battle of New Orleans. Subsequently, General and Mrs. Williams turned their interest to views of the harbor, docks, markets, and the Vieux Carré and its expansion into adjacent faubourgs. They supplemented these views with books and maps—and, since the establishment of The Collection in 1966, curatorial staff has continued to build the institution’s print holdings. Prints Past & Prints Present: Limited Editions from Louisi- ana marks the fourth joint venture between The Historic New Orleans Collection and the New Orleans Museum of Art. The Modernist Still-life by John Canaday, ca. 1945 (2008.0216.19), partial gift of Dr. James W. Nelson exhibition, which opened in September at NOMA, draws from the print collections of both museums. The show consists of 60 works by more than 50 printmakers who visited or resided in New Orleans from the late 19th century to the present. The exhibition is arranged in two parts, with The Collection’s prints featured in one gallery and NOMA’s in another. The Collection presents works by such nota- ble artists as Thomas Hart Benton, John Canaday, Henry Casselli, Elizabeth Catlett, Ralston Crawford, Caroline Durieux, Mabel Dwight, Morris Henry Hobbs, Sadie Irvine, John McCrady, Clarence Millet, Jules Pascin, Joseph Pennell, Ellsworth Woodward, William Wood- ward, and Guy Livingston Woolley. A wide range of subjects are presented—including landscapes, seascapes, street scenes, cemetery scenes, still lifes, genre scenes, The Genius by Charles and French Quarter views—in a variety of printing tech- Frederick Surendorf, 1935 niques. Two of the works are rare portraits: Ellsworth (2008.0216.266ii), partial gift Woodward’s only monotype—an 1890s portrait of his of Dr. James W. Nelson young wife, Mary Woodward—and a 1935 woodcut by Charles Frederick Surendorf, his only known double-sided print, which features a self-portrait on one side and a surrealist scene titled The Genius on the reverse. Prints Past & Prints Present: Limited Editions from Louisiana will be on display through March 1, 2009. Admission is free for Louisiana residents; standard rates apply for all other patrons. Mary Woodward NOMA is open Wednesday, 12:00–8:00 p.m., and Thursday– by Ellsworth Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Woodward, 1890s —Judith H. Bonner (2008.0216.310), partial gift of Dr. James W. Nelson

6 6 V Vo lo u l mu me eXXV, XXV, N Nu mu mb e b r e r4 4— — Fall Fall 2008 2008 Dianne Woest Fellowship in the Fr o m the Di r e c t o r Arts and Humanities Together we are stronger. The Historic New The Historic New Orleans Collection is proud to announce the Orleans Collection regularly collaborates recipients of the 2009 Dianne Woest Fellowship in the Arts and with fellow cultural institutions to enhance Humanities: our collective ability to fulfill our missions. Many of you attended the free con- Dr. Victor George Hobson, University of East Anglia cert, “Music on the Mississippi,” performed “The Frederic Ramsey Jr. Papers” by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orches- Dr. Alecia Long, Louisiana State University tra on February 13, 2008, at the St. Louis “‘There is an Abiding Air of Fantasy Here’: New Orleans Cathedral. The event was the result of a partnership between The Culture in the 1960s” Historic New Orleans Collection and the LPO to present annual concerts highlighting the contributions Louisiana has made to the Courtney Rivard, University of California at Santa Cruz world of classical music. “Music on the Mississippi” was the sec- “Contested Memories and New Terrains: A Comparative ond collaborative concert presented at the St. Louis Cathedral, Study of the Production of Cultural Memories Surrounding thanks to rector Monsignor Kern and the Archdiocese of New September 11 and Hurricane Katrina” Orleans. A standing-room-only audience turned out for the musi- Dr. Gillian Rodger, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee cal voyage down the Mississippi, featuring composers and pieces “The Stage and the City: Exploring New Orleans through its inspired by the mighty river, with Mark Twain, played by mikko, Theatrical World, 1840–1860” as the evening’s narrator. The concert was repeated in Hammond and in Slidell and a version for children was performed several The annual fellowship supports scholarly research on the history more times in New Orleans and on the Northshore. and culture of Louisiana and the Gulf South. Applications Dr. Alfred Lemmon, music historian and director of the Wil- for the 2010 Woest Fellowship, due August 1, 2009, may be liams Research Center, has collaborated with the LPO’s artistic downloaded at www.hnoc.org. director Carlos Miguel Prieto, managing director Babs Mollere, and staff and musicians to establish the content for the concerts. The Historic New Orleans Collection gratefully acknowledges the The original concept has grown into a widespread educational ini- generosity of Dianne Audrey Woest (1935–2003), a graduate of tiative that will reach every school in the state. Filmmaker Walter Southeastern Louisiana University, former president of the New Williams produced a DVD interpreting the concert for children, Orleans Council for International Visitors, and true friend of the which will be distributed along with a teacher’s guide. Many gen- arts. Through a planned giving arrangement, Woest designated The erous sponsors have contributed to this effort. Collection as the beneficiary of her estate. Additional collaborative initiatives of The Collection include regular exhibitions at the New Orleans Museum of Art presented The Collection Hosts jointly by The Collection and NOMA. Prints Past & Prints Pres- International Conference on ent: Limited Editions from Louisiana, on view through March 1, “Museums and Disasters” 2009, is the fourth installment in the exhibition series, which showcases the Louisiana art of both institutions. In the spring, In November, The Collection hosted the International Council The Collection and the Contemporary Arts Center are mount- for Museums and Collections of Archaeology and History’s ing complementary exhibitions of photographs from the extensive 2008 Annual Conference, “Museums and Disasters.” ICMAH, archives of the late photographer Michael P. Smith, now in the a subcommittee of the International Council of Museums holdings of The Collection. In The Spirit: Photographs of Michael (ICOM), consists of approximately 600 institutional and P. Smith will open in the Williams Gallery in March. Twenty-Five individual members from 67 countries. It is currently one of Jazz Fests, featuring Smith’s photographs of the New Orleans Jazz the most active committees of ICOM. & Heritage Festival, opens at the CAC during French Quarter The four-day conference at The Collection addressed four Festival and will run through July 2009. Plans for a November interrelated themes: The Ethics of Collecting and Interpreting 2009 colloquium on the Alsace-Lorraine Jewish experience in Disasters; Establishing the Truth; What’s the Message?; and Louisiana and the Gulf South are underway with the Consulate Exhibition Design. Representatives from the U.S., France, General of France in New Orleans. Greece, Germany, Japan, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, The Collection is committed to the benefits of allying with and Colombia spoke on a variety of topics, including risk fellow cultural organizations. We invite your participation, enjoy- management, racial/ethnic violence and anxieties, the Kobe ment, and support. I urge you to consult our website often for earthquake, the exhibition of human remains, the challenges of updates on exhibitions and events. protecting collections, and the lessons learned from disasters. —Priscilla Lawrence

