The Quarterly Fall 2012

THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION INSIDE On the Job.....................8 History Galleries..........10 Acquisitions................17 Volume XXIX Number 4 Fall 2012 QUARTERLY QUARTERLY E E TH TH PhotographyPerique exhibition and catalogue Mystique celebrate locally grown tobacco Perique, prized by connoisseurs as the strongest and most flavorful of tobacco varietals, is cultivated only one place on earth: a 30-square-mile tract of land in St. James Parish, Louisiana. Harvested, bunched, and stemmed by hand, the tobacco is pressure-cured for a year in whiskey barrels. The labor-intensive cultivation process dates to the early 19th century; its rituals have descended as occupational folklore through a small group of St. James Parish families. Photographer Charles Martin spent eight years documenting the tra- dition of his forebears. Vulnerability lent urgency to the study, as only a handful of working farms in the River Parishes remain dedicated to perique cultivation, and fewer and fewer young people embrace the agricultural lifestyle of their parents and grandparents. The Historic New Orleans Collection is proud to present 40 of Martin’s rich black-and-white images in the exhibition and accompanying catalogue Perique: Photographs by Charles Martin. Opening November 29 at the Williams Research Center, the show is part of PhotoNOLA, the New Orleans Photo Alliance’s annual celebration of local photography. Martin’s photographs epitomize “local history” in their painstaking documentation of a place- specific process. Yet in their framing, and in their ability to capture the dig- nity of human labor, they achieve uni- versal relevance. Cover: “Dressing the pack” is the traditional way of preparing perique tobacco, but it is extremely time-consuming. The best leaves are used to wrap the packs, making them easier to handle Weeks-old seedlings are readied for planting. They are given plenty of room to grow, planted about 3 feet apart. and more attractive. 2 Volume XXIX, Number 4 — Fall 2012 At harvesttime, stalks are cut and carefully placed on the ground. PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHARLES MARTIN THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION Perique: Photographs ON VIEW by Charles Martin On view November 29, 2012, through February 2, 2013 At the Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. The exhibition’s accompanying Stalks are stacked in an alternating pattern to distribute the weight and avoid breakage. catalogue of photographs and essays will be available for purchase ($25) at The Shop at The Collection, 533 Royal Street, as well as through local booksellers and online retailers. The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 3 As tobacco dries, it is moved around the barn: fresher stalks are given more room; older, more wilted ones can be hung closer together. The wilted leaves are pulled off the stalks. 4 Volume XXIX, Number 4 — Fall 2012 House jacks are used to create pressure in the barrels, where the tobacco ferments in its own juice. A couple of times during the processing, the charges are removed, aired, and repacked. After a barrel is packed for the final time, its temporary pressing lid is replaced with a permanent seal. The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 5 Concerts in the Courtyard Series The fall concert series concludes with a performance by Jayna Morgan and the Sazerac Sunrise Jazz Band. Admission includes three complimentary beverages. Friday, November 16 6–8 p.m. 533 Royal Street Admission: $10; free for THNOC ON THE CALENDAR members FROMFROM THETHE DIRECTORDIRECTOR Holiday Home and Courtyard Tour Visitors are invited to see the Williams Residence decked out in its holiday finest. he long, hot summer has finally come to an end, and The Throughout December THistoric New Orleans Collection is looking forward to a Tuesday–Saturday packed season of new exhibitions, programs, and publications. 10 a.m, 11 a.m. , 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. A revamped edition of our popular Louisiana History Sunday Galleries will open later this month, replete with exciting digi- 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. tal enhancements. For the first time, visitors will be able to 533 Royal Street walk through at their own pace, or they can take a traditional Admission: $5 docent-guided tour. The Collection is proud to announce the opening of the Laura Simon Nelson Galleries for Louisiana Art. Located in Perique Book Signing the new Perrilliat House at 400 Chartres Street, the opening exhibition features selections from Mrs. Nelson’s substantial art To celebrate the opening of Perique: collection, which became part of our holdings in 1995. The Photographs by Charles Martin, the galleries will eventually cycle in new artworks that follow the photographer will sign copies of overall goal of highlighting Louisiana’s artistic heritage. the catalogue that accompanies the The Williams Research Center also has a new exhibition, exhibition. Historian Mary Ann mounted in conjunction with PhotoNOLA, the city’s annual Sternberg, who wrote the catalogue’s celebration of photography. Opening November 29, Perique: introductory essay, will also be on hand Photographs by Charles Martin documents local cultivation to sign books. and production of perique tobacco, which is grown only in St. Sunday, December 2 James Parish, Louisiana. 