t p M p. S - The Historic New Orleans Collection 35mm film (in both negatives and slides) ... (piano, accordion) has ... score the city’s rich literary history. . . t S

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 1

Volume XXV, Number 2 Spring 2008

Chief Allison “Tootie” Montana, Yellow Pocahontas,

Mardi Gras Indian Tribe (2007.103.2.189)

In the SpIrIt: the photography of MIchael p. SMIth

2 Volume XXV, Number 2 — Spring 2008 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 3

In the SpIrIt: the photography of MIchael p. SMIth

Consider the following items: an audio

cassette of a Mardi Gras Indian practice

session; a printed schedule for the matches

at Cormier’s Cock Pit in Cankton,

Louisiana; stage passes to the New Orleans

Jazz & Heritage Festival; and photographs

of brass bands in Santiago, Cuba. These objects

represent the many and varied interests of photographer

Michael P. Smith, whose archive was acquired by The

Historic New Orleans Collection in 2007. Smith

(b. 1937) is known especially for his closely observed

and penetrating photographs of New Orleans’s home-

grown musicians and the culture surrounding them.

Several books exploring aspects of his photography have

been published, and numerous exhibitions of his works

have been presented. Smith’s photographic works—

combined with his many personal appearances at

conferences, concerts, and festivals around the world—

have secured his legacy as both a photographer and

cultural investigator. Because of a physically debilitating

medical condition, Smith ceased photographing in

recent years. His archive of prints, transparencies, and

negatives, the core of his life’s work as a photographer,

is now housed at the Williams Research Center, along

with over 50 boxes of supporting materials, including

personal and business papers, research notes, runs of

serials, and printed ephemera.

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 32 Volume XXV, Number 2 — Spring 2008

4 Volume XXV, Number 2 — Spring 2008

Smith saw each photograph as the culmination of a process—not just the optical, mechanical, and chemical pro-cess of producing an image from an experience, but a cultural process as well. Smith’s research into the subjects he photographed made him part detec-tive, part folklorist, and part cultural anthropologist, with a profound abil-ity to capture the essence of the things he observed.

For cataloguing purposes the photographs have been divided into the following subject categories: New Orleans spiritualist churches, funerals, social aid and pleasure clubs, perform-ers and performances, the Jazz & Heri-tage Festival, and Mardi Gras Indians. Although convenient for describing the variety of the work and for organizing it, these categories are nonetheless artifi-cial. Michael P. Smith’s own choice for sorting his work was not topical but lin-ear and chronological: each roll of film is numbered consecutively, and indi-vidual pictures are identified by their frame number. Though 35mm film (in both negatives and slides) is the domi-nant format in the archive, there are small pockets of work done in medium- format roll film and 4"x 5" sheet film.

In keeping a chronological record of his work, Smith shows not only the rich-

ness of the culture that fascinated him, but its cyclical nature and interrelated-ness. The public aspects of New Orleans music—Sunday church services, march-ing parades, Mardi Gras Indian appear-ances, festivals, and funeral proces-sions—are sprinkled throughout the cal-endar, with many of the same musicians and members of the community partici-pating in each. Set against the backdrop of distinctive neighborhoods and archi-tecture, these traditions form a unique urban identity, which Smith defined as “the cultural wetlands” of New Orleans. In an active career that spanned from the late 1960s to the early years of the 21st century, Smith devoted the greater

Brass Band, Cuba, 1999 (2007.103.2.401)

Binding for Baptism, Holy Family Spiritual Church, 1973 (2007.103.2.9)



Israelite Spiritual Church, 1973 (2007.103.4.26)

Reverend Mother Lydia Gilford, 1974 (2007.103.2.62)

“Dute” Lazard Funeral, 1995 (2007.103.2.129)



part of his energies to understanding and recording—both in photographs and on audiotapes—aspects of New Orleans’s cultural individuality.

Additionally, he produced pho-tographs commissioned by others. As a member of the Black Star Agency, Smith accepted a wide range of commercial assignments, taking him from corporate headquarters to deep-water drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Examples of his commercial work are also included in the archive.

The loss of life and cultural property precipitated by Hurricane Katrina and the flooding and dis-placement that followed serve as reminders of the fragility of a cul-ture. A number of the locations and individuals in Smith’s photographs were affected by the storm. The disruption of lives and destruction of buildings certainly altered New Orleans’s musical environment, but cultural changes had been happen-ing throughout the time of Smith’s photographic career. Important fig-

ures passed away, and younger genera-tions transformed existing traditions, sometimes seamlessly. The photo-graphs and supplementary materials document specific episodes of life in New Orleans, but in the aggregate they chronicle the nearly impercep-tible changes that transform culture while still maintaining traditions. For these reasons and others, Smith’s archive, though quite recent by tem-poral standards, represents a whole that cannot be effectively recreated. It is the chronicle of an era.

The Michael P. Smith Archive is now available for consultation at the Williams Research Center, 410 Char-tres Street. Processing of the prints, transparencies, negatives, audio tapes, and papers is ongoing. Plans for a spring 2009 retrospective of Smith’s career are underway.

—John H. Lawrence

By Michael P. SMith

All books in the following list were published by Pelican Publishing Company and are available at The Shop at The Collection with the exception of A Joyful Noise, which is out of print.

A Joyful Noise: A Celebration of New Orleans Music (1990)

New Orleans Jazz Fest: A Pictorial History (1991)

Spirit World: Pattern in the Expressive Folk Culture of African-American New Orleans (1992)

Mardi Gras Indians by Michael P. Smith and Alan B. Govenar (1994)

Jazz Fest Memories by Michael P. Smith and Allison Miner (1997)

Roosevelt Sykes, Jazz Fest, 1973 (2007.103.2.200)


The Bucket Men Annual Parade (Sudan Social Aid and Pleasure Club), 1987 (2007.103.2.96)


FroM the Director

In a decade, New Orleans will mark its third century of existence. While it is obvious that the city today is different in nearly every way

from la Nouvelle-Orléans of the 18th century, the proximity of the Mississippi River has been a constant. The river provides New Orleans’s reason for existence, as well as a continual threat to its survival. Through engineering feats that are hard to imagine, the threat has been miti-gated, but not entirely. As this is written, the gates of the Bonnet Carré Spillway, closed since 1997, have once again been opened to lessen the volume of water passing through New Orleans and putting pressure on our levees.