Th e T Hhi e s tHo ri s it co N r ie c w N Oe wr l O e a rn ls e C a nos l C l eo c lt li oe cnt Qi o un aQ r tue a r r lt y e r7 l y 7 A Happy Life h

“I quit my day job at Tichenor’s Antiseptic…my father raised holy hell,” reminisced Henry Gowland in a scrapbook notation. After seven years working at a job that bored him, Henry, an aspiring young vaudeville comedian, hit the road in 1909, changed his name to “Happy,” and devoted the next decade of his life to slapstick. His vaudeville career is documented in three scrapbooks recently donated to The Historic New Orleans Collection. From the 1880s through the 1930s, New Orleans was home to many vaudevillians. They performed locally and orga- nized tours throughout the South. A typical show consisted of eight acts, which included comedians, animal tricks, magi- cians, acrobats, dancers, pantomime, singers, and sometimes one-act plays. It was a formula that worked. The acts were gen- erally wholesome in content and appealed to a wide range of age groups. Happy’s routine changed over the years with the creation and abandonment of different comic personas, but it was all slapstick. An Amite, Louisiana, newspaper reported that “Happy is a most lovable cuss with a keen insight into human nature. His comical antics in each and every performance kept Happy Gowland (2008.0030) the audiences simply rocking with laughter.” His granddaugh- ter Cathy remembered that he was famous for writing humor-

Sometimes you get a good one, and sometimes you don’t. I bought a smoker the other night looked like a stick of dynamite. Sometimes you get a good one but it’s ten to one you won’t. The one he said was a real good smoke, was no cigar, but a piece of rope. Sometimes you get a good one, and sometimes you don’t. —parody of 1916 hit song by Happy Gowland

Advance truck of the Paul English Players selling tickets to upcoming performances (2008.0030)

8 Vo l u m e XXV, Nu m b e r 4 — Fall 2008 Signs advertising upcoming performances, possibly in Ponchatoula, Louisiana Happy, Lillian, and Henry Gowland, about (2008.0030). Happy Gowland is featured in the sign to the left. 1922 (2008.0030) ous lyrics for popular songs of the day—a “Weird Al Yankovic”of Happy and Lillian’s grandson Michael Gowland, a New the vaudeville era. Happy’s humor persisted into old age. Cathy Orleans fireman, donated the scrapbooks to The Collection. Dur- can still hear her grandfather singing to her during the height of ing Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Gowland’s job required him to stay in the space race: “How much is that doggy in the Sputnik? The one New Orleans while his family evacuated. As his wife was loading with the waggly tail…” the car to leave the city, she remembered Happy’s scrapbooks and Happy fell in love with another vaudeville performer, singer took them with her. Like tens of thousands of New Orleanians, Lillian Touzet. They married in 1912. Together they worked for the Gowlands lost just about everything when their Lakeview established shows such as the W. I. Swain and J. G. O’Brien stock home flooded. Thankfully the scrapbooks were saved and now companies and the Paul English Players. In between runs, the have a safe and permanent home at The Collection. Gowlands organized their own companies. In 1913 they estab- Mementos, such as Happy’s scrapbooks, take on a greater sig- lished the “20th Century Girl in the Moon Co.” Lillian “rode over nificance in the aftermath of Katrina. The Collection encourages the audience in a moon,” Happy recalled. The show was a great community members to follow Michael Gowland’s example by success in New Orleans and traveled throughout the state. Two- or donating their family treasures to the institution’s holdings. three-night stints were held in Plaquemine, White Castle, Don- —Mark Cave aldsonville, Napoleonville, Labadieville, Patterson, Jeanerette, and New Iberia. The couple seemed to thrive on the road. Even the birth of their son, Henry Jr., in 1921 caused little interruption in their schedule. He simply traveled with them. Of the established companies that Happy and Lillian worked for, the Paul English Players is the most notable. They opened with the group in July of 1918 in Alexandria, Louisiana. The com- pany performed for the general public at the Liberty Airdome and staged special performances for wounded WWI soldiers at Camp Beauregard. The show was a success but was closed early due to the 1918 influenza pandemic. The Gowlands traveled as far as El Dorado, Arkansas, and Cooksville, Tennessee, with the Paul English Players. Country-music legend Jimmy Rodgers was also among the players during Happy and Lillian’s tenure. The Great Depression brought a swift end to Happy and Lil- lian’s careers as performers. Happy noted in one of the scrapbooks, “This was the end…depression is here…the business slipped to nothing…it was great while it lasted.” Thankfully, the couple had been saving their money and were able to purchase a home in the Vaudeville growing Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans. Happy found performers in front work managing several local movie theatres. Later in life, he began of the performers’ entrance to the making toys—first for his grandchildren and then for sale. Lillian Elyseum Theatre devoted her time to raising Henry Jr. and later developed a passion in New Orleans for gambling. She was renowned for her good luck. (2008.0030)

Th e Hi s to r i c Ne w Or l e a n s Co l l e c t i o n Qu a r t e r l y 9 hotographs communicate in one direction: from the past, where Ptheir content resides, to the pres- ent. They are fixed. It is we, the viewers, who change. Even though early photographs depicted ostensibly familiar subjects, they presented the viewer—quite literally— with something never before seen. Hybrids of pure science and pure miracle, they inspired both trust and awe. Unlike other art forms, which more readily revealed the hand of the creator, early photographs were embraced for their ability to tell (or reveal) the truth. Deception, of course, has Steamer Princess, between 1858 and February 27, 1859 (1982.32.1) been part of photography’s baggage since its invention. But this quality was more apparent to early practitioners than to early audiences. A Closer Look Then as well as now, part of the unadulterated pleasure of looking at pho- The Antebellum Photographs of tographs resides in their potential to con- Jay Dearborn Edwards, 1858–1861 jure a myriad of responses. By definition, responses will vary, given an individual’s bank of personal memories or areas of curiosity. Indeed, a viewer may mine or glean information from a photograph that has little to do with its maker’s intent. To encourage—and to chart—multiple paths of inquiry is the curatorial premise of A Closer Look: The Antebellum Photographs of Jay Dearborn Edwards, 1858–1861, which opened at The Historic New Orleans Col- lection in October. h