4 p.m. Off to the printer is the manuscript for A Company Williams Research Center Man: The Remarkable French-Atlantic Voyage of a Clerk for the 410 Chartres Street Company of the Indies, a historically significant—and wonder- fully entertaining—journal that provides a unique, uncensored look at travel, trade, Native American relations, and New Orleans in the early French Colonial period. Edited and anno- tated by THNOC Curator and Historian Erin Greenwald, the book is expected to debut in the spring. Watch for more upcoming events, exhibitions, and sur- prises at www.hnoc.org. —Priscilla Lawrence 6 Volume XXIX, Number 4 — Fall 2012 Laura Simon Nelson Galleries Open he October 10 opening of the Laura Simon Nelson art was eclipsed by the modernist movement of the 1950s and Galleries for Louisiana Art was, ostensibly, a celebra- ’60s. Nelson was the rare collector who saw the Woodwards’ T tion of The Collection’s newest exhibition space, true worth, and her delight in poring over the attic’s bounty but it also paid tribute to one remarkable woman’s love of art. moved Carl to exclaim, “‘I have been waiting for you for a The three galleries, located at 400 Chartres Street next to the very long time,’” Nelson recalls in her essay in Complementary main entrance of the Williams Research Center, are filled with Visions of Louisiana Art, the book released in 1996 to celebrate artworks from longtime patron Laura Simon Nelson’s per- THNOC’s acquisition of her collection. sonal collection, which she donated to THNOC in 1995. On The opening exhibition of the Laura Simon Nelson view are more than 30 paintings by some of the state’s most Galleries for Louisiana Art includes the striking Backyard prominent artists, including Jacques Guillaume Lucien Amans in Covington, which is widely considered to be Ellsworth (1801–1888), Paul E. Poincy (1833–1909), William Woodward Woodward’s masterpiece, and a portrait of Nelson by Laurence (1859–1939), and Jules Vallée Guérin (1866–1946). Christie Edwardson (1905–1995), whose work Nelson greatly It all started with a misty landscape painting by New admired. She was also interested in the work of female art- Orleans artist Alexander John Drysdale (1870–1934), which ists, so the opening exhibition includes pieces by Josephine Nelson received as a gift for Christmas. Nelson was so enam- Marien Crawford (1878–1952) and Marie Madeleine Seebold ored of the locally made piece, her interest in collecting art— [Molinary] (1866–1948), as well as a selection of Newcomb pot- especially that of the 19th and 20th centuries—became a tery made by women. passion. In 1965 Nelson’s hunt for artworks by the brothers The galleries are accessible directly from Chartres Street, William and Ellsworth Woodward (1861–1939) led her to and they double as a glimpse of the historic Perrilliat House, the home of architect Carl E. Woodward, William’s son. He which The Collection recently renovated as an expansion of the showed her Ellsworth’s watercolor Man Sharpening an Axe, and Williams Research Center. The Collection is proud to present when Nelson expressed her admiration for the piece, Carl led this exhibition—and more to come—to honor Nelson’s guid- her to his attic. It was a treasure trove of paintings, drawings, ing hand in preserving public appreciation for Louisiana art. and engravings by both Woodwards. The brothers were well known for helping to found Above: Hat Full of Cherries, by Marie Madeleine Seebold [Molinary], Newcomb Pottery in 1894, but appreciation of their visual 1894, 1996.122.6 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 7 Name: Cath Cain ON THE JOB Staff Position: Photographic collections processor, on staff since 2010 The Assignment: Research an anonymous travel album from 1898 The first in a new series in which staff members share their experiences working on particular projects at The Collection have always been fascinated by vernacular photography— I amateur documentation of life and experiences—so I was thrilled to research a recently acquired photographic travel album from 1898. Shot and assembled by an anonymous steamship passenger voyaging down the Mississippi River to New Orleans in time for Mardi Gras, the album comprises 198 snapshots and is essentially a visual record of river travel and commerce at the turn of the century. Though the album lacks any expository text about its maker or subject matter, each photograph is accompanied by a typed caption, which gave me a wealth of infor- mation in just a few words.

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