The Crescent City’s relationship with its watery environment is explored in the current Williams Gallery exhibition, Surrounded by Water: New Orleans, the Mississippi River, and Lake Pontchartrain (extended through Septem-ber 20). The lake also remains a geographic anchor, with ever-changing roles—once promi-nent in the commercial development of the region, more recently a pleasure destination. The spillway’s release of quantities of fresh water into Lake Pontchartrain will cause yet another change. The drop in salinity will be a temporary consequence of this act, and creatures living in or near the affected areas will accommodate the alteration in different ways.

The transformations of our natural envi-ronment provide context for comprehending the struggles of humans throughout history and offer a guide to facing future challenges. Forces, both natural and unnatural, produce changes to which living creatures must adapt. As we adapt to the catastrophic changes inflicted by post-Katrina flooding and strive to protect the city from further flooding, The Historic New Orleans Collection’s mission of preserving the history of our lives and our region has never been more meaningful.

—Priscilla Lawrence

Tom Sancton (center) performed at the first Concert in the Courtyard, which was sponsored by Stiletto Vodka.


The Collection concludes its spring series of concerts and cocktails with music by Vavavoom. Vavavoom calls its music “a synthesis of New Orleans jazz and the French Gypsy tradition of Django Reinhardt.” Guitarists Raphaël Bas and Pierre Pichon have been playing together since high school in Bourges, France. Both emigrated to the United States more than 10 years ago. Bart Ramsey (piano, accordion) has performed for audiences on three continents, several islands, and one isthmus. Nathan Lambertson (stand-up bass) is a New Orleans native and has played with Alvin Batiste, Nicholas Payton, Ravi Col-trane, Trombone Shorty, Steve Masakowski, David Torkanowsky, and Jason Marsalis. For more information, see www.vavavoomband.com. Concerts in the Courtyard will resume in September.

concertS in the courtyarD PreSentS

VaVaVooM

Winner of the Big Easy Award for Best Emerging Band of 2007 FriDay, June 20

533 Royal StReet • 5:30–8:00 pm Admission is $10 at the door; free for THNOC members

uPcoMing eVentS

tenth annual genealogy WorkShoP

tracing your italian heritage

June Delalio

SaturDay, auguSt 23WilliaMS reSearch center, 410 chartreS Street

8:00 am–4:00 pm

h

h


Left to right:Louisiana Fishing Industry and French Market by Hans Mangelsdorf, 1930s (2007.0137.3) Old Slave Block at the St. Louis Hotel, New Orleans by George Frederick Castleden, 1928 (1997.19.38)Bateaux à vapeur géants by Hippolyte Victor Valentin Sebron, 1850 (1958.14) Children on a Stoop by Robert Malcolm Rucker, 1970s (LN323), Laura Simon Nelson CollectionElegant Lady Preparing for an Afternoon Call by Paul E. Poincy, 1886 (2006.0204.9)

New Orleanians’ passion and appre-ciation for their distinctive history and culture have intensified in the after-math of Hurricane Katrina. Local resi-dents hearken to a subconscious voice, reciting the ancient aphorism “Know thyself.” Appropriately, The Historic New Orleans Collection and the New Orleans Museum of Art are presenting their third joint exhibition, titled New Orleans: A Sense of Place. Opening May 10, the show offers vignettes of life in New Orleans. The exhibition, which

spans 150 years of the city’s history, from 1850 to the present, comprises more than 40 oil paintings by over 30 artists, along with a selection of decora-tive-arts materials and books.

Among the artists showcased are George Frederick Castleden, Davis Cone, Alexander Drysdale, Leonard Flettrich, Rolland Golden, Robert Wadsworth Grafton, Simon Gunning, Shirley Rabé Masinter, Clarence Millet, Paul Poincy, Noel Rockmore, Hippolyte Sebron, Gideon Townsend Stanton, Marion

Souchon, Jacques Soulas, Ellsworth Woodward, and William Wood-ward. The books on display under-score the city’s rich literary history. Included are novels by Pulitzer Prize winners Shirley Ann Grau and John Kennedy Toole, as well as fiction and nonfiction by George Washing-ton Cable, Hodding Carter, Kate Chopin, Frances Parkinson Keyes, Grace King, Clarence John Laugh-lin, Stuart M. Lynn, Walker Percy, Anne Rice, and Lyle Saxon.

The Vieux Carré anchors the city’s identity and has inspired artists for centuries. Accordingly, many of the paintings showcased in A Sense of Place provide glimpses of French Quarter architecture: court-

yards, fan windows, balconies, arches, louvered shutters, staircases, and slate roofs. The quarter served as a muse for Clarence Millet, who painted scenes of the Vieux Carré from the 1920s to the 1950s. In Antique Shop, New Orleans, Millet shows an artist sitting on a Royal Street sidewalk, drawing in a sketch-book while passers-by view merchandise deposited on the sidewalk.

The French Market, a Vieux Carré landmark, fills the canvases of both his-toric and contemporary artists. Simon Gunning portrays the market, Wash-ington Artillery Park, and the Moon-walk along the Mississippi River with Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral completing the picture in his oversized view from a Pontalba balcony titled Jax No. 2. William Woodward, Robert Grafton, and Hans Mangelsdorf capture the quaintness of this center of local life. Woodward depicts the colonnaded mar-ket in 1904; Grafton’s colorful 1916 mar-ket scene shows a woman wearing a red shawl, her body turned from the viewer as she shops for produce; Mangelsdorf ’s 1930s mural-like composition, Louisiana Fishing Industry, focuses on the fatigued workers who display their catch.

Hippolyte Sebron’s 1850 levee scene, Bateaux à vapeur géants, under-

An Exhib i t ion at

the New Orleans

Museum of Ar t

scores the central role of the Missis-sippi River in the settlement of the Louisiana colony and the subsequent development of New Orleans. Rolland Golden’s Dockworkers, a 1960 portrayal of muscular African American laborers handling cargo, was rendered soon after he completed art training with John McCrady (see page 17). The painting reveals McCrady’s influence on Golden’s early work, as well as Golden’s awareness of Thomas Hart Benton’s undulating regionalist paintings. George Frederick Castleden’s 1928 Old Slave Block at the St. Louis Hotel, executed a decade after the hotel was demolished, points to a haunting aspect of Louisiana’s history.

The exhibition also presents works illustrating New Orleans’s rich cul-tural traditions, many of which are of European origin. Paul Poincy’s 1886 genre scene, Elegant Lady Preparing for an Afternoon Call, illustrates the 19th- century social custom of calling on friends and business associates of one’s family. This custom features promi-nently in Kate Chopin’s 1899 novel, The Awakening, also on display. In Poincy’s painting, the setting and the woman’s clothing suggest a comfortable social status. If the host or hostess was not at home to receive a visitor, he or

she would leave a calling card; an 1886 calling-card glass etched with the name E. D. LeBreton, father of New Orleans actress Frances “Fanny” Bienvenu Hunt, is featured in the exhibition.