The body of work left by Jay Dearborn Edwards is not materially different from that of many others who practiced the craft and art of early photography. Edwards used no secret formulas, no special cam- eras—only the tools and techniques of a working professional. It was his subject, the South’s largest city, that sets his work apart. Edwards made several dozen photographs St. Charles Hotel, between 1858 and 1861 (1982.32.10) of New Orleans—undoubtedly more are waiting to be unearthed—within a span of fewer than five years. These images pique

10 10Vo lV uo m l e u XXV, m e XXV, Nu N m bu e m r b4 e r— 4 Fall— Fall 2008 2008 our interest for their rendition of a specific place at a more-or-less single moment in time. And they represent, at least to this date, the earliest known photographic views on paper depicting the city of New Orleans. The photographs on display in A Closer Look, together with a handful of others currently archived at other institu- tions, seem to be the remnant of a more substantial group. A numbering system on American Aloe or Century Plant, between 1858 and 1861 (1982.167.4) the prints suggests an original compilation of at least 118 views, assuming sequenc- viewed and purchased—suggesting that multifaceted commercial character. There ing without gaps. Little is known about Edwards anticipated the desires of his cli- were 237 attorneys, 53 notaries, 31 cot- why these images were made. Like other entele, perhaps even shaping those desires ton brokers, and 6 dealers in slaves. List- professional photographers, then and now, with images made of his own volition. ings for commission merchants occupied Edwards made pictures of those people, The New Orleans of the late 1850s 4 double-columned directory pages. Eight places, and things that others paid him and early 1860s, the period of Edwards’s libraries had a combined 31,826 books on to record. But he seems to have exercised residency, was a thriving port city. The hand. Locksmiths and bellhangers num- at least some degree of artistic agency. 1860 census placed the population at bered 20, harnessmakers 7, wheelwrights His business was advertised as a “gal- 168,375 people. A glance at Gardner’s New 6, and somnambulists 3. Those needing lery” with an assortment of pictures to be Orleans Directory of 1859 reveals the city’s the services of a boilermaker could choose

View of Canal Street, from Bourbon, Looking toward the Lake, between 1858 and 1859 (1982.32.15)

TThh e eH Hi sit s oto r ri c i cN Ne we w O Orr l el aen a ns sC Coo l l el ce ct ti oi on n Q Quu a rat r te re rl y l y 11 11 l o s e r o o k from among 5 listings. Single entries suf- Nearly all of the Edwards photographs A C L ficed for real estate agents, artificial-leg in the exhibition are related to images On view at the 533 Royal Street makers, bung and plug manufacturers, sold at auction in London in 1982. The Through February 20 mosquito-bar makers, and whitewashers. Swiss consignor, when asked about the Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. There were 3 listings for daguerreotypists provenance of the photographs, said that Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and ambrotypists; “photographer” was not his great-grandfather had collected them Free and open to the public yet a category. while traveling in America. Perhaps the Cotton and sugar were the primary selection reflects purposeful inquiry; per- commodities fueling activity along New haps the images simply appealed as sou- Orleans’s levees and within the city’s venirs. Regardless, we must acknowledge offices, banks, exchanges, and other halls this 19th-century “curator” whose taste in of commerce. The 1861 Gardner’s direc- photography has shaped our understand- tory recapitulates the important role of the ing of J. D. Edwards. port in handling these cargoes. Between 1855 and 1858, the port of New Orleans regularly handled in excess of 50 percent of the national (that is to say, southern) cotton crop. The 1859–60 cotton harvest, the largest on record to date, produced 4.65 million bales—of which 2.25 million passed through the port of New Orleans. With few exceptions, Edwards’s pho- tographs take “commerce” as their sub- ject matter. They do so explicitly, through views of the port and levee. And they do Ex h i b i t i o n Ca t a l o g u e so implicitly, through views of public and In conjunction with the exhibition, The private edifices, across the city, built figura- Esplanade Street from Royal Street toward Lake, Collection has published a full-color cata- tively upon a foundation of sugar and cot- between 1858 and 1861 (1982.167.5) logue featuring essays on the technical ton, banking and insurance. More difficult aspects of producing photographs in the to fit into a context of commerce are two Edwards’s photographs, in round mid-19th century, how photographs were wonderful environmental portraits that numbers, are now 150 years old. It is high distributed, and the life of Jay Dearborn begin to put a human face on the city. time to take “a closer look” at the world Edwards. The catalogue is available for Steam power, a defining technology of they depict. To this end, each image is $17.95 in The Shop at The Collection. the Industrial Revolution, serves Edwards paired, in the galleries, with a complemen- See page 19 for ordering information. as another principal subject. The scale tary—or contrapuntal—item. In some h of its use (the sheer size and cost of the cases, the exhibition curators have yielded equipment, the need for a full-time spe- to the temptation to contrast “then and Up c o m i n g Le c t u r e s cialized mechanic to minister to the boiler, now” views of the New Orleans cityscape. gauges, pipes, and pistons) was suited to But in other cases, the content (or sub- A Biography of Jay Dearborn Edwards text) of the photographs suggests other, by LSU professor Jay Edwards commercial operations, but had not yet less obvious, comparisons. Each pairing great-grandson of made great inroads into personal, domes- functions as a portal into history—and Jay Dearborn Edwards tic life. Photographs of steamboats and reminds us of the open-ended narrative Wednesday, December 3, 6:30 p.m. steamships, railroad engines, and firefight- potential of photography. Gone, perhaps, 533 Royal Street ing equipment marshal evidence—from all corners of the city—of the harnessing is the sense of sheer wonder shared by h of this vaporous servant. Other images photography’s earliest audiences. But the Twentieth-Century New Orleans make their case through suggestion. Pho- photographs of J. D. Edwards still inspire Photography tographs of bales of cotton and hogsheads us, as viewers, to see his world, and ours, by John H. Lawrence of sugar, massed along the levee, imply— anew. The exhibition is free and open to Wednesday, January 14, 6:30 p.m. even when they do not show—the pres- the public and continues on view through 533 Royal Street ence of steam-powered cotton presses and Friday, February 20, 2009. sugar houses. —John H. Lawrence

12 Vo l u m e XXV, Nu m b e r 4 — Fall 2008 Donor Profile Marilyn Barnett

Marilyn Barnett vived everything—the natural disasters, pulls a gold pendant the political disasters. The Collection with a tiny amethyst is a haven for researchers who want to heart inscribed with the words “21 plus” learn anything and everything about New from the neckline of her shirt so that it Orleans—for anyone, really, who wants to is visible. The necklace, she explains, was learn about this wonderful city.” a gift from General and Mrs. Williams, As the only woman in the Item's founders of The Historic New Orleans sports department, Barnett covered every- Collection, on her 40th birthday. thing from boxing matches to horse racing In the years since she received the to the Sugar Bowl, graciously handling the pendant, The Historic New Orleans challenges she faced as a woman working Collection has grown into a repository in what was then a man’s domain. brimming with materials related to New From print journalism she moved to Orleans history, including memorabilia radio, where she worked for classical music from Barnett’s varied and exciting career. station WTIX. An interview with the New Working in the fields of sports journalism, Orleans Symphony Orchestra’s new con- “Somewhere along the line, I decided radio, television, and hospitality, her life ductor led to a job managing the sympho- not to just work the Blue Room, sending here has been anything but ordinary. She ny’s public relations from 1954 to 1960. press releases to the darlings at the States has donated thousands of her items to The Even before she officially entered the and the Item. I went beyond that. Any- Collection. hospitality industry, Barnett had a knack thing I could do for an entertainer, I did,” In 1944 Barnett played on and cov- for making visitors feel at home. When Barnett said. ered the Eastern Tennis Circuit for the the visiting Greek symphony conductor Celebrities remembered Barnett long New Orleans States-Item. Some years later, Dimitri Metropoulos would have no other after their stays at the Fairmont. She the Item named her the first female sports- type of cigarette than Gauloise Bleu, it was received correspondence from Pearl Bailey writer in the city. In later years, she ran the Barnett who found the one vendor in the until the singer’s death in 1990. Barnett Fairmont Hotel’s Blue Room, personally city who carried the brand. She once spent donated two photographs of Bailey to The hosting visiting celebrities—a major part an afternoon flying kites along the river Collection: one of Bailey stepping out of of the public relations job for the hotel. with Brazilian composer Heitor Villa- the River Jordan, with a soldier on each She’s taken Peggy Lee to the emergency Lobos when she found out that was his side of her, when she performed for the room, stood on Eartha Kitt’s shoulders favorite pastime. Gestures of generosity King of Jordan, and another of Bailey at while rescuing a baby blue jay in Audubon came naturally to Marilyn; they defined the United Nations. Still on Barnett’s wall Park, and danced with mafia boss Frank her work. at her home is a photo of Bailey singing Costello. Imogene Coca has borrowed her When the prestigious Royal Orleans at the White House, accompanied by raincoat. Hotel opened in 1960, Barnett was hired President Richard Nixon on the piano. Barnett’s colorful career has left her as publicist. “Everybody in town who was Years after most of these events with countless autographed photos, thank- anybody (and some that weren’t) came to took place, Barnett still delights in the you notes, articles, cards, and gifts from the Royal Orleans—to see it, to have a relationships she has formed and the many celebrities, and throughout the years, she drink, have dinner, to go up on the roof experiences of her career. “Great times,” she has donated the majority of these items to and see the pool,” she said. “It was the top said. “Of all the memories, it’s impossible The Collection. property in the city.” to pick a favorite. Tennis, newspaper, “I donate my most treasured let- After “nine and a half marvelous radio, hotels—it was unforgettable.” Her ters, notes, and papers to The Collection years” at the Royal Orleans, she moved papers and memorabilia now have a home because it has the wherewithal, finan- to the Royal Sonesta, and from there, to at the Williams Research Center, where cially and professionally,” Barnett, a New the Fairmont Hotel, where she managed they will be available for future generations Orleans native, said. “It’s secure, in one public relations at the hotel, including the to enjoy. of the best sections of the city that’s sur- famed Blue Room, for 12 years. —Rachel Gibbons