Daily life in the French Quarter is evident in Robert Rucker’s 1970s Chil-dren on a Stoop and Joseph Konopka’s 1998 House Decorated for Mardi Gras. Gideon Townsend Stanton and Homer E. Turner depict rainy nights on Canal Street, while Jacques Soulas portrays the same thoroughfare, busy in the daytime, with a red streetcar traveling along the neutral ground. Several genre scenes depict people at work or at leisure. In August 1927 Alexander Drysdale departed from painting misty bayou scenes to portray his barefoot son, Walden, sitting on a verandah beside a puppy. Homer E. Turner depicts a group of men playing a game of checkers in a moment of quiet contemplation. Shir-ley Rabé Masinter’s large canvas, with its graffiti-scrawled building, focuses on inner-city blight. A 1972 scene by Noel Rockmore titled Gospel Singers shows four people on the sidewalk outside Preservation Hall. The foremost woman holds her songbook high, thus blocking the face of a woman in white who stands behind her. Two men stand behind the

women, one with a banjo, the other with a tambourine. The partially hidden woman in white is undoubtedly Sister Gertrude Morgan, a well-known street preacher at the time.

Major landmarks no longer a part of New Orleans’s streetscape can yet be seen on the walls of the museum. Davis Cone’s view of the Orleans Theater on Rampart Street is a reminder of the long tradition of theater in the city, dating back to the late 18th century. Edith Sansum’s Old Newcomb Chapel and Ells-worth Woodward’s Lotus Fountain show the Newcomb College campus at Wash-ington and Camp Streets before its 1917 move to Broadway Avenue.

New Orleans: A Sense of Place reflects the interconnected facets of life in this culturally rich city. The undeni-able uniting thread is a focus on the con-tinued artistic environment of the Vieux Carré. By looking closely at our found-ing roots, New Orleanians may discover the path that leads from self-knowledge toward resurgence. A Sense of Place continues on view through August 31 at the New Orleans Museum of Art, which is open Wednesday, noon to 8:00 p.m., and Thursday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

—Judith H. BonnerAntique Shop, New Orleans by Clarence Millet, 1927 (1962.2)

New Orleans: A Sense of Place


F o r u m S c h e d u l e

thurSDay, auguSt 7

early registration

Bus tour to area plantationsadditional fee

FRiday, auguSt 8

registration

opening remarksPriscilla Lawrence, Executive DirectorBurl Salmon, Director of Development and External Affairs

Southern Decorative Arts: Past, Present, and FutureJ. Thomas Savage, Director of Museum Affairs Winterthur Museum and Country Estate, Winterthur, Delaware

A Century of Work: Southern GardensSuzanne Turner, FASLASuzanne Turner Associates, Baton Rouge

lunch (on your own)

New Orleans and the Early Industrial EraCybèle Gontar, Doctoral CandidateGraduate Center, The City University of New York

Paris Porcelain, 1775–1870: A Southern TraditionJohn Keefe, Curator of Decorative ArtsNew Orleans Museum of Art

evening reception and French Quarter StrollThe Historic New Orleans Collection, 533 Royal Street

SaturDay, auguSt 9

Never Out of Fashion: The Prestige of French Textiles andWallpapers in America from the Colonial Period ForwardRichard Slavin, Former Archivist F. Schumacher & Company, Salem, New Jersey

Heading South: The Early 19th-Century Export Trade from Philadelphia to New OrleansAlexandra Kirtley, Assistant Curator of American ArtPhiladelphia Museum of Art

A Yankee Decorator in the American SouthThomas JayneThomas Jayne Studio, New York

lunch (on your own)

The Uniqueness of New Orleans ArchitectureJohn Magill, Curator/HistorianThe Historic New Orleans Collection

French Quarter open house Tour

SunDay, auguSt 10

les miserables: French Émigré Miniaturists in America, 1788–1830Elle ShushanFine Portrait Miniatures, Philadelphia

“What Exactly Was Made South of Baltimore?”: The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts’ 40-Year Quest for the Discovery of Southern Decorative ArtsRobert Leath, Vice President of Collections and Research, Chief Curator, The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-Salem

New Orleans played a significant role in the dis-semination of 18th- and 19th-century decorative-arts traditions throughout the southern region. Imports arriving from Europe, the eastern seaboard, and the Caribbean influenced not only the customs of the New Orleans region but the tastes and trends of the entire South. With such a history, it is fitting for the city to be home to a forum dedicated to the decorative arts. As part of its mission to preserve the history and cul-ture of the region, The Historic New Orleans Collec-tion is pleased to inaugurate the New Orleans Antiques Forum.

The three-day forum will be held from Friday, August 8, through Sunday, August 10, in the Boyd Cruise Room of the Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street. An additional preconference day on Thursday, August 7, offers a bus trip to regional plantations, some of which are not usually open to the public. Featuring speakers from around the country, the conference will cover a variety of topics—from French émigré miniatures and 19th-century porcelain to historic imported textiles and southern landscape designs. Thomas Savage, director of museum affairs for Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in Winterthur, Delaware, will moderate the event.

Registration for the full conference is $150. Participants may register for Friday only for $75 or for Saturday and Sunday together for $100. Visit www.hnoc.org or call (504) 523-4662 to register.

—Burl Salmon

The Historic New Orleans CollectionPresents

T h e F i r s T A n n uA l

new OrleAns AnTiques FOrum


Captain John Purves and his wife, Anne Pritchard, by Henry Benbridge, 1775–77, courtesy of Winterthur Museum and Country Estate

Tea service, manufactory of Jacob Petit (active 1833–66), Paris, collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art: Anita Nolan Pitot Fund

Court cupboard, 1660–80, Virginia, courtesy of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts

Secretary bookcase by Anthony Quervelle (1789–1856), courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, gift of Edward C. Page in memory of Robert E. Griffith, 1960-159-1; photo by Graydon Wood

Interior of 836 St. Peter Street, New Orleans, residence of Thomas Jayne

Portrait of unknown New Orleans sitter by Louis Antoine Collas, 1823, courtesy of Elle Shushan



T he Historic New Orleans Collection and the Louisiana Historical Association awarded

the 2007 Williams Prize in Louisiana History to Dr. Emily Clark for her work Masterless Mistresses: The New Orleans Ursulines and the Development of a New World Society, 1727–1834, published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture by the University of North Carolina Press. The prize, which includes a cash award and a plaque, was announced at the LHA’s annual meeting in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Friday, March 14, 2008. The Williams Prize, offered annually since 1974, recognizes excellence in research and writing on Louisiana his-tory. Dr. Clark is assistant professor of history at Tulane University, where she received her doctorate in 1998. She spe-cializes in early American history and has focused her research on the Ursuline

nuns. She served as guest curator for The Historic New Orleans Collection’s 2002 exhibition The Ursulines: New Perspectives on 275 Years in New Orleans and edited Voices from an Early American Convent: Marie Madeleine Hachard and the New Orleans Ursulines, 1727–1760 (Louisiana State University Press, 2007). In Masterless Mistresses, Professor Clark incorporates the story of the Ursu-line nuns into early American history, and, by doing so, makes an important contribution to the historiography of Louisiana. According to Professor Susan Juster of the University of Michigan, “Clark’s bold and original study of the Ursuline community in New Orleans is deeply attuned to the rhythms and poli-tics of religious life in the Old as well as the New World and to the changing racial and gendered dynamics of colonial Loui-siana under three empires. The intricate meshing of local and transatlantic history is truly stunning.”