Th e Hi s to r i c Ne w Or l e a n s Co l l e c t i o n Qu a r t e r l y 13 h DONORS: Ap r i l –Ju n e 2008 Year-End Neil Allen Carol and Ed Gernon Robert J. Patrick The Alumni Society of the School of the Melissa A. Gibbs June B. Peay Visual Arts, Inc. Global Wildlife Center Mr. and Mrs. R. Hunter Pierson Jr. Giving Austin Alward Stephen Goldfarb Mrs. Eads B. Poitevent Royd Anderson Drs. Abbye and Steve Gorin Mary Jane and Carlton Polk Beverly Arsem and Thomas O’Malley Lewis L. Gould Jonathan K. Quinn Audubon Nature Institute Michael Gretchen Family Priscilla Lyons and John Quirk The Azby Fund Bonnie Miller Gunsaulus Mrs. F. W. Raggio Jr. s the end of 2008 approaches, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Bagg Oscar M. Gwin IV Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group The Historic New Orleans Baptist Community Ministries Dr. and Mrs. Frank A. Hall Elizabeth M. Reed Sylvia A. Barker Virginia V. Hamilton, PhD Robert E. Rintz Collection encourages you Björn Bärnheim John P. Harlan/Harbridge Petroleum Anne and Myles Robichaux A to consider the institution in your Earl E. Beelman Corp. Carolyn F. Rodman Mr. and Mrs. E. V. Benjamin III Theresa and William P. Heimel Karen and Allan Ronquillo year-end giving. The office of devel- Mr. and Mrs. J. Timothy Betbeze Heiner Brau/Henryk Orlik Bill Ross Drew Bevolo Linda Helmer Giselle Roth opment is happy to propose several Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Beyer Priscilla Hildum and Warren McCabe Marilyn S. Rusovich options for your tax-deductible gift Marc Bonin Dr. Sylvia L. Hilton St. Denis J. Villere & Company Michael P. Bonneau The Board of Directors of The Historic Allen R. Sandico and would be delighted to assist you William E. Borah New Orleans Collection, bookplate in Linda J. and John R. Sarpy Vernon Brinson memory of Adrian Jardine Rita Satawa in making that donation a reality. Florence Brown Dr. Jack D. Holden School of Design Gifts of the following items, executed Hugh C. Brown Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Harley B. Howcott Jr. Wendy Schwartz and David Hartley Dr. Robert Nolan Bruce Mary Lynn Hyde Nick Scramuzza within calendar year 2008, are conve- Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Rosemary James Elizabeth Sewell nient and beneficial ways to support Harold Burns Dr. and Mrs. E. Patrick Jenevein Gretchen Crager Sharpless Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Cannon Erik Jungbacker The Shop at The Collection The Collection while simultaneously Cheryl Koch Caprera Mr. and Mrs. George Denègre Keenan Nancy and John Sickmann Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Caradona Carol and Ray King Norma and Bob Simms realizing significant tax benefits: Walter Carroll Jr. K. C. King Mrs. Jules E. Simoneaux Jr. • Cash Celebration Distillation Matthew Knoblauch Dorothy B. Skau Emily Chachere Cassandra L. Knobloch Ginger Borah Slaughter • Charitable gift annuities Mr. and Mrs. William K. Christovich Katherine and John Kosta Arthur Smith Robert Clepper Dr. and Mrs. Argimiro Lago Judith M. Smith • Stocks and securities Lana A. Corll Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Nannetta Smith • Real estate Captain Lastie Cormier Museum/Jay C. Martin Patty Lee Smith in memory of Carolyn Mary G. and Robert D. Coyle Dianne Lapeyrouse and Philip Prejean Bowker • Life insurance The Rev. Stephen Craft Susan R. Laudeman Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Snyder, • Historical materials and objects Dana Criswell Cruthirds Jodie Lawdermilk bookplate in memory of Joseph R. Cull Mr. and Mrs. John H. Lawrence Adrian Jardine consistent with THNOC’s Mr. and Mrs. Joseph W. Darby III Mrs. Thomas B. Layton Harriet and Norm Stafford Jan E. Davis George L. Lebeuf Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Stahel mission Mark C. Davis Marchelle R. Lee Dr. and Mrs. Barry Starr Also, Congress recently extended Deanie’s Seafood M. Theresa LeFevre Douglas Perret Starr Joseph M. Deano Lyn LeJeune State of Louisiana, Office of the State an excellent charitable plan- Princesse Rita-Carole Dedeyan Justice Harry T. Lemmon and Judge Mary Library of Louisiana Maurice Denuzière Ann Lemmon in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Stephens ning opportunity for both 2008 Will Dermady Ms. D. Elmore Becnel Adam M. Stevenson and 2009. The act permits an IRA Deutsches Haus Louisiana State Museum Ruth C. Stewart Susan and Edward Dicharry Dr. J. Bruce Lowe Bette and Larry Stoelzing owner aged 70½ or older to make a Lawrence Ditoro Jr. Sherrye Lunstrom Dr. Martha H. Sullivan direct transfer to charity in calendar Dixie Brewing Company/Mr. and John T. Magill Steven Mark Sweet Mrs. Joe Bruno Josie and George Markey Tangipahoa Parish Library years 2008 and 2009. The transfer Renee Dodge and John Winslow Dr. and Mrs. Richard H. Marshall Carolyn G. Thalheim Prudence Doherty Mr. and Mrs. Edward F. Martin Hazel Theriot may be up to $100,000 in one year. Roger Drake Elsie B. Martinez Emily L. Thornton To receive materials or for more Brooke H. Duncan Rita Mashburn Fred W. Todd Penny and Marion Edwards G. H. Mc Loughlin Mrs. Thomas J. Tomeny Jr. information about year-end giving, Mark H. Ellis Frances D. McCall Wade Toth Richmond B. Ellis II and Thomas Jayne Janeth Murray McKendrick Jennifer L. Tujague please call Burl Salmon, director of Scott S. Ellis Mr. and Mrs. William M. Mees Mary Ann Valentino development and external affairs, Louise N. Ewin Ken Mentel Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Vella Sonny Faggart Ira J. Middleberg Terry Verigan at (504) 598-7173. Susan Fagocki Milling, Benson, Woodward, LLP Colette Villeré-Ford All inquiries are held in strictest Lisa Faia Nadia St. Paul Moïse Darlene Walk and Carolyn Kuehling Carl Falstrom John D. Monteiro Dolores J. Walker confidence and without obligation. Terry Fedoroff Anne and James Morse Diane G. Wasson in memory of Warren Diane and George Fee Janice L. Mulvihill P. Jumonville The Historic New Orleans Collection Mary and Vaughan Fitzpatrick Geraldine Murphy Helen C. Weaver does not offer legal or tax advice. We Mr. and Mrs. Michael Fitzpatrick Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Nalty Lynne F. White Grace M. Flanagan Teresa Neaves Walter H. White III encourage you to consult your legal R. Ann Ford Dr. James W. Nelson Claire L. Whitehurst Cathy Rogers Franklin New Orleans Steamboat Family of Pam and Ron Williams and financial advisors for structuring Robert Gray Freeland Companies Peggy P. Wilson a gift that achieves your giving inten- Lee Friar Mrs. Ulisse M. Nolan The Rev. Canon Richard W. Wilson Dr. Phillip F. Fuselier and Anthony Karin W. Oakes Mr. and Mrs. Andre V. Wogan tions and meets your particular finan- Terranova Echo Olander Lynn Wolken cial circumstances. Mr. and Mrs. L. Garvey Fund Keith Oldendorf Clifford S. Wright Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence D. Garvey Karen B. Palermo Michelle Wright John Geiser III Beverly and Wayne Papania Floyd M. Zula

1414 V oV lo u ml u e m XXV, e XXV, N uN mu b m e rb e4 r —4 — Fall Fall 2008 2008 Be a Part of Louisiana’s Future by Helping to Preserve Its Past… Be c o m e a Me m b e r o f Th e Hi s to r i c Ne w Or l e a n s Co l l e c t i o n Your generous support funds research, educational outreach, award-winning publications, and internationally renowned exhibitions.

Membership has its benefits… f o u n d e r $35 l a u s s a t s o c i e t y $1,000 Membership—at all levels— In addition to preserving Louisiana’s Full membership privileges, Full membership privileges; carries benefits for the entire house- past, your membership confers valuable as outlined special gift; private, guided hold: a single individual or a couple, benefits, including: tours of The Collection; m e r i e u l t s o c i e t y $100 along with any children under age • Subscription to The Collection’s free admission to all evening Full membership privileges; 18. For more information, please donor newsletter lectures presented by The special gift visit our website at www.hnoc.org • 10% shop discount Collection; special Laussat or call the office of development at m a h a l i a s o c i e t y $250 Society receptions and (504) 598-7109. All inquiries are • Unlimited guided tours of the Full membership privileges; tours; annual gala evening confidential and without obligation. History Galleries, Williams special gift; private, guided b i e nv i l l e c i r c l e $5,000 Residence, the architecture of tours of The Collection THNOC’s buildings and court- Full membership privileges; yards, and current exhibitions j a c k s o n s o c i e t y $500 special gift; private, guided (during regular business hours) Full membership privileges; tours of The Collection; special gift; private, guided free admission to all lectures • Admission to the Concerts in the tours of The Collection; and conferences presented Courtyard series free admission to all evening by The Collection; special • Members-only trips, events, and lectures presented by The member receptions and exhibition previews Collection tours; annual gala evening; • Recognition on The Collection’s private luncheon with the donor wall executive director

Classic! Catalogue Wins Award The catalogue for the exhibition Classic! 2004. Copies of the catalogue are still A Celebration of Sugar Bowl Memories was available free of charge. They may be recognized by the Southeastern Museums picked up in The Shop at The Collection, Conference’s 21st Annual Publication 533 Royal Street. Phone and e-mail orders Design Competition with a Silver Award will not be accepted. in the Large Museum Category. Published in conjunction with the winter 2007–08

Photo by Tom Jimison Tom by Photo exhibition, the catalogue traces the history In Me m o r i a m of the Sugar Bowl from the inaugural 1935 The Historic New Orleans Collection game through the 2008 championship mourns the recent passing of photog- game. Full-color reproductions of photo- rapher Michael P. Smith (1937–2008) graphs, program covers, and other on Friday, September 25, 2008. His memorabilia bring major moments in photographs of New Orleans musi- the bowl’s history to life. Highlights cians, their neighborhoods, and the include Tulane halfback “Little Monk” institutional structures that nurture the Simons’s incredible run in the 1935 game; city’s rich and varied cultural identity Kentucky’s stunning upset of Oklahoma in have defined New Orleans to worldwide 1951; the classic 1973 matchup between audiences since the late 1960s. Michael Ara Parseghian’s Fighting Irish and Smith’s archive is part of the holdings of Bear Bryant’s Crimson Tide; Alabama’s The Historic New Orleans Collection gutsy goal-line stand in the 1979 Sugar and will be the subject of an exhibition in Bowl, a move that secured the national the spring of 2009. championship title for the Tide; and LSU’s national championship performance in

Th e Hi s to r i c Ne w Or l e a n s Co l l e c t i o n Qu a r t e r l y 15 Horticulture and botany figure promi- American-born teacher, diagnostician, and a c q u i s i t i o n s nently in an April 2, 1803, letter from surgeon George Emerson Brewer (1861– Louis Marie Achille Trouard, a captain in 1939). Among the letters is one from Dr. Th e Hi s to r i c Ne w the Spanish militia in Louisiana, to Mr. Henry McNaughton-Jones, founder of the Or l e a n s Co l l e c t i o n Lezerines, director of the national nurs- Cork Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital in Cork, encourages research in the ery in Paris. After complaining about the Ireland. Recalling his own institution’s Williams Research Center delay in receiving Lezerine’s letter, Trouard modest beginnings as a 30-bed facility at 410 Chartres Street from promises to immediately begin collecting established in 1868 when he was just 24, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. botanical specimens. Noting his 20 years McNaughton-Jones expresses hope that Tuesday through Saturday of experience observing Louisiana flora and de Roaldes’s new Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat (except holidays). Cataloged materials fauna, Trouard offers to share his botanical Hospital in New Orleans will prosper. available to researchers include books, research with Lezerine. In exchange for the —Mary Lou Eichhorn manuscripts, paintings, prints, draw- specimens and information, he asks that ings, maps, photographs, and artifacts Lezerine, via Trouard’s agent in Bordeaux, Li b r a r y about the history and culture of New send carnation seeds and a number of For the second quarter of 2008 (April– Orleans, Louisiana, and the Gulf South. plants, including tulips, oriental hyacinth, June), there were 40 acquisitions totaling Each year The Collection adds thou- buttercups, and Chinese Thuys. Mention- 140 items. sands of items to its holdings. Though ing that previous botanical shipments have Mid-19th-century bookseller and sta- only selected gifts are mentioned here, been harmed in transit, Trouard requests tioner Thomas L. White briefly published the importance of all gifts cannot be that the shippers not store the specimens and sold almanacs from his shop at 105 overstated. Prospective donors are in- in the ship’s hold. Canal Street (present-day 615–17 Canal). vited to contact the authors of the acqui- The Arthur Washington de Roaldes The Collection recently acquired a copy sitions columns. Papers document the distinguished local of White’s Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas physician’s tenure as president of the Amer- Almanac for the Year of Our Lord 1858. Ma n u s c r i p t s ican Laryngological Association, a pro- While only a few cataloging records from For the second quarter of 2008 (April– fessional organization for physicians and other institutions exist for this title— June), there were 30 acquisitions totaling scientists. Educated in France and Louisi- notably an 1857 issue, an 1860 issue, and approximately 90 linear feet. ana, Opelousas native De Roaldes (1849– two undated issues—there are no other The Collection recently acquired cor- 1918) received France’s Legion of Honor recorded copies of White’s 1858 almanac. respondence and shipping manifests Grand Cross for acts of bravery during Along with the usual almanac data concern- from John Meyer Wholesale Fruit and his military service in the Franco-Prussian ing planetary movements, eclipses, phases Produce, Inc., the headquarters of which War. He was also the recipient of the of the moon, and holidays, this small book- were located at the corner of Poydras and Daily Picayune’s Loving Cup in 1905. let contains a roster of and information Fulton streets in the New Orleans Ware- De Roaldes lost his eyesight as a result of about United States government officials. house District. Founded ca. 1900, the an illness in the 1890s. One of his most Salaries are listed for state officials from firm was liquidated in the late 1960s. remarkable accomplishments was remain- Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas, with Lou- According to the company’s WWI- ing in surgical practice for more than isiana’s salaries ranking higher than those era letterhead, the firm managed orange 20 years with the help of sighted assistants. of its neighbors. For instance, Governor groves at Hesperides and Ravenwood, The highly respected diagnostician and R. C. Wickliffe earned $4,000 (whether near Port Sulphur, in Plaquemines Parish. physician assisted with surgical opera- per year or per term is not specified), Meyer also handled an extensive trade in tions and served as surgeon-in-chief at the while Elisha M. Pease, governor of Texas, California-grown grapes, as documented Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat Hospital in New only received $3000, and Arkansas gov- in the recent acquisition. Correspondence, Orleans until only two years prior to his ernor Elias N. Conway received the “use shipping manifests, receipts, railway com- death. of a house” and $1,800. Louisiana state pany agreements, and storage specifications Dating from 1904 to 1908, many senators and representatives were paid reveal detailed information about packing of the letters relate to the solicitation of $4.00 per day during the annual legislative and shipping fresh fruit from Etiwanda, academic papers from internationally session, which ran no more than 60 days. California, to New Orleans between 1912 prominent physicians such as German The last 11 pages of the almanac con- and 1935. Etiwanda grower George F. laryngologist Gustav Killian (1860–1921); tain advertisements for New Orleans firms Johnston provided Meyer with several dif- fellow German Themistokles Gluck such as P. P. Werlein (music), Thomas F. ferent varieties of grapes, including Muscat, (1853–1942), who also achieved fame as a Guion (jewelry, stationery, perfumery, Malaga, and Purple Damascas. pioneer of joint-replacement surgery; and guns, sporting articles), Sickles & Co.