Masterless Mistresses was selected from 17 entries published in 2007. A panel of historians evaluated the entries for Loui-siana content, scholarly merit, and overall historical significance. A list of past Williams Prize recipi-ents and application information for next year’s prize are available at www.hnoc.org. Works published in the 2008 calen-dar year exploring any aspect of Louisiana history and culture, or placing Louisiana subjects in a regional, national, or inter-national context, are eligible. The dead-line for 2008 Williams Prize submissions is January 15, 2009.

The Historic New Orleans Collection is now accepting applications for the 2009 Woest

Fellowship. The annual fellowship sup-ports scholarly research on the history and culture of Louisiana and the Gulf South. Since the fellowship’s inception in 2006, eight fellows have conducted research at the Williams Research Center. While THNOC resources should play a central role in the proposed research agenda, fellows are also encouraged to explore other research facilities in the Greater New Orleans area. The Woest Fellowship is open to doctoral candidates, academic and museum professionals, and indepen-dent scholars. U.S. citizenship is not required, but applicants should be fluent in English.

Fellows will be expected to:• offer a public presentation during

their term of residence• acknowledge The Collection in any

published work drawing on fellow-ship research

Stipend: The fellowship carries a sti-pend of $4,000/month, to be disbursed on a monthly basis for a minimum of one and a maximum of three months. Fellows may select their period(s) of resi-dence, but all research must commence and conclude during the specified calen-dar year.

deadline: Applications for the 2009 Woest fellowship are due August 1, 2008. Awards will be announced September 15, 2008, with research to begin on or after January 1, 2009.

To Apply: All applicants are encour-aged to familiarize themselves with The Collection’s resources by visiting www.hnoc.org. Fellowship applications may be downloaded from the website. For more information, call Dr. Alfred Lemmon, director of the Williams Research Center, at 504-598-7124, or Dr. Jessica Dorman, director of publica-tions and marketing, at 504-598-7174.

The Historic New Orleans Collection grate-fully acknowledges the generosity of Dianne Audrey Woest (1935–2003), a graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University, former president of the New Orleans Council for International Visitors, and true friend of the arts. Through a planned giving arrange-ment, Woest designated The Collection as a beneficiary of her estate.

keMPer anD leila WilliaMS Prize aWarDeD to Dr. eMily clark

The dianne Woest Fellowship in the Arts and humanities



Do

no

r P

ro

file

They love the food, music, and history of New Orleans. Both grew up west of the city—John

in Baton Rouge, Jerry in Iota and later Baton Rouge—but childhood trips for Mardi Gras, college years at Tulane, early careers in the hotel and law industries brought them to New Orleans. During their time here, each formed an affinity for the city’s distinctive culture. And now, although well established in Baton Rouge, they look to New Orleans—and The Historic New Orleans Collection in particular—as the beneficiary of their philanthropic support. “New Orleans has always felt like home to us,” says Jerry. “And for those who appreciate history, culture, and architecture, like we do, New Orleans certainly has a different presence than any other place.” John and Jerry are aware of the important role that The Collection plays in preserving these aspects of New Orleans and the Louisiana region as a whole. “The founders of The Collection realized the significance and importance of preserving and retaining our histori-cal artifacts,” says Jerry. “If they weren’t fulfilling this role, what would have hap-pened? All of the artifacts would have been scattered to the four corners of the earth. Because of the foresight of Kemper and Leila Williams, the hold-ings of The Collection are now of such tremendous value to our state and to the history of the United States.” The love of history was instilled in each of them at a young age. John’s parents, Bert and Sue, were ardent

preservationists. Both served on the board of the Louisiana State Museum and Sue on the board of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. They were instru-mental in preserving Magnolia Mound Plantation, where John now volunteers as an open-hearth cook. As a young boy, Jerry took an interest in the Civil War and later earned an undergraduate degree in history before continuing on to law school. His interests have now turned to genealogy, and he is looking forward to utilizing the Williams Research Center to research his great-grandmother, who hailed from New Orleans. Over the past 13 years, John and Jerry have completely renovated their home in Baton Rouge’s Garden District, adding a few New Orleans touches, including a driveway made of stones from Tchoupi-toulas Street. Jerry is retired from his legal career, and John runs a travel agency. They both love to travel, which they have done quite extensively. They ardently enjoy opera and have subscribed to the New Orleans Opera, as well as the Hous-ton and Santa Fe operas, for years. They also support the Preservation Resource Center and the Audubon Institute. John and Jerry were the first members of The Collection’s Bienville Circle and invite you to join them as members of this spe-cial group, which offers a host of benefits, including free admission to all lectures and conferences; an annual gala evening; and a private luncheon with the execu-tive director. They are looking forward to taking advantage of all that the institu-tion has to offer for years to come.

John G. Turner and Jerry G. Fischer

The collection Needs You

The Historic New Orleans Collection offers a variety of volunteer opportuni-ties. If you are interested in filling any of the following volunteer positions at The Collection, please contact Molly St. Paul, volunteer coordinator, at (504) 598-7139 or [email protected].

docent department: • Weekly Volunteers: Volunteer one-

half day a week with the docent depart-ment. Duties include staffing the Williams Gallery and giving tours of the Williams Residence and History Galleries. Morning shifts are from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; afternoon shifts are from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• ThNoc emissaries: Bring infor-mation packets and rack cards to hotels, restaurants, and other public places. This is a good opportunity for those who cannot commit to a long-term project or a set weekly position.

• Special exhibition Volunteers: The Collection periodically presents large-scale exhibitions requiring additional staffing. These volunteers commit to a schedule for the duration of the exhibition.