16 Vo l u m e XXV, Nu m b e r 4 — Fall 2008 politician—was Poland’s prime minister medium of the drawings, but the imagi- in 1919 and ambassador to the League nation of both the designer and author of of Nations before retiring from politics the parade themes comes through just the in 1922. In 1905, during a world tour, same. A recent donation from the School he gave two recitals in New Orleans (on of Design includes drawings for the 2007 January 16 and 18) at the two-year-old and 2008 Rex parades, executed by Man- Greenwall Theatre, located on the cor- uel Ponce of Kern Studios. ner of Dauphine and Iberville streets. While the Krewe of Rex reuses a Paderewski performed different selec- handful of floats from year to year, the tions for each of the recitals. The recently majority of the rolling tableaux are con- acquired program lists the works offered, structed anew to illustrate each year’s par- including piano pieces by Bach, Beethoven, ticular theme. In 2007, the theme “The Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, and Chopin, Lunar Realm” was depicted by floats such as well as Paderewski’s own composi- as “The Cow Jumped over the Moon” tions. L. Grunewald Co., Ltd. advertises and “New Orleans, the Crescent City.” In its fine selection of Steinway pianos in the 2008, the floats portrayed mythical and program, noting that a Steinway is used geographic bodies of water, including the for the recitals. The advertisement also Styx, Congo, and Mississippi, to illustrate (drugs, medicines, surgical instruments), showcases Grunewald’s player pianos with the theme “Royal Rivers.” Hyde & Goodrich (jewelry, silver, watches, a wide selection of music rolls and “talk- Even when making photographs was clocks), and one advertisement for White, ing and singing” machines with the latest a far more cumbersome procedure than it himself. The small woodcut on the cover recordings of the most celebrated artists of is today, the medium attracted dedicated depicts workers in a cane field with a train the day, such as soprano Nellie Melba and amateurs. David Wendel Longstreet was moving through the countryside in the tenor Enrico Caruso. Melba was actually one such photographer who willingly car- background. scheduled to perform in a future produc- ried bulky, heavy equipment to photo- At the beginning of the new commer- tion at the Greenwall, as is announced on graph outdoors and spent hours in a dark- cial year, September 1, 1857, the firm of the back of the program. room processing the negatives and print- McDowell, Mills & Co. invited subscrib- —Pamela D. Arceneaux ing them. A clerk with the Illinois Central ers to the New-Orleans Price-Current, Railroad in New Orleans by day, Long- Commercial Intelligencer and Merchants’ Cu r a t o r i a l street was an active member of the New Transcript to pay special attention to the For the second quarter of 2008 (April– Orleans Camera Club and photographed Price-Current’s annual statement, which June), there were 27 acquisitions totaling around the city in the 1880s and 1890s. was published as a four-page insert in the approximately 237 items. Neil Allen has donated Longstreet’s wooden periodical. The company’s introductory Since its establishment in 1928, New folding view camera, several dozen glass letter described the annual statement as Orleans’s Deutsches Haus has been a negatives, processing apparatus, and other “an elaborate review of the past season’s center for German culture in the city. A photography-related materials. operations in our leading staples, together recent donation from Keith Oldendorf Though victorious on the battlefield, with valuable tables, remarks on the crops, underscores a key event in the organiza- Andrew Jackson was exhausted and gaunt etc.; all forming a commercial document tion’s annual calendar, Oktoberfest. Three when he sat for his portrait by Nathan of much interest, both for present perusal commemorative beer steins and a set of W. Wheeler following the Battle of New and for future reference.” The statement coasters are included in the gift. The Col- Orleans in early 1815. In about 1818, is incredibly detailed regarding the state lection is the repository for the extensive Wheeler, a journeyman artist born in Mas- of the previous year’s cotton, sugar, and and important archival holdings of the sachusetts, painted another version of the tobacco crops, with more statistics and Deutsches Haus. 1815 portrait, with some improvement in information given on the trade in molas- For well over a century, builders of the presentation of Jackson’s facial anatomy. ses, wheat, flour, corn, pork, and lard. One Mardi Gras floats have depended on the The Collection recently acquired this later of its several charts provides a recapitula- talents of sketch artists and designers work, supplementing the other portraits of tion of the monthly arrival of ships, barks, to provide small-scale, two-dimensional Jackson within the institution’s holdings, brigs, schooners, steamships, and steam- drawings that serve as guides for building including three oils, a slew of engravings boats over a five-year period. the large three-dimensional structures. and lithographs, and two important three- Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860–1941)— Over time, ink and colored markers have dimensional representations. Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, and replaced watercolor and gouache as the —John H. Lawrence