• Special events Volunteers: Welcome the public and staff the exhibitions during evening lectures and events.

curatorial department: Assist curators and photographers with filing, sorting, computer entry, inventory, and other needs.

education department: Make pre-sentations in schools and assist with exhibition-specific programs.



DONORS: October-December 2007

Lee R. AdlerMr. and Mrs. Richard M. AdlerMr. and Mrs. Warwick Aiken Jr.Ancient Order of Hibernians, Inc.Mr. and Mrs. Allain C. Andry III Apartment Development Services, Ltd.Pamela D. ArceneauxAT&TDr. Jorge I. AunonMr. and Mrs. Richard Autin The Azby Fund Ann H. BabingtonMr. and Mrs. F. Macnaughton Ball Jr.Otto J. Bangs Jr.William F. BantaMr. and Mrs. Beauregard BassichMr. and Mrs. John D’Arcy BeckerJack A. BelsomMr. and Mrs. Edward Benjamin Jr.Ginny and Ray J. Berg/American Foodways Press LP LLC Henry Bernstein and Jerry ZacharyMrs. William J. BerridgeMr. and Mrs. Dixon B. BetzRuth and George L. BilbeDr. Guenter Bischof Nell T. BoersmaJudith Hopkins BonnerBruce BordesJoan BostickOwen R. BourqueDaniel A. BouysouRobert and Jan White BrantleyMary Aldigé BrogdenHarvey R. BrooksHugh C. Brown Jr.Jane U. BrownPolly BrownVictor BrownAnn Maylie BrucePatricia W. BurkeDr. and Mrs. Charles W. Caillouet Jr.Mr. and Mrs. John W. Calhoun Mr. and Mrs. Carlo Capomazza di CampolattaroCampus ManagementDr. Daniel I. CaplanEmelie and Brian CheramieDr. and Mrs. Ralph Chesson Mr. and Mrs. William K. ChristovichThe Honorable Ian W. ClaiborneLoretta ClarkDr. Carolyn M. ClawsonMr. and Mrs. J. Kenneth Clay ClearBridge Advisors, LLCSheila and Hugh M. CollinsShirley Colomb William C. Cook, The William C. Cook Advised Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle TennesseeConsular Corps of New OrleansGayle M. CosgroveDorothy L. Counce Crescent River Port Pilots’ AssociationHugh C. CurtisWayne CurtisWilliam Page Dame IIIJames R. DartezMr. and Mrs. Mark P. DauerBetty K. DeCellPatricia C. Denechaud

Carl A. DengelMarie Schroeder Des RochesMelanie A. DeyJohnny DonnelsLauri A. DorranceWilliam Lake DouglasCarol Ann Roberts DumondJ. Peter EavesMr. and Mrs. Robert EdwardsScott S. EllisAugusta and Robert E. ElmwoodElizabeth Elmwood Embassy of France/French Cultural ServicesGlenn EstapaMr. and Mrs. Henry C. EustisLynda and Lionel J. Favret Jr.Murray C. FincherJean and Phil Fischer in memory of Cecilia Shepherd CambiasMr. and Mrs. Dudley D. FlandersMr. and Mrs. Richard P. FlatauFran FlurryR. Ann FordWilliam H. Forman Jr.Richard L. ForstallCapt. Charles W. Frank, USN (Ret.)Larry D. FrankeLorraine FriedrichsMaurice L. FrisellMr. and Mrs. Lawrence D. GarveyMichelle Gaynor and Edwin Foster Blair IIJohn Geiser IIILorraine GendronJames H. GibertMr. and Mrs. Robert B. GoldenMr. and Mrs. Hilliard J. GoldmanWilliam GoldringMr. and Mrs. John Goodwin IIShirley Ann GrauLeonard and Jerry Greenbaum Family Foundation, Inc., in honor of Alexandra Stafford and Raymond RathleMr. and Mrs. Douglas GrundmeyerCharles D. HadleyJacqueline HanksJean HeidRobert Henkel and Burl SalmonMr. and Mrs. John F. HillsMr. and Mrs. Alex HimmelbergRobert A. HollandSusan HoskinsCalvin J. HotardMr. and Mrs. Michael L. HughesMary Lynn HydeDr. and Mrs. J. E. Isaacson Jr.Reed W. Isbell-HobbsJanet IzardVera and Don JacobsKay and Trent JamesLouise and James J. JardellMr. and Mrs. R. Andrew JardineEric JarvisMrs. Neill P. JeffreyBarbara V. JohnsenThe Erik F. Johnsen Family Foundation Dr. and Mrs. Robert N. JonesEllis JoubertLura G. KauffmanMr. and Mrs. Norman R. Kerth

Susan KierrElizabeth Himel KilleenDr. Jon KuklaNancy La Fonta de SaintegemeMr. and Mrs. James C. LandisDr. Gilles-Antoine Langlois Mary Myrick LangloisLaPorte, Sehrt, Romig & Hand Certified Public AccountantsThe Last Straws Mr. and Mrs. John Hilliard LawrenceMrs. Thomas B. LaytonPaul J. Leaman Jr.V. Price LeBlanc Jr. Fund of the Baton Rouge Area FoundationLaurie LedetM. Theresa LeFevreDr. Alfred E. Lemmon Justice Harry T. Lemmon and Judge Mary Ann LemmonVicki Gold LeviDana LittleJacquelyn S. Lothschuetz Louisiana Cookin’LSU Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine, Department of GeneticsMr. and Mrs. Stanley D. LoulaMrs. Jon W. Lowry Shirley O. LudmanBeverly T. LyndsMorris G. and Paula L. Maher Foundation Brigitta MalmMrs. E. Dameron ManardPhyllis J. MarquartLouise B. MartinCharles Buck MayerJudy and James McAlisterAdrienne and Louis McFaulJohn MellorMrs. Henry A. Mentz Jr.Donald A. MeyerMarilyn MilamPamela S. Mitchell Laura Simon NelsonCynthia NoblesKarin W. OakesDr. and Mrs. John Lockwood OchsnerDr. John T. O’Connor The Old State Capitol AssociatesOmohundro Institute of Early American History and CultureDr. April Gale O’QuinnRebecca OwenGray S. Parker The Parlange FamilyRobert J. Patrick/Seismic Exchange, Inc.The Rev. Gregory Y. PemboJames A. PhillipsMr. and Mrs. R. Hunter Pierson Jr.David D. PlaterOrmonde PlaterMr. and Mrs. Andrew L. Plauché Jr.Jessie J. Poesch, PhDFrank S. PonsM. Cleland Powell IIICurt QueyrouzeJeanne P. RabigJulia and Anthony RadostiMrs. F. W. Raggio Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Rault Jr.Mrs. Thomas A. Rayer

Jan L. RectorDr. and Mrs. James ReynoldsMary Alma RiessLodonia RiversNoah D. RobertMr. and Mrs. Lewis P. RogersMrs. Melvin M. RosenthalMr. and Mrs. Richard D. RousselJoseph RubinfineShelby E. Russ Jr./Associated Office Systems St. Denis J. Villere & Company Brian SandsFrank SaucierStephen A. ScaliaJudge and Mrs. Patrick M. SchottJohn B. SewellMr. and Mrs. R. Hugh SimmonsFlo Mary Scheib SimonsonGreta SimsJohn W. SkardonMr. and Mrs. Fred M. SmithMr. and Mrs. Joe D. Smith Jr.Linda T. SmithLouis D. SmithSteven R. SmithCharles A. SnyderMargaret B. SoniatMr. and Mrs. David SpeightsAnn and Stephen Spohrer State of Louisiana, Office of the State Library of Louisiana Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. StephensPatricia L. and Phineas StevensIrma M. StieglerMrs. Carl F. Stockmeyer Jr.Ann D. SturgillSteven Mark Sweet Phyllis M. Taylor/Patrick F. Taylor FoundationTennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival Debra ThompsonLeah R. ToddMrs. Thomas J. Tomeny Jr. Timothy TrapolinDr. and Mrs. Samuel A. TrufantMr. and Mrs. John J. UhlMary Ann ValentinoMichael Valentino/Hotel Management of New OrleansMr. and Mrs. Paul VeazeyJ. B. Vella Merlin M. Villar Jr.Mary L. VillarsMr. and Mrs. St. Denis J. VillereA. Ben WagnerMr. and Mrs. John E. WalkerAnne WalsheWilliam J. WarrenMerlyn and Daniel WeilbaecherJustice John L. WeimerJ. Parham WerleinLisa and Adam WerlingCarroll Van WestDr. and Mrs. Mark Whitehead Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. A. WilliamsMr. and Mrs. John D. WoganMr. and Mrs. Robert E. YoungMr. and Mrs. Victor D. Ziminsky Jr.Marion S. Zinser



haVe you conSiDereD a PlanneD giFt?To better serve the community, The Historic New Orleans Collection is pleased to offer the following planned giving materials free of charge:

• Giving Through Life Insurance• Giving Through Charitable Remainder Trusts• Giving Through Your Will• Giving Securities• Giving Real Estate• Giving Through Retirement Plans• Giving Through Gift Annuities

To receive materials or for more information about planned giving, please call the development department, (504) 598-7109.

All inquiries are held in the strictest confidence and without obligation. The Historic New Orleans Collection does not offer legal or tax advice. We encourage you to consult your legal and financial advisors for structuring a gift plan that achieves your giving intentions and meets your particular financial circumstances.

founder $35Full membership privileges, as outlined

merieult society $100Full membership privileges; special gift

mahalia society $250Full membership privileges; special gift; private, guided tours of The Collection

jackson society $500Full membership privileges; special gift; private, guided tours of The Collection; free admission to all evening lectures presented by The Collection

laussat society $1,000Full membership privileges; special gift; private, guided tours of The Collection; free admission to all evening lectures presented by The Collection; special Laussat Society receptions and tours; annual gala evening

bienville circle $5,000Full membership privileges; special gift; private, guided tours of The Collection; free admission to all lectures and conferences presented by The Collection; special member receptions and tours; annual gala evening; private luncheon with the executive director

Be a Part of Louisiana’s Future by Helping to Preserve Its Past…Become a Member of The Historic New Orleans Collection

Your generous support funds research, educational outreach, award-winning publications, and internationally renowned exhibitions.

Membership has its benefits…In addition to preserving Louisiana’s past, your membership confers valuable benefits, including:

• Subscription to The Collection’s donor newsletter

• 10% shop discount

• Unlimited guided tours of the history galleries, Williams Resi- dence, the architecture of THNOC’s buildings and courtyards, and current exhibitions (during regular business hours)

• AdmissiontotheConcertsinthe Courtyard series

• Members-only trips, events, and exhibition previews

• Recognition on The Collection’s donor wall

Membership—at all levels— carries benefits for the entire household: a single individual or a couple, along with any children under age 18. For more information, please visit our website at www.hnoc.org or call the office of development at (504) 598-7109. All inquiries are confidential and without obligation.

the collection receiVeS artS council aWarD

The Historic New Orleans Collection is honored to be one of six recipients of the 2008 Community Arts Awards, presented by the Arts Council of New Orleans. Bestowed at a luncheon on Friday, May 9, the awards were granted “in celebration of the creative spirit of New Orleans and to honor those indi-viduals and organizations making out-standing contributions to the arts and culture in our community.” Offered since 1977, the Community Arts Awards are given to individual artists, arts patrons, volunteers, non-profit cultural organizations, and corporate patrons.



acquisitions

encourages research in the Williams Research Center at 410 Chartres Street from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday (except holidays). Cataloged materials available to researchers include books, manuscripts, paintings, prints, draw-ings, maps, photographs, and artifacts about the history and culture of New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Gulf South. Each year The Collection adds thou-sands of items to its holdings. Though only selected gifts are mentioned here, the importance of all gifts cannot be overstated. Prospective donors are invited to contact the authors of the acquisitions columns.

The Historic New Orleans Collection

For the fourth quarter of 2007 (October–December), there were 35 acquisitions, totaling 138 items.

On Sunday, June 15, 1851, David Dorr, a New Orleans-born slave about 23 or 24 years old, arrived in Liverpool with his master, Cornelius Fellowes, on the first stop of a three-year tour of Europe and the Near East. When he later published an account of his remark-able travels, Dorr identified himself on the title page only as “A Quadroon.” He begins A Colored Man Round the World with a dedication “To My Slave Mother” and a preface in which he states that his master “treated me as his own son.” Although Fellowes promised more than once to free Dorr upon their return to New Orleans, he ultimately refused to do so. Dorr eventually escaped to Cleve-land where he worked as a clerk and in 1858 published this lively account of his travels. Although traveling with Fellowes, Dorr personally experienced many of the places that they visited, allowing for first-person descriptions.

In London, he saw Queen Victoria riding in Hyde Park. In Paris, he visited Notre Dame and the National Assembly, attended public balls, enjoyed the cafés, and recognized other New Orleanians visiting the city. He describes hiring a carriage to travel on his own from Geneva, where he toured watch factories, to Bern, Switzerland. He is in Baden Baden, Germany, “the spici-est gambling place in Europe,” when the Prince of Prussia breaks the bank at the casino. He visits Amsterdam, Rome, Naples, Constantinople, Athens, Venice, Verona, Florence, Cairo, Jerusa-lem, and Damascus, and returns to Paris several times during the tour. The book is a significant work of African Ameri-can literature.

Hopkins’ New-Orleans 5 Cent Song-Book is a small, illustrated booklet of lyrics from songs popular in the city during the early Civil War. Wrapped in dark blue paper, the issue bears no imprint or date. However, it is attrib-uted to a local printer, John Hopkins, whose establishment was near the cor-ner of First and Tchoupitoulas streets in the Fourth District. It is presumed to have been published in 1861, when another song book with the same title and a slightly different song list was also published and wrapped in yellow paper.

Songs in the Hopkins volume include “The Mason’s Farewell,” “God Save the South” (to the tune of “God Save the Queen”), “Lincoln Going to Canaan,” “The Merry Little Soldier,” and “Wait for the Wagon.” The wrapper features advertisements for C. H. Miller Con-fectionaries, P. W. Wood Books and Sta-tionery, Mrs. C. Magee’s Variety Store,

the Jackson Hall Beer Saloon, and John Hopkins, Printer.

Abraham Bishop (1763–1844), a Connecticut politician and ardent sup-porter of Thomas Jefferson, published a pamphlet entitled Oration, In Honor of the Election of President Jefferson, and the Peaceable Acquisition of Louisiana, Deliv-ered at the National Festival in Hartford, On the 11th of May, 1804. As a Repub-lican in Connecticut, a predominately Federalist area, Bishop was seen as a radi-cal and his outspoken views were unpop-ular. Over protests from local merchants, President Jefferson rewarded Bishop with an appointment as collector for the port of New Haven in 1803, a post he retained until removed by President Jackson in 1829. In the pamphlet, Bishop writes of the Louisiana Purchase, “Possession has been given us, government is established and the flag of the United States has been displayed at New-Orleans in the midst of acclamations by a people, who for the first time, since the settlement of that country, could be embraced as the free citizens of a republic.”

—Pamela D. Arceneaux

For the fourth quarter of 2007 (October–December), there were 28 acquisitions, totaling approximately 13 linear feet.

The folklore surrounding the priva-teer Jean Lafitte, frequently capitalized on by the tourist trade, has become an important element of the region’s iden-tity. A recently acquired letter addresses the legend of Lafitte’s treasure. Written by Confederate general P. G. T. Beauregard to C. W. Derry of Leadville, Colorado, on January 2, 1888, the letter is a response to Derry’s earlier query about the where-abouts of Lafitte’s treasure. Beauregard replies: “Lafitte was too shrewd a man to leave any ‘treasure’ about Barrataria Bay or Galveston. He was allowed ample time by authorities, to leave both places with whatever property he had. More-over he had many influential friends in New Orleans who could have taken good

Library

Manuscripts


care of his ‘treasure’ if he had any. When I made the survey of Barrataria Bay and Harbor they were still there, on Grand Isle three of Lafitte’s crew, who appeared to be good, quiet people. I often saw them and conversed with them, but I never heard them say anything about concealed ‘treasure.’”

The recent Sugar Bowl exhibition has elicited numerous donations. Ms. Cath-erine Weinstein donated an interesting letter dated January 7, 1934. The let-ter from Judge T. Semmes Renlett to eventual Sugar Bowl president Joseph M. Cousins was written one year before the first Sugar Bowl. “You have been to California—you saw Tulane in the 1932 Rose Bowl game—you know the remark-able advantages from a publicity stand-point, the attraction of tourists, visitors, etc., such a game is to any State, County, or City, but do not also overlook that the Tournament of Roses parade is in itself a great attraction to thousands of visitors in addition to the game.” Mr. Renlett goes on to describe in detail a proposed Sugar Bowl parade. A parade did exist for a short period in the 1970s, but it is worth noting that the idea originated with the bowl’s conception.

The antebellum period in New Orleans was an era of unprecedented economic growth. During this time, the city emerged as the unchallenged mer-cantile center of the South and a criti-cal player in the emerging global cotton economy of the 19th century. A collec-tion of letters from businessmen in New Orleans sheds light on this dynamic business climate. The letters concern shipping, coffee, insurance, lumber, and, most prominently, cotton. Some of the letters are written on the reverse side of printed issues of the Merchants Tran-script and the New Orleans Price Current. The letters are primarily addressed to locations in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey, demonstrating the close economic ties that existed between New Orleans and the northeastern states during the antebellum period.

—Mark Cave

Curatorial

For the fourth quarter of 2007 (October–December), there were 38 acquisitions, totaling 2,105 items.

Illinois native Morris Henry Hobbs (1892–1967)—a printmaker, drafts-man, and watercolorist—made hun-dreds of views of New Orleans during the mid-20th century. In addition to the dozens of Hobbs’s etchings and drawings collected by THNOC found-ers Kemper and Leila Williams, The Collection has tools that Hobbs used in making his copper-etching plates. The artist produced his graphic works on presses of varying sizes, ranging from one that fits in a shoebox to another that occupies the footprint of a compact car. A press of medium size that was used by the artist is the recent gift of Mrs. Reed Isbell-Hobbs.

New Orleans artist Rolland Golden is a careful observer of the world around him. For several decades, he has depicted architecture, landscapes, and the activities of people in different set-tings. A recently acquired early work from 1960 presents a view of dock work-ers on the New Orleans waterfront. The gouache painting’s technique prefig-ures the opaque color areas of Golden’s mature style, while other elements in the work—modulation within the col-ors and sinuous outlines—tie it to the regionalism of John McCrady, Golden’s art teacher.

New Orleans’s culinary history is embodied in many different objects—cookbooks, menus, tableware, and pho-tographs. The blue-and-white enameled marquee for Maylié & Esparbé Café, a recent gift of Mrs. Robert Nolan Bruce Jr., is another symbol of the city’s distinct food culture. The Poydras Street establishment initially served individuals working in the Poydras Market across the street. The restaurant soon became an icon of New Orleans’s cuisine, famous for a table d’hote menu of iconic Creole dishes. Maylié’s closed in 1986. The marquee joins menus and photographs of this New Orleans landmark in the holdings of The Collection.

Sydney J. Besthoff III has donated three items pertaining to Louisiana attorney Judah P. Benjamin. Two por-traits depict Benjamin at very different moments in his life: an 1850s portrait engraved during Benjamin’s service as a United States senator from Louisi-ana (1853–1861) and an 1883 portrait depicting Benjamin dressed in the robes and wig typical of his station as a member of the British legal community. After the end of the Civil War, Benjamin, who held cabinet posts in the Confederacy, settled in Great Britain, where he was admitted to the bar in 1866. He practiced law in that country until 1883, when he retired to Paris where he died the following year. Accompanying the two portraits is a note signed by Benjamin referring to the pay-ment of a debt.

—John H. Lawrence

Dockworkers by Rolland Golden, 1960 (2008.66)


Editor Mary Mees Garsaud

Director of PublicationsJessica DormanPhotographyKeely Merritt

Head of Photography Jan White Brantley

DesignTheresa Norris

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly is published by The Historic New Orleans Collection, which is operated by the Kemper and Leila Wil-liams Foundation, a Louisiana nonprofit corpora-tion. Housed in a complex of historic buildings in the French Quarter, facilities are open to the public, Tuesday through Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. until 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 buildings and courtyards are available for a nominal fee.

Board of DirectorsMrs. William K. Christovich, Chairman

Charles Snyder, PresidentJohn Kallenborn Fred M. Smith

John E. Walker, Immediate Past PresidentDrew Jardine Hunter Pierson Jr.

Alexandra Stafford

Priscilla Lawrence, Executive Director

The Historic New Orleans Collection533 Royal Street

New Orleans, Louisiana 70130(504) 523-4662

[email protected]•www.hnoc.orgISSN 0886-2109

© 2008 The Historic New Orleans Collection

Staffin the coMMunity

John h. lawrence, panelist, Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival.

changeS

Pamela d. Arceneaux, senior librarian/rare books curator; carol Bartels, director of systems; melissa carrier, assistant photographer; Anna hilderbrandt, assistant registrar; howard margot, land records cataloguer; eddy Parker, education assistant/docent; chuck Patch, systems consultant; doug Stallmer, assistant registrar/preparator; Steve Sweet, manager of internet and interactive development.

VolunteerS mary ross Berridge, Angela diez, hailey donahue, Toby Garrett, Virginia legaie, robert and Tia Perry, diane Plauché, and Nancy Pomiechowski, docent department.

internS

Four interns from Tulane University’s history department are working on the Vieux Carré Survey digitization project: lindsey cantwell and Kristen condatta from the graduate program and daniel ehlers and Jessica Gauthier from the undergraduate school.

O n Saturday, March 8, The Collection participated in Ec o l e B i l i n g u e d e la

Nouvelle-Orléans’s annual Fête Française. This year’s fête, titled Vive Les Arts, celebrated Francophone art from around the world with demonstrations, food, entertainment, and children’s activities. Proceeds from the fête will support the French-accredited Ecole Bilingue, a French immersion school. The education department pre-sented activities focused on the 19th-century French portraitist Jean-

Joseph Vaudechamp, whose biogra-phy was published by The Collection in June 2007. In addition to receiv-ing information about the artist, participants posed in reproductions of two of Vaudechamp’s portraits (William Charles Cole Claiborne II and Madame Eugène Fortier II), drew self-portraits on framed paper, and created works with finger paints.

Educational outrEach updatE

celebrating the Art of French Portraiture

Staff members Anna Hilderbrandt and Becky Smith (far left and right) assisted curator of education Sue Laudeman (standing center left with board member Alexandra Stafford) with the program.


The city of New Orleans owes its existence—and its economic viabil-ity—to its location near the mouth

of the Mississippi. Lake Pontchartrain to the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the south further enhance the city’s stature as a hub of travel, trade, and recreation. Surrounded by Water, currently on view in the Williams Gallery, offers a wide-ranging view of the city’s environmental history. Maps, photo-graphs, and memorabilia document centu-ries of dependence on, and modifications of, our watery environs. The exhibition cel-ebrates the human spirit—the industry and the artistry—that allows us to be borne, and continually reborn, upon the water. Free and open to the public, Surrounded by Water is on view Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., and Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., at 533 Royal Street.

the 22nD annual tenneSSee WilliaMS/neW orleanS literary FeStiVal

Authors, agents, editors, actors, scholars, and literature-lovers filled the rooms and courtyards of The Historic New Orleans Collection for the 22nd annual Tennessee Williams Festival. Site of the master classes, the scholars’ conference, and the Friday evening reception, The Collection bustled with activity March 26 through March 30.

Lee Smith, Jason Berry, Valerie Martin, and Hal Crowther

Stephanie Elizondo Griest and Al Young

Rex Reed and Jackie ClarksonMichael P. Smith and Karen Snyder

Tift Merritt

THE SHOP

In conjunction with Surrounded by Water, the Shop has produced a print of a ca. 1850 hand-colored lithograph featured in the exhibition. Titled The Balize Near the Passes of the Mississippi leading to New Orleans, the lithograph by Edward Everard Arnold depicts a variety of vessels and highlights the transition in nautical technology from sail to steam. The print sells for $30. In response to popular demand, the Shop is now selling the 30-minute Surrounded by Water documentary pro-duced by Walter Williams. The DVD sells for $10. A note card and magnet featur-ing a recently acquired photograph of Tennessee Williams with his mother, Edwina, and sister, Rose, were pro-duced just in time for the 22nd annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival. The note card sells for $4.90, the magnet for $5.70.

Please visit www.hnoc.org or call (504) 598-7147 to order these items.

Surrounded by Water:New Orleans, the Mississippi River,

and Lake Pontchartrainon VieW through

SePteMBer 20


Kemper and Leila Williams FoundationTHE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTIONMuseum•ResearchCenter•Publisher533RoyalStreet•NewOrleans,Louisiana70130(504)523-4662•VisitTheCollectionontheInternetatwww.hnoc.org

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

NonprofitOrganization

At The Collection & Beyond

On Wednesday, February 13, The Collection and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra presented their second annual collaborative concert, “Music of the Mississippi,” at the St. Louis Cathedral. A record-breaking audience turned out for the musical voyage down the Mississippi, featuring composers and pieces inspired by the mighty river, with Mark Twain, played by local favorite mikko, as the evening’s narrator.

On February 9, seven speakers discussed the Mississippi River and its role in establishing and defining New Orleans at the 13th annual Williams Research Center Symposium, The Mississippi River: Artery of Commerce and Culture. Jerry Enzler (far left) moderated the symposium, while Andrew Walker, Peter Kastor, and Andrew McMichael (left to right) presented talks in the morning.

Bruce Raeburn, Jessica Dorman, and Craig Colten presented talks in the afternoon.

Following the symposium, registrants and speakers enjoyed a two-hour cruise on the Steamboat Natchez.

Documents

t p M p. S - The Historic New Orleans Collection 35mm film (in both negatives and slides) ... (piano, accordion) has ... score the city’s rich literary history. . . t S