Th e Hi s to r i c Ne w Or l e a n s Co l l e c t i o n Qu a r t e r l y 17 Staff Ed u c a t i o n a l Ou t r e a c h Up d a t e

In the Co m m u n i t y Mark Cave was elected chairman of the Oral History Section of the Society of American Archivists and was named to the Oral History Association’s Committee to Revise Guidelines. Teresa Devlin and Anne Robichaux received scholarships from the Arts Council of New Orleans to attend the 2008 National Arts Marketing Project Conference in Houston. For the third year in a row, Priscilla Lawrence was named one of the 50 Women of the Year by New Orleans CityBusiness. Pu b l i c at i o n s John H. Lawrence, chapter, Destrehan: The Man, The House, the Legacy (River Road Historical Society, 2008). In te r n s Mary Frances Craig, Tulane University, education department. Vo l u n tee r s Jenna Addis, Linda Friedman, Nathan Loper, Katharine Miles, Tracy Page, David Rochford, Bringing French Quarter Architecture Scott Rappold, and Masa Song, docent department. into the Classroom

he National Park Service located at the Jean Lafitte National Historical TPark and Preserve on Decatur Street sponsored a week-long camp in July to introduce middle-school students to the culture of the French Quarter. The education department participated in the camp by hosting a day at The Editor Collection to highlight French Quarter architecture. Mary Mees Garsaud The education department’s program focused on eight different archi- Director of Publications Jessica Dorman tectural features evident on French Quarter buildings—including shutters, Photography ironwork, and carriageways—and four different house types, all of which are Keely Merritt Head of Photography represented in the buildings of the Royal Street complex. After the lesson, Jan White Brantley students were given a tour of the Counting House, where they observed the Design Theresa Norris earliest bricks in the complex (1757), and of the History Galleries, where The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly is published by The they viewed an example of brick-between-post construction with bargeboard Historic New Orleans Collection, which is operated by the Kemper and posts in the Plantation Gallery. The students were then given cameras to take Leila Williams Foundation, a Louisiana nonprofit corporation. Housed in a complex of historic buildings in the French Quarter, facilities are pictures of architectural features on their tour of the Royal Street buildings open to the public, Tuesday through Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. until and courtyards. 4:30 p.m., and Sunday, from 10:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Tours of the History Galleries, the Williams Residence, and the architechure of the Kathryn Harrison, a park ranger for the National Park Service, remarked buildings and courtyards are available for a nominal fee. that the program “was educational and fun, which was a primary goal.” Board of Directors Mrs. William K. Christovich, Chairman When asked what they enjoyed about the program, the students provided Charles Snyder, President John Kallenborn Fred M. Smith the following feedback: “Seeing the house of Mr. and Mrs. Williams and the John E. Walker, Immediate Past President courtyard.” “Taking pictures of architecture.” “Learning all the different parts Drew Jardine Hunter Pierson Jr. Alexandra Stafford of a house.” Priscilla Lawrence, Executive Director The education department is developing this program further to bring The Historic New Orleans Collection French Quarter architecture into classrooms through curricula and lectures. 533 Royal Street New Orleans, Louisiana 70130 This is an opportunity for the department to reach out to older students, (504) 523-4662 [email protected] • www.hnoc.org particularly those in middle school and high school. ISSN 0886-2109 —Lori Boyer © 2008 The Historic New Orleans Collection

18 Vo l u m e XXV, Nu m b e r 4 — Fall 2008 Online Shoppers THE SHOP receive a 20% discount, December 1–10 Holiday Shopping at The Shop at The Collection

he Shop has an array of new products available for the holiday season. In addition to the award-winning Tpublications, exquisite jewelry, and Louisiana arts and crafts regularly offered in The Shop, you will find reproductions of photographs from the current exhibition, A Closer Look, and a range of holiday-themed items. There is something for everyone on your shopping list. All items are available both in The Shop at 533 Royal Street, (504) 598-7147, and online at www.hnoc.org.

Holiday Items The Shop is pleased to offer Pelican Coast Neckwear’s new tie featuring pelicans decked out for the holidays. The silk ties are handmade and sell for $65. Also new this season are hand-blown glass ornaments made by local artist James Vella of Vella Vetro Studio. The ornaments sell for $50 each.

Holiday Home and Courtyard Tours

December 2–27 Items from A Closer Look The exhibition catalogue sells for $17.95 Visit the festively decorated residence and (see page 12 for more information). courtyard of General and Mrs. L. Kemper Reproductions of all 30 of J. D. Edwards’s Williams, founders of The Historic New photographs featured in the exhibition are Orleans Collection. Residence tours are available as 5 x 7’s for $15 and 8 x 10’s for available Tuesday through Saturday at 10 $25. Additionally, The Shop has produced a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. for $5 a limited edition print of the 1847 Train per person. The Collection will be closed and boat schedule broadside featured in the Wednesday, December 24, and Thursday, exhibition. Only 150 prints, selling for December 25. $25, have been produced.

Th e Hi s to r i c Ne w Or l e a n s Co l l e c t i o n Qu a r t e r l y 19 Inaugural Antiques Forum a Grand Success he first annual New Orleans Antiques Forum drew a capacity crowd of T180 participants. The three-day forum featured a bus trip to regional plantations, rousing presentations by speakers from around the country, an evening reception with a stroll to French Quarter antique shops, and a French Quarter house tour.

The distinguished speakers: Cybèle Gontar, The Graduate Center, The City University Participants enjoyed exploring L’ Hermitage of New York; Suzanne Plantation. Turner, FASLA; Thomas Savage, Winterthur Museum & Country Estate; Alexandra Kirtley, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Elle Shushan; Robert Leath, The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts; Thomas Jayne, Thomas Jayne Studio, Inc.

Speakers Thomas Jayne and William Rudolph, Speaker Richard Slavin, Speaker Robert Leath and sponsor Speaker John Keefe, Dallas Museum of Art, in Jayne’s residence in the former archivist, Andrée Keil Moss, Keil’s Antiques New Orleans Museum of Art French Quarter F. Schumacher & Company, Salem, New Jersey

Kemper and Leila Williams Foundation THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION Nonprofit Museum • Research Center • Publisher Organization 533 Royal Street • New Orleans, Louisiana 70130 (504) 523-4662 • Visit The Collection on the Internet at www.hnoc.org ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED