new orleans silver shines at the collection

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 1

Volume XXVI, Number 2 Spring 2009

New Orleans Silver Shines at The Collection

The Historic New Orleans Collection recently acquired an extraordinary 19th-century

presentation silver coffee and tea service. The original owner was Port of New Orleans collector of customs Francis Hanson Hatch, whose friends at the New Orleans Custom House secretly commissioned the set in 1861 in his honor.

The seven-piece set is classical in form and decoration yet characterized by the most contemporary illustrative iconography of all the known exam-ples of New Orleans–made presenta-tion silver. The local firm of Terfloth and Küchler—established by German immigrants—fashioned the set entirely in coin standard silver. The showpiece of the Hatch ser-vice is a salver, engraved with arguably the most important structure erected in 19th-century New Orleans: the granite

Custom House, still standing on Canal Street, near the Mississippi River. The basis for the engraving is a drawing by Thomas K. Wharton, resident super-visory architect of the Custom House. The other parts of the service include a coffeepot, two teapots, a creamer, a covered sugar bowl, and a waste bowl— each decorated with repoussé chased vignettes illustrating the commerce of

the port of New Orleans. Using readily available visual sources—including engravings found on paper money—as the basis for their designs, the artists captured the dyna-mism of the antebellum era. Images include river boats, sailing vessels, and steamboats; flora and fauna; architec-tural landmarks; and the symbolic fig-ures of Commerce (a woman poised among cotton bales, crates, and bar-rels) and the Father of Waters (a man pouring Mississippi River water from a

2 Volume XXVI, Number 2 — Spring 2009

From the Director

“Tightening belts,” “cutting back,” and “making hard decisions” have been some of the buzz words of the last quarter. The state of the world’s economy has frightened everyone. Strategies for the future have changed overnight, and many people are reexamining their ideals.

The Historic New Orleans Collection is no exception. Budget-ing for the next fiscal year has been an entirely different exercise than in years past. Our resources are being guarded carefully. Yet we intend to maintain a vibrant programming schedule—enabling us to continue to join together in the appreciation and celebration of our heritage.

A cornerstone of historical inquiry is the recognition that understanding the past allows us to improve the future. Our post-Katrina exhibition City of Hope reminded us that New Orleans has endured many disasters over the centuries, only to revive and rebuild. In the same way, we can look back at instances of economic decline and know that we will weather this storm, too, and come back stronger for having done so.

You, our supporters, are as important to our future now as you ever have been. Your attendance, your gifts, and your good wishes keep us dedicated to our mission. Thank you!

—Priscilla Lawrence

From the Golden Age of New Orleans Silver:

The Hatch Service

Silver service presented to Francis H. Hatch, collector of the port of New Orleans. Made by Terfloth and Küchler, coin silver (2008.0329.2.1-.7), acquisition made possible by the Diana Helis Henry Fund of the Helis Foundation and the Laussat Society of The Historic New Orleans Collection


pitcher). The cream pitcher, because of its small size, is engraved only with the presentation inscription. Despite its conceptual sophistica-tion, the imagery is rooted in everyday life, recalling genre painting popular in the mid-19th century. One favored contemporary motif, that of a “paradise on earth,” is realized through multilay-ered representations of the Mississippi River. Flowing symbolically through time as well as space, the river termi-nates, in New Orleans, in a veritable commercial utopia. The culminating vignette—on the salver—captures the grandeur of the era and hints at its imminent demise. The engraving shows the Custom House flying the one-star banner of the republic of Louisiana and the first national Confederate flag. Louisiana left the Union on January 26, 1861, and joined the Confederacy that March. The silver service was presented on May 1, 1861—less than a month after the fall of Fort Sumter—and it can be assumed the set was made, at least partially, while Louisiana was a sover-eign nation.

Hatch, a Vermont native, served as New Orleans customs collector from 1857 until April 1862, when the Federal Navy captured the city. Having accepted the post of customs collector and general agent for the Confederate Department of the Southwest, he spent the war years away from New Orleans. When Hatch returned at war’s end, he was finan-cially ruined: most of his property had been seized during the federal occupa-tion. But the business he founded in 1866, the Mount Insurance Company, proved successful. Hatch died in 1884, aged 69. The silver service descended

through three generations of his family, selling at auction in 1988 and again in October 2008. The Hatch service is on display in the Louisiana History Galleries at 533 Royal Street. Its acquisition was made possible through the assistance of the Diana Helis Henry Fund of the Helis Foundation and The Collection’s Laussat Society.

—Carey T. Mackie and H. Parrott Bacot

Detail of teapot: steamship entering the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico

Detail of salver: engraving of New Orleans Custom House.


In 1813 a young teenage boy named Dutreuil Barjon disembarked a ship from the West Indies and walked

into the bustling Vieux Carré. Born in Jeremie, St. Domingue, ca. 1799, Barjon arrived in New Orleans with his mother, who soon had her son working as an apprentice to a free man of color master cabinetmaker, Jean Rousseau. It was a working relationship that would seal the young man’s fate: Barjon would become one of New Orleans’s most suc-cessful cabinetmakers. Almost two hundred years after Barjon began his apprenticeship, The Historic New Orleans Collection has acquired one of his beautiful—and extremely rare—armoires, a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Patrick. Complementing this acquisition is the recent purchase of an armoire attrib-uted to another contemporary free black cabinetmaker, Célestin Glapion. Glapion’s life (ca. 1780–1826) remains more of a mystery. He was the first local black cabinetmaker/carpenter-joiner to be identified as the maker of a particular piece of furniture, yet to date only two armoires are definitively attributed to him. The Glapions were a family of artisans: a number of carpenter- joiners and cabinetmakers by that name are listed in contemporary city directories. The Barjon and Glapion acquisi-tions mark an extraordinary moment for The Collection—and come at a time of burgeoning interest in the forgotten community of free men of color cabi-netmakers. This community thrived for just a few decades but produced some of the finest craftsmanship the city has Mid-19th-century armoire by Dutreuil

Barjon (2008.0088), gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Patrick

The Rise of a LosT GeneRaTion


known. As more is learned about these artisans and as more of their pieces are discovered, interest in their work is sky-rocketing.

Gens de Couleur LibreThe antebellum city in which Glapion and Barjon lived was unlike any other in America—particularly for a black man. From the early French-controlled days, and continuing during the period of Spanish rule, free people of color estab-lished a firm foothold in New Orleans. By the time of the Louisiana Purchase, the freedom with which many blacks moved and worked in New Orleans stood in startling contrast to conditions in the rest of the South. In colonial New Orleans gens de couleur libre had been remarkably assimilated into the dominant French culture. Many were well detached from their ancestors’ experiences of slavery and from their African identity. The community swelled in the early 19th century with émigrés from the revolu-tion in St. Domingue. New Orleans’s free blacks were entrepreneurs, landowners, community leaders, artists, and crafts-men. In fact, a review of legal and public documents reveals more free black crafts-men and business owners in New Orleans than in any other American city between 1810 and 1840. During this same period New Orleans was becoming a vibrant and bustling center of commerce. As the city experienced exponential population and economic growth, demand increased for fine furniture and other trappings of wealth and culture. Makers and vendors of

Early 19th-century armoire attributed to Célestin Glapion (2007.0312)

The Collection acquires two rare New Orleans armoires from the 19th century. The real story is who made them.


high-end goods inundated the city—and free black artisans played a significant role as cabinetmakers and carpenter-joiners. Many owned small, independent shops. Records even show mixed-race business partnerships, including that between Dutreuil Barjon and Christophe Voigt, a German cabinetmaker who imported furniture from Hamburg and Berlin. The TradeHow was this community of artisans able to thrive? In New Orleans, cabinet-making, like many crafts, was learned through a system of apprenticeship, whereby a young boy contracted with a master craftsman to learn a skill. The youth’s services were the property of the master until the end of the contract. The teacher was typically responsible for the food, clothing, basic healthcare, and elementary education of the indentured youth. Any expenses above and beyond those stated in the contract fell on a sponsor, often a parent (as in the case of

Barjon). Apprenticeship normally began at between 13 and 15 years of age and lasted anywhere between three and five years, or until the youth reached his majority. Barjon’s teacher, Jean Rousseau, was one of the city’s most prodigious instruc-tors, with 30 apprenticeship contracts with young free men of color between 1818 and 1833. Once out on his own, Barjon himself took at least nine appren-tices between 1822 and 1829. Thomas P. Willard, a noted white cabinetmaker, had eight indenture-apprenticeship con-tracts with free black youths, evidence of the social and professional interaction between the white and free black com-munities. That said, most young free men of color were apprenticed to black master craftsmen.

The StylePopular French decorative styles were disseminated across America in the early 19th century—and by the 1830s New Orleans consumers had been embraced by, and their tastes shaped by, the national retail market. No doubt the demands of this market dictated the styles produced by free black craftsmen. There are very few extant pieces to study: only a hand-ful of items (fewer than 15) by known artisans have surfaced to date, including pieces by Glapion, Barjon, and Barjon’s son, Dutreuil Barjon Jr., who also became a well-known cabinetmaker. By the mid-dle of the 19th century, mass-produced, machine-made furniture arrived regu-larly in New Orleans on ships from New York and Boston. Though mechanized furniture production did not dominate in New Orleans, the city’s handcrafted furniture was quickly being replaced by pieces manufactured elsewhere.

The Armoires at The CollectionOnly a few pieces made in the Barjon workshop on Royal Street (and bear-ing the cabinetmaker’s label) survive. Barjon’s most active period of produc-

tion was between 1822 and 1845; he is by far the city’s best-known free black cabinetmaker. The Barjon mahogany armoire (ca. 1840) acquired by The Collec-tion exhibits two hallmarks of New Orleans–made furniture: bold propor-tions (100 x 73 x 28 in.) and highly figured veneer. The armoire has beading along the cornice and ripple-cut detail around the central door panels. The shaped and molded cornice is similar to that promoted by John Hall, author of The Cabinet Makers’ Assistant (1840), and Joseph Meeks, New York’s leading furniture firm, which had two shops in New Orleans in the 1830s. The Collection’s armoire attributed to Glapion was built ca. 1810 and exem-plifies the Creole style in its combination of French forms and American embel-lishments: the cabriole legs, scalloped skirt, and delicate escutcheons alongside the angular contours of the cornice, the latter more associated with the neoclas-sical style popular in Anglo-American furniture. The mid-19th-century influx of mass-produced products certainly put a strain on business for Glapion, Barjon, and other free men of color artisans. A society that had previously supported hand-craftsmanship was being dramati-cally altered. But shifting winds of trade alone were not enough to obscure the work of a whole community. After the Civil War racism and racist legislation eroded the careers of free black crafts-men. This cherished community and its legacy would fade from the memory of a city that once embraced it. Fortu-nately, this lost generation of artisans is being rediscovered today and champi-oned by private collectors and museums alike. The Collection’s acquisition of the Barjon and Glapion armoires provides a glimpse into the Crescent City’s rich historical spirit.

— Margo Preston Moscou

Ripple molding frames the door panels on the Barjon armoire.

Barjon’s stamp appears on the armoire’s interior.


In December 1967, as a young trust officer at the First National Bank of Commerce, Fred Smith

was asked by his boss to attend the organizational meeting of the board of trustees of the Kemper and Leila Williams Foundation. The foundation had been established under the will of Leila Williams, who had died the pre-vious year. At the meeting, Mrs. Wil-liams’s husband, General L. Kemper Williams, was named chairman of the board, and all agreed that Smith would serve as secretary. The foundation is the governing body of The Historic New Orleans Collection. Now, after 42 years of service to the foundation, including 25 years as chief financial officer, Smith has retired from his position as CFO. His oversight of the Williams legacy, how-ever, continues. He remains an active member of the foundation’s board and serves as chairman of the finance and investment committee. Before that first organizational meeting, Smith had known General Williams as a member of the trust com-mittee of the bank, but he came to know him much better after joining the board. “We were on a first-name basis,” Smith says with a smile. “He called me Fred and I called him General.” General Williams died in 1971, and shortly thereafter, Smith recalls, the board incorporated the foundations created under the wills of both General and Mrs. Williams. What had been two separate trusts merged into a sin-gle corporation, and things really took off. As a member of the board, Smith helped ensure that The Collection’s ini-tial growth—including restoration and redecoration of the founders’ former residence at 718 Toulouse Street and

expansion into adjacent properties—upheld both the letter and spirit of the Williamses’ wills. Smith overflows with memories of his years working in such a color-ful environment. Even-keeled and pragmatic, he has served as an anchor for a succession of curators, artists, archivists, and administrators. Con-sider one classic scene: Smith board-ing the elevator at his Tchoupitoulas Street office at 7:30 a.m., an hour and a half before other staff is due to arrive. Before the elevator can reach the second floor, it gets stuck, trapping Smith inside. Most people would panic, but Smith remained calm. “I just sat down and read my Wall Street Journal until nine. When I heard a coworker arrive, I said, ‘Joe, it’s me! In the elevator!’ and he called the elevator company to come let me out.” Smith laughs: “I wasn’t claustrophobic. Prob-ably from my time spent in a subma-rine in the navy. I just sat and read my paper and hoped someone would show up.” Smith served as senior vice presi-dent of the First National Bank of Commerce until 1983, when he left the bank to assume full-time respon-sibilities as chief financial officer for the Kemper and Leila Williams Foun-dation. All the while, he has remained engaged in the local business commu-nity, serving terms as chairman of the trust division of the Louisiana Bankers Association; president of the Financial Analysts of New Orleans; and president of the New Orleans Estate Planning Council. Smith considers himself lucky to have had a great professional mentor: Francis C. Doyle, the man who origi-nally hired him at FNBC. Doyle, a

1975 recipient of the Times-Picayune Loving Cup, encouraged Smith to participate in civic affairs—a call to service Smith followed with enthu-siasm. A plethora of local organiza-tions has benefited from his leadership and counsel: Mercy Hospital, Milne Asylum, Holy Cross School, City Park, the New Orleans Museum of Art, Save Our Cemeteries, and the Rotary Club of New Orleans. He served his church, St. Augustine’s Episcopal, as senior warden and treasurer. Smith and his wife, Pat, have been married for 53 years. They love to travel together, and over the years they have made many international trips and have visited almost all of the 50 states. This June, they plan to fly to San Francisco and from there take a scenic drive north to Seattle. When not traveling, Smith keeps an active sched-ule, which, as always, includes board meetings, exhibitions, and receptions at The Collection. Smith has seen The Historic New Orleans Collection grow from two employees to 82 full-time staff today. That the organization has held such a steady course, through times of change and challenge, is due in large part to Smith’s conscientious and wise counsel.

—Rachel Gibbons

Profile: Fred Smith

Fred and Pat Smith


Women’s ascent into artistic prominence has been slow and arduous, both locally

and nationally. The Historic New Orleans Collection and the New Orleans Museum of Art celebrate the accomplish-ments of Louisiana women artists in a two- part exhibition, the latest in a series of collaborative ventures between the two institu-tions. The first installment, Women Artists in Louisiana, 1825–1965: A Place of Their Own, opened on April 15, 2009. The second, featur-ing art from 1965 to the present, will open in April 2010. Both exhibitions draw from the permanent collections of the two museums. Women Artists in Louisiana features painting, sculpture, and pottery by more than 40 artists who visited or resided in New Orleans from the early 19th century to the cusp of postmodernism. Artists include Blanche Blanchard, Marie-Paoline Coulon, Cornelia Randolph Murrell, Marie Madeleine Seebold [Molinary], Louise Giesen Woodward, Julia Massie, Edith Sansum, Selina Bres [Gregory], Angela Gregory, Ida F. Levy, Helen Turner, Alberta Kinsey, Colette Heldner, Alice Frances Goodall, Evelyn Witherspoon, Margaret Witherspoon, Clayre Barr [Lewis], Nell Pomeroy O’Brien, Jane Smith Ninas, Olive Ellzey Leonhardt, Josephine Crawford, Elizabeth Heintzen Laughlin, Ida Kohlmeyer, Hazel Guggenheim McKinley, Caroline Durieux, Vera Reinike, and Lin Emery. Photography is represented with portraits by Florestine Perrault Collins; architectural views by Frances Benjamin Johnston; and modernist still lifes by Carlotta Corpron, whose work has been called “light poetry.” Newcomb Pottery is represented with works decorated by Amelie Roman, Henrietta Davidson Bailey, Marie Levering Benson, Matilda Geddings Gray, and Ada Wilt Lonnegan. Additionally, there are works by 19th-century silversmith Susan Turk and 20th-century metalsmith Rosalie Mildred Roos Wiener, who also has a self-portrait in the exhibition—painted in oils, depicting herself with her metalworking tools on the wall behind her. A portrait of two children by Ida Kohlmeyer, executed with thick impasto, verges on abstract expressionism and symbolizes the culmination of women artists’ long journey toward recognition. This exhibition bears witness to the impact of these women on Louisiana’s artistic landscape.

— Judith H. Bonner

Women Artists in Louisiana, 1825–1965:

Self-Portrait by Zulmé Maspero de la Mardel, ca. 1853 (2003.0175.3), gift of Mrs. Frances Howard Bayon

Hat Full of Cherries by Marie Madeleine Seebold [Molinary], 1895 (1996.122.6), gift of Laura Simon Nelson

Portrait of an African-American Woman Wrapped in a Shawl by Selina Elizabeth Bres [Gregory], between 1893 and 1896 (1997.72.1)

I n Pa rt n e r s h i p w i t h t h e N ew O r l e a n s M u s e u m o f A rt

A Place of Their Own


Territorial Louisiana Exhibition and Symposium

On December 20, 1803, at a ceremony held mere blocks from the present-day location of The Collection, approximately half a billion acres was signed over to the United States. Not quite a decade later, on April 30, 1812, the state of Louisiana—carved from the expanse of the Loui-siana Purchase—entered the Union. The inter-vening period, rich in fascinating episodes and one-of-a-kind personalities, will be the focus of the 15th annual Williams Research Center Symposium in January 2010. A companion exhibition, Between Colony and State: The Terri-tory of Orleans from 1803 to 1812, will open in fall 2009.

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The Alsace-Lorraine Jewish Experience in Louisiana and the Gulf South

Alsace-Lorraine is a region located in north-eastern present-day France, along the German border. During the 19th century, tens of thou-sands of French-speaking Jews from this region immigrated to Louisiana and the Gulf South. They settled in locales both rural and urban, forging new communities and melding cultural and religious traditions from the old and new worlds. On Friday, November 13, 2009, The Historic New Orleans Collection, with support from the Consulate General of France in New Orleans, will host a one-day colloquium: The Alsace-Lorraine Jewish Experience in Louisiana and the Gulf South. Scholars from the across the United States and Europe will trace the legacy of Jewish immi-gration to Louisiana and the Gulf South from the late 18th to the early 21st centuries. For a complete list of presenters and topics, please visit www.hnoc.org and follow the links for Programs/Events. Advance colloquium registration through October 16 is $35 per person. Registration after October 16 will be $50. To register for the colloquium, please call (504) 523-4662.

Looking AheadCurrent Exhibitions

In the Spirit The Photography of Michael P. Smith

from The Historic New Orleans Collection

Photographer Michael P. Smith (1937–2008) captured the heart and soul of New Orleans’s music, culture, and folkways. He documented the physical and social structures that helped shape the unique cultural identity of his native New Orleans. In 2007, The Collection acquired Smith’s body of work, ensuring both its long-term preservation and ultimate public access.

In the Spirit marks the inaugural public presentation of the Michael P. Smith Archive from The Historic New Orleans Collection. The exhibition includes unique displays at two locations:

Beyond the MusicThe Historic New Orleans Collection, 533 Royal Street

Through September 13, 2009Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.Admission: free

Twenty-Five Jazz FestsContemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp Street

Through July 12, 2009Thursday–Sunday, 11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

Admission: free

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Josephine Crawford: An Artist’s Vision

The life and work of New Orleans artist Josephine Marien Crawford (1878–1952) is celebrated this spring at The Historic New Orleans Collection with an exhibition and the release of a biography.

The exhibition, which seeks to recreate Crawford’s creative milieu, presents a selection of her paintings and drawings from the holdings of The Historic New Orleans Collection, other repositories, and private lenders. Highlights include portraits, still lifes, sketchbooks, and a remarkable series of portraits painted on the wallpaper of her Royal Street studio. The exhibition is complemented by photographs of Josephine, her family, and French art master André Lhote, with whom she studied in Paris.

Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres StreetThrough August 29, 2009

Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.Admission: free


Sterling silver pitcher crafted by Anthony Rasch, ca. 1815 (1978.103), gift of Elizabeth M. Montgomery; details below

A View of Savannah as it stood in the 29th of March 1734, surveyed by Noble Jones, drawn by George Jones, engraved by P. Fourdrinier, London, ca. 1734, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

The Historic New Orleans Collectionpresents

In Search of Southern StyleThe Second Annual

New Orleans Antiques Forum

New Orleans played a significant role in the dissemination of 18th- and 19th-century decorative arts traditions throughout the South. Imports arriving from Europe, the eastern seaboard, and the Caribbean influenced not only

local customs but tastes and trends across the entire region. 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 regional history and culture, The Historic New Orleans Collection is pleased to host the second annual New Orleans Antiques Forum. This year, the forum will seek to define southern style. The discussion will examine themes found across the South, from Texas to Tennessee, from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast. The three-day forum will be held from Friday, August 7, through Sunday, August 9, in the Boyd Cruise Room of the Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street. An additional preconference day on Thursday, August 6, offers a tour of selected private decorative arts collections in New Orleans’s Uptown and Garden District neighborhoods. A distinguished panel of speakers will explore design and consumer trends in architecture, lifestyle, and the decorative arts, including furniture, silver, and painting. J. Thomas Savage, director of museum affairs for Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in Delaware, will serve as forum moderator. Registration for the full conference is $200. Participants may also register for Friday alone ($100) or Saturday and Sunday together ($125). Visit www.hnoc.org or call (504) 523-4662 to register.


General Andrew Jackson by John Wesley Jarvis, ca. 1819, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1964, image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Punkah at Melrose, Natchez, photographed for the Historic American Buildings Survey, courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

Beading adorns the round-cornered cornice on an armoire by Dutreuil Barjon (2008.0088), gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Patrick

fo Ru m sc h e d u L e

Thursday, August 6Optional pre-Forum day

9:00 a.m. Registration for Uptown TourWilliams Research Center410 Chartres St.

10:00 a.m. Bus tour to private Uptown and Garden District decorative arts collections. Anticipated return at 4:00 p.m.

Friday, August 7 8:30 a.m. RegistrationWilliams Research Center

9:30 a.m. Welcome and IntroductionPriscilla Lawrence and Burl Salmon The Historic New Orleans Collection

9:45 a.m. High Life in the Low Country: Charleston in the Eighteenth CenturyJ. Thomas SavageWinterthur Museum and Country Estate

11:00 a.m. Currents of Change: Art and Life along theMississippi River, 1850–1861 Jason T. BuschCarnegie Museum of Art

12:00 p.m. Lunch (on your own)

1:30 p.m. The Cultural Landscape of the Early SouthMargaret B. PritchardColonial Williamsburg Foundation

2:45 p.m.Arteries of Style: Rivers and Regions in Old Alabama Daniel F. BrooksArlington Antebellum Home and Gardens

4:00–6:00 p.m. Evening Reception The Historic New Orleans Collection533 Royal Street

Saturday, August 8 8:00 a.m. Registration

9:00 a.m. A Suitable Residence for the Governor of the State: Historic Furnishings in the Governor’s Mansions of Mississippi, Texas, and VirginiaJane KarotkinTexas Friends of the Governor’s Mansion

10:00 a.m. “Motive Power”: Punkahs, Fans, and Fly Brushes and Performance in the Antebellum South Dana Byrd Yale University

11:15 a.m.Damn Yankees: John Wesley Jarvis, Henry Inman, and the Broadway Boys in New OrleansCarrie Rebora BarrattThe Metropolitan Museum of Art

12:15 p.m. Lunch (on your own)

1:45 p.m. French Accents in Early Louisiana Furniture and Paintings Jessie J. Poesch Newcomb College of Tulane University

2:45 p.m. French Quarter and Magazine Street AntiquesStroll

Sunday, August 9 10:00 a.m. Southern Silver: A Sterling Status SymbolChristina L. KeyserGeorge Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens

11:00 a.m. In Search of Southern Architecture in New OrleansEugene D. CizekTulane University

12:00 p.m. Closing Remarks Priscilla Lawrence and Burl SalmonThe Historic New Orleans Collection


Davi Abramson and David ZinsserLee R. AdlerMr. and Mrs. Richard M. AdlerFrank J. AlquistPamela D. ArceneauxAssociated Office Systems–Shelby RussDr. Jorge I. AunonMr. and Mrs. Richard AutinPatti AverbuckAnn and Charlie BabingtonWalter BaerAnn B. BaileyWilliam F. BantaDr. Sadith E. Paz BarahonaJill Hayes BarbeeMarilyn BarnettDiane BarthMr. and Mrs. Beauregard L. BassichJane BayhiMr. and Mrs. John D’Arcy BeckerLaw Offices of Robert M. BecnelM. L. BensonHenry Bernstein and Jerry W. ZacharyMrs. William J. BerridgeCheryl and Dixon BetzNell T. BoersmaBruce G. BordesJoan BostickDenise A. Boswell Ph.D.Jean BraggJoan BrashearsDrs. Elizabeth and Robert BrayMary Aldigé BrogdenAaron F. BroussardBrigid BrownHugh C. Brown Jr.Polly and Victor BrownMr. and Mrs. Victor H. BrunoMary and Dale BuchananVirginia F. BurkeHarold H. BurnsLouise R. BushMr. and Mrs. John W. CalhounJames CarriereMrs. Charles CeriseJacquelyn CharbonnetMr. and Mrs. Brent C. Charvet Sr.Candace Chase and Richard LevichMr. and Mrs. Nathaniel J. Chesnut Jr.Stephen ChesnutMr. and Mrs. William K. ChristovichLoretta C. ClarkDr. Carolyn M. ClawsonMr. and Mrs. J. Kenneth ClayClearBridge Advisors, LLCDr. Hugh M. CollinsMr. and Mrs. Tony S. CookMr. William C. Cook, The William C. Cook Advised Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle TennesseeDorothy L. CounceBobbie E. CraftMary CrossonWilliam R. CullisonHugh C. CurtisCarole C. DaleyJean DanglerMarianne and Mark DauerCharles DeCell

Coaina and Tommy DelbertMichael S. DePaulThe Derbes Family Foundation Inc.Claire DickAnne and Lon Dickerson Dr. Lake Douglas and Debbie de la HoussayeRoger DrakeCarol Ann Roberts DumondBrooke Duncan IIIEdith and Chuck DunnMichael A. DuplantierDr. Victor J. DuRapau Jr.Debbie EastinFernin F. EatonFareda Saba Eddy and Mary Mancuso SabaRose M. and David L. EdererJerry EdwardsGayle and Lucas Ehrensing-Thigpen Construction Co.Lisa Eldredge and Kenneth Davis Jr. Scott S. EllisJerry EubanksDiana EustisLinda Anne FaucheuxDr. Diane J. FinleyBronwen FitzpatrickMr. and Mrs. Dudley D. FlandersMr. and Mrs. Richard P. FlatauLo-An Flettrich, Albert Flettrich Jr., Dominic Massa, and Terry Flettrich RoheMrs. Robert L. FlurryChef John Folse & CompanyWilliam H. Forman Jr.Richard L. ForstallMyra Manis FosterChristopher J. FransenDr. Rusty FryeCynthia and R. Bruce GalbraithDr. and Mrs. Elmer GaudetMichele GaudinPat GaudinJohn Geiser IIINorma GellingGeorgia Museum of ArtMr. and Mrs. James Howard GibertDr. Dov GlazerMr. and Mrs. Robert B. GoldenMr. and Mrs. John M. Goodwin IIDoris Ann GormanD. Ryan GrayErin GreenwaldDenise A. GremillionMr. and Mrs. James L. GriffinDr. and Mrs. Jeffrey F. GriffinMr. and Mrs. Douglas L. GrundmeyerBertrand GuilletGW FinsAllean L. HaleKatie HallCynthia R. HammondMr. and Mrs. Jonn HankinsRubie M. HarrisDr. Michael HaymanDiana Helis Henry Fund of the Helis FoundationEdward HemardRobert Henkel and Burl Salmon

Jackson HillRebecca HillMr. and Mrs. John F. HillsMr. and Mrs. L. Alex HimmelbergDawn HoffmanMary Hoffschwelle and Carroll Van West Dr. and Mrs. Jack D. HoldenMona H. HollierMr. and Mrs. John C. HopeCalvin HotardMr. and Mrs. Michael L. HughesThe Honorable Henley A. HunterMary Lynn HydeNewton E. Hyslop Jr.Dr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Irwin Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Davis Lee Jahncke Jr.Kay and Trent JamesMr. and Mrs. R. Andrew JardineDr. Eric JarvisMrs. Neill P. JeffreyJohn Burton Harter Charitable FoundationCurtis JohnsonDr. and Mrs. Robert N. JonesGeorge E. JordanRon Joullian Dr. Florence M. JumonvilleMr. and Mrs. Alois JurcikWynn KapitMargie Doskey KatzLura G. KauffmanMary KlinefelterMrs. Morris KlingerDorothy and Garril KueberDr. Gilles-Antoine LangloisMary Myrick LangloisLaPorte, Sehrt, Romig & HandFrederick Lee LawsonPaul J. Leaman Jr.Laurie LedetMelissa and William LegierDr. Alfred E. LemmonJustice Harry T. Lemmon and Judge Mary Ann Vial LemmonMr. and Mrs. Edward N. LennoxVicki Gold LeviDr. Edward S. LindseyGary A. LloydLouisiana Historical SocietyNorah and Charles LovellRachel LyonsHaydee and Kevin MackeyJohn T. MagillBrigita L. MalmMrs. E. Dameron ManardThe Honorable and Mrs. Gary J. ManninaPhyllis J. MarquartMr. and Mrs. Charles F. MartenHoney and Chris MathesMr. and Mrs. Charles Buck MayerJan and James McArthurDr. Graham J. McDougall Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Terry McFillenThomas C. McGeheeWanda and Thomas T. McGinnJames McLoughlinMr. and Mrs. Michael McLoughlinPatricia A. McWhorter-Broussard

John P. MellorMilton E. MeltonThe Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County TennesseeGilda H. MooreGerald MoreauBitsie and Grover MoutonHarriel H. MurrellDavid NaccariWalter NavoyNeal Auction Company, Inc.Constance and Brian NelsonLaura Simon NelsonNew Orleans Woman’s ClubCynthia NoblesNOLA Brewing Company LLCDr. and Mrs. John OchsnerRoger Houston OgdenOmohundro Institute of Early American History and CultureOrléans Club in honor of Charles SnyderCarol OsborneMyra B. PaceMr. and Mrs. Gray S. ParkerLynne ParmenterBarbara and Donald ParrishJudith and Robert PatoutPerlis Inc.Uyen PhanMr. and Mrs. R. Hunter Pierson Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Andrew L. Plauché Jr.Jessie J. Poesch Ph.D.Frank S. PonsSylvia Todd PorteousJerome PostMr. and Mrs. William R. PoweMrs. Leon A. PradelMr. and Mrs. Timothy J. PupoMr. and Mrs. G. Frank Purvis Jr.Donald E. PuschJeanne P. and Harley C. RabigJulia W. and Anthony RadostiKathryn E. RapierMrs. Thomas A. RayerJan L. RectorPatricia K. and Edward S. ReedMr. and Mrs. Sidney N. RideauHarriet RobinMr. and Mrs. Lewis RogersMrs. Melvin M. RosenthalMr. and Mrs. Richard D. RousselJoe RubinfineEileen R. RussoSt. Denis J. Villere & Company Molly and Townsley St. PaulMr. and Mrs. Enrique C. SaladrigasFrances N. SalvaggioFrank SaucierThe Sazerac CompanyHelen L. SchneidauDr. and Mrs. Coleman S. Schneider, in memory of Jan White BrantleyJudge and Mrs. Patrick M. SchottElizabeth Lee ScottCaroline and Gordon SerouJohn B. SewellMary Ann and Mettery SherryLeatrice S. Siegel

Donors: october–December 2008


The Historic New Orleans Collection is now accepting applications for the 2010–11 Woest Fellowship. The annual fellowship supports scholarly research on the history

and culture of Louisiana and the Gulf South. Since the fellowship’s inception in 2006, 12 fellows have been awarded stipends to conduct 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 pro-fessionals, and independent scholars. U.S. citizenship is not required, but applicants should be fluent in English. Fellows will be expected to acknowledge The Collection in any published work drawing on fellowship research.To Apply: Applicants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with The Collection’s resources by visiting www.hnoc.org. Fellowship applications may be downloaded from the Web site. For more information, call Dr. Alfred Lemmon, Director of the Williams Research Center, at (504) 598-7124, or Dr. Jessica Dorman, Director of Publications, at (504) 598-7174.The Historic New Orleans Collection gratefully acknowledges the generosity of Dianne Audrey Woest (1935–2003), a graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University, for-mer president of the New Orleans Council for International Visitors, and true friend of the arts. Through a planned giving arrangement, Woest designated The Collection as a beneficiary of her estate.

Daniel SikesMr. and Mrs. R. Hugh SimmonsDr. and Mrs. Henry G. SimonFlo Mary Scheib SimonsonMr. and Mrs. Fred SmithLinda T. SmithLouis D. SmithOlga and James SmoakMr. and Mrs. Charles A. SnyderJude Solomon and Owen MurphyDavid SpeightsMark SpeltzDouglas StallmerState of Louisiana, Office of the State Library of LouisianaArthur P. SteinmetzMr. and Mrs. Phineas StevensAlice F. StewartMicki Beth StillerAnn D. SturgillDr. Agustin J. SuarezHarriet SwiftJohn C. Sykes IIISymphony Book FairMrs. James Lyle TaylorMarjorie Geiser Fehr ThomasDebra S. ThompsonSheryl and Howard ThompsonDr. Hilton M. Title and FamilyFred W. ToddRoulhac B. ToledanoWade TothTimothy TrapolinDr. and Mrs. Samuel A. TrufantLillian and John UhlU.S. Army Corps of EngineersAmelie Goodwin UrbanczykMary Ann ValentinoMichael ValentinoLorraine and Maurice VillereMr. and Mrs. St. Denis J. VillereJohn E. Wade IIMr. and Mrs. John E. WalkerWilliam J. WarrenMichael W. WascomMerlyn WeilbaecherDr. Richard WeilburgLisa WerlingFrances M. WhiddenDr. C. Mark Whitehead Jr. and Katherine C. WhiteheadMr. and Mrs. Elvin WhitesidesJulia WidmannMary and Harry WidmannMr. and Mrs. Robert John Axtell WilliamsFrank Lee Wills Jr.Joan and Glenn WinterDr. and Mrs. William J. WoessnerMr. and Mrs. John D. WoganKathryn WollanWYES-TVMr. and Mrs. Robert E. YoungMr. and Mrs. Victor D. Ziminsky Jr.Heather Harllee ZimmerDiane K. Zink and Robert M. Becnel

The Historic New Orleans Collection and the Louisiana Historical Association announce that the 2008 Kemper

& Leila Williams Prize in Louisiana History has been awarded to Colonial Natchitoches: A Creole Community on the Louisiana-Texas Frontier. The work, by H. Sophie Burton, an independent scholar, and F. Todd Smith, professor of history at the University of North Texas, was published by the Texas A&M University Press. The award was presented to Burton and Smith at the annual meeting of the Louisiana Historical Association on March 20, 2009. Readers for this year’s Williams Prize competition found Burton and Clark’s research exemplary, citing in particular the book’s documentation of Natchitoches’s ethnic and economic history. The book’s pub-lication, the prize committee felt, fills gaps in the study of Louisiana’s colonial past with its discussion of French family structure, the Indian trade, Indian wars, slavery, epidemics, agriculture, and ranching. Since 1974, the Williams Prize has been awarded annually for excellence in research and writing on Louisiana’s history. The prize is a partnership between the Louisiana Historical Association, which appoints the readers, and The Historic New Orleans Collection, which funds and administers the prize. The award is named for Kemper and Leila Williams, the founders of The Collection. Accompanying the winning selection is a plaque and cash award. Nominations for the 2009 prize are now being accepted. For more information, visit: www.hnoc.org/programs/williams-prize.php. The deadline for receipt of entries published in 2009 is January 15, 2010.

Kemper and Leila Williams Prize

The Dianne Woest Fellowship in the Arts and Humanities


In 2008, the Board of Directors of The Kemper and Leila Williams Foundation decided to establish

a gift annuity option through The Historic New Orleans Collection’s office of development. Drew Jardine, a financial advisor with Smith Barney as well as a member of the board, was the first person to enter into an annuity agreement with The Collection, and since then others have joined him. “A gift annuity represents an opportunity to make a sound invest-ment with a very attractive return, and simultaneously support an organiza-tion that is very important to New Orleans,” Jardine said. “I encourage anyone who is looking for an income-producing investment to consider a THNOC gift annuity.”

What Is a Gift Annuity?

The charitable gift annuity is a contract under which The Historic New Orleans Collection—in return for cash or other assets—agrees to pay a fixed amount of money (the annu-ity) to one or two individuals for life. The contract is mutually beneficial: The Collection benefits from the original donation, and the donor ben-efits through quarterly annuity pay-ments. The rates of these annuities are established by the American Council on Gift Annuities and increase based on the age of the donor.

How It Works

Suppose a couple, ages 78 and 75, chooses to donate $35,000 as a gift annuity to The Historic New Orleans Collection. The Collection then

promises to pay that couple a 5.7% annuity, or $1,995 per year, for the remainder of their lives (paid to the surviving partner in the event of the death of one of the partners). Of the original $35,000, $12,090 is tax deductible in the year of the donation. In each year of the annu-ity payment to the couple, $1,498.25 of the $1,995 is tax free. Upon the death of both partners, the payments cease and the original donation passes to The Collection with no probate fees. If this same amount of money were invested in the stock market, the annuity would be the equivalent of a 9.1% return on the original invest-ment, an unheard-of gain right now. Another example: an individual, age 65, donates $20,000 as a gift annu-ity to The Collection. The Collection,

in turn, contracts to pay that indi-vidual a 5.3% annuity, or $1,060 per year, for the remainder of his or her life. Of the original $20,000 dona-tion, $5,687 is tax deductible in the year of the gift, and $719.74 is tax free in each year of the annuity. The equivalent annuity rate in this case would be 8%—again, a return dif-ficult to find today. As in the prior example, the original donation goes to The Collection upon the donor’s death, without probate fees. For gift annuity contracts with The Collection, the board of directors has set the minimum donor age at 60 and the minimum gift amount at $10,000. For more information about charitable giving through gift annui-ties or other forms of planned giving, please call Burl Salmon, director of development and external affairs, at (504) 598-7173. The following mate-rials are provided 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

All inquiries are held in the strictest confidence and are 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 cir-cumstances.

Drew Jardine, Smith Barney financial advisor and Kemper and Leila Williams Foundation board member

The Benefits of Giving Through Gift Annuities


THE SHOPSupporting Local Artistsat The Shop at The Collection

Jewelry and Sculptures by Paul Grüer

The exquisite jewelry by local artist Paul Grüer is not only beautiful, it is defini-tively New Orleans. “I have always been influenced by the city of New Orleans, its patina of age and gentle decay,” Grüer said in an interview with Home Lighting and Accessories magazine. “Like the city, I think of my work as somewhat sophis-ticated, fun, and always a little bit off center.” Jewelry starts at $35, sculptures at $125.

Tombs by Michael ClementThe Shop is pleased to offer native New Orleanian Michael Clement’s architec-tural sculptures, featuring decorative tombs in a variety of finishes. Prices start at $98. Custom pieces, such as sculptures of private homes, sell for $500 and up. Clement creates art inspired by the rich architectural landscape of his home city, with pieces reflecting French and Spanish Colonial, Italianate, Victorian, and Arts and Crafts styles.

When you become a member of The Historic New Orleans Collection, you will join a community dedicated to understanding, sharing, and preserving the history and culture of our unique region.

Your generous support funds internationally renowned exhibitions, research, educa-tional outreach, and award-winning publications. Reserve your place in Louisiana’s future by helping to preserve its past.

In addition to preserving Louisiana’s past for future generations, you will receive several benefits as a member of The Historic New Orleans Collection. All members will receive the following:• Complementary admission to The Collection’s permanent tours, including the

Louisiana History Galleries, Williams Residence, and Courtyards and Architecture• Invitations to members-only events and exhibition previews• 10 percent discount on all items in The Shop at The Collection• Subscription to The Collection’s donor newsletter• Subscription to The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly

Become a Member of The Historic New Orleans Collection

foundeR $35Full membership package

meRieuLT socieTy $100Full membership privileges; a special gift exclusive to the Merieult Society; recog-nition on donor wall

mahaLia socieTy $250Full membership privileges; a special gift exclusive to the Mahalia Society; private, guided tours of The Collection (advanced scheduling required); recogni-tion on donor wall

Jackson socieTy $500Full membership privileges; a special gift exclusive to the Jackson Society; private, guided tours of The Collection (advanced scheduling required); recogni-tion on donor wall

LaussaT socieTy $1,000Full membership privileges; a special gift; private, guided tours of The Collection (advanced scheduling required); free admission to all evening lectures; invi-tations to special receptions and tours; invitation to annual gala evening; recog-nition on Laussat Society donor wall

BienviLLe ciRcLe $5,000Full membership privileges; membership in the Laussat Society; a special gift; private, guided tours of The Collection; free admis-sion to all conferences; invitations to special member receptions and tours; invitation to annual gala evening; invitation to a pri-vate luncheon with the executive director; recognition on Bienville Circle donor wall

choose youR LeveL of memBeRship

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 www.hnoc.org, or call the Development Office at (504) 598-7173. All inquiries are confidential and without obligation.


For the fourth quarter of 2008 (October–December) there were 28 acquisitions, totaling 421 items.

Louisiana’s plantation architecture has long been a magnetic subject for art-ists. A painting, Shadows on the Teche in New Iberia by Alberta Kinsey, is a recent acquisition. Constructed between 1831 and 1834, the Classical Revival structure served as home to four generations of the family of planter David Weeks. The oil on canvas dates from ca. 1929 and shows the building prior to subsequent archi-tectural modifications. (2008.361.1)

Frances Benjamin Johnston (1865–1952) used a camera to record her impres-sions of the often grand architecture of plantation manor houses. Johnston, who began her career in Washington, D.C., and first became celebrated for her por-traiture, photographed extensively in the southern United States and eventu-ally made New Orleans her home. Two examples of her recently acquired planta-tion images depict Rienzi (in Thibodaux) and Ellerslie (in West Feliciana Parish). (2008.361.2-.3)

One of the largest plantation houses in the lower Mississippi Valley was Belle Grove, built near Donaldsonville, Louisiana. As a structure, it survived less than a century (1857–1952). Abandoned in its last decades, Belle Grove ultimately

succumbed to fire. Working from historical sources, artist Edgar Smith recreated the appearance of this residence in two 2005 watercolors that are recent acquisitions. (2008.304.1-2)

A manuscript map on linen dating from 1841, a gift from the Louisiana Historical Society, supplements The Collection’s cartographic holdings. The map depicts the area of Louisiana north of the Red River, near Lake St. Joseph, the Black River, and the Mississippi River. The document also delineates property ownership and lot size (in arpents, a French unit of measurement). (2008.324)

A portrait of New Orleans televi-sion personality Terry Flettrich is a recent gift of Terry Flettrich Rohe, Lo-Ann Flettrich, Albert Flettrich Jr.,

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

Shadows on the Teche in New Iberia by Alberta Kinsey, ca. 1929 (2008.361.1)

Curatorial

Rienzi plantation in Thibodaux by Frances Benjamin Johnston (2008.361.2)

Ellerslie plantation in West Feliciana Parish by Frances Benjamin Johnston (2008.361.3)


and Dominic Massa. The portrait is the work of the sitter’s husband, Leonard T. Flettrich (1916 –1970). From the late 1940s through mid-1970s, Terry Flettrich Rohe worked for NBC affiliate WDSU-TV, located during most of that time at 520 Royal Street, a property now owned by The Collection. (2008.325)

For decades, souvenirs of Mardi Gras balls have been part of New Orleans’s carnival history and culture. Two exam-ples in sterling silver from the Mystick Krewe of Comus are a gift of Marjorie Geiser Fehr Thomas: a matchbox from 1957 and a card tray from 1958. Both favors were designs of Christian Dior. (2008.292.2-.3)

—John H. Lawrence

Manuscripts

For the fourth quarter of 2008 (October–December), there were 35 acquisitions totaling 29 linear feet of material.

The Historic New Orleans Collection recently purchased a pair of letters, both written in 1848, in which local correspondents discuss daily mat-ters—including the Asiatic cholera pandemic then ravaging the city—with family members in Massachusetts. The pandemic of the 1840s saw the disease spread from India to port cities world-wide, entering the United States via New Orleans and New York. In April 1848, Louisa Lowell of New Orleans wrote to her cousin, Shakespearean scholar William J. Rolfe of Lowell, Massachusetts. She laments the prevalence of death and disease, not-ing that many immigrants arrive ill and tax the local hospitals. The servant in the house where she is staying, she observes, is sick with scarlet fever. (2008.0290.1) A December 1848 letter from a New Orleanian named John to his cousin Susan Austin of Cambridge, Massachusetts, announces the arrival from Le Havre of a cholera-infected immigrant vessel. John notes that the disease spreads rapidly and often kills victims within hours. He also describes

local medical students fleeing in panic after realizing their teachers do not know how to cure the disease. Having shared this alarming news, John adds that he remains healthy and is taking sensible preventive measures. (2008.0290.2)

The Historic New Orleans Collection recently acquired a ledger of a jewelry designer associated with New Orleans jewelry firm E. A. Tyler. Dating from the 1870s, the ledger appears to have been a technical reference work in progress. In addition to specifying raw materials necessary for the manu-facture of small jewelry items, the led-ger also details experiments to produce rolled gold plate of various thickness and quality. A native of Boston, Edward A. Tyler (1815–1879) both manufactured and imported a wide variety of luxury goods including fine watches, clocks, jew-elry, and silver services. One of Tyler’s more notable creations was a replica of a steam engine. Offered as the prize in a race among six local fire companies at the Second Grand State Fair, held in New Orleans in January 1868, the sil-ver engine was valued at $1,800—the cost of a moderately priced home of the period. (1951.41.54)

A gift of Mary Mancuso Saba and Fareda Saba Eddy, the Ernest Saba

Papers include minutes, membership records, correspondence, and confer-ence programs related to Ernest Saba’s involvement in the Southern Federation of Syrian Lebanese American Clubs.Established in 1931 by first-generation immigrants, the federation is currently based in San Antonio, Texas, and ded-icated to melding “pure Americanism” with Syrian and Lebanese traditions. The complexities of Middle Eastern history and geography can make it dif-ficult to identify immigrants from what was, before 1920, part of Greater Syria. Once under Ottoman rule, Greater Syria was a far larger area than present-day Syria, extending from the mountains of southeastern Asia Minor to the Sinai Peninsula. Syrians arriving in America prior to 1918 were Turkish subjects. Despite this distinction, official records often misidentified Syrian immigrants as Turks. Ernest Saba (1912–2006) was one of the younger children born to Syrian immigrants Joseph and Fareda David Saba. Joseph Saba, according to a 1902 passport application, came to America in 1886 and immediately settled in New Orleans. (2008.0331)

—Mary Lou Eichhorn

Library

For the fourth quarter of 2008 (October–December), there were 39 acquisitions, totaling 64 items.

Journal d’un voyage fait a la Louisiane en 1720 is a rare account of a French scientific expedition to Louisiana, the French West Indies, and the Gulf of Mexico. M. de Vallette Laudun, com-mander of the Toulouse, which sailed from Toulon in March 1720 and reached Dauphin Island by early July, composed this series of 132 letters written to an unnamed French lady. Vallette Laudun led the first detailed survey made of Louisiana by the French government, three years after the founding of New Orleans and at the height of public enthusiasm for John Law’s Company of the Indies. In his letters, Vallette Laudun

E. A. Tyler jewelry store’s exterior, ca. 1873, from Jewell’s Crescent City Illustrated (1951.41.54)


vividly describes French dominions in Louisiana and the Mississippi Valley and offers observations of life and customs throughout the region. First published in Holland in 1724 under the title Relation de la Louisiane ou Mississippi, écrite a une dame par un officier de marine, the edition

recently acquired by The Collection appeared in 1768 as a response to the Treaty of Paris (which gave Spain con-trol of Louisiana), a reminder to its read-ers of the possessions the French were conceding. (2009.0053)

Nancy Maria Miller Surrey’s 1914 dissertation, published in 1916 by Columbia University as The Commerce of Louisiana During the French Régime, 1699–1763—part of the Studies in History, Economics and Public Law series—quickly became a definitive resource on the subject. The Historic New Orleans Collection recently acquired an autographed, hardbound copy. For a time, Surrey argues, it looked as though the French would be success-ful in controlling a great portion of mid-dle North America, with trade routes stretching from the city of Quebec to New Orleans. But by 1763, commerce in the New World eroded along with the ability of the French to control the region and protect their investments from the encroachment of the Spanish and English. Surrey devotes chapters to transportation methods, barter, coinage,

paper money, credit, slave trade, fur trade, domestic traffic, and trade between France, Louisiana, the West Indies, Mexico and Texas, Florida, Cuba, and England. (2008.0372)

The library recently acquired a small program printed on pink paper announcing a concert of “The Only Original University Singers of New Orleans.” The group, organized May 28, 1877, performed in the White House and was pronounced “superior to any troupe from the South” by Professor W. H. Daniel, vocal instructor of Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music. The program lists the eight vocalists—two sopranos, one alto, one contralto, two tenors, two bassos—and an organist, along with 15 selections, including such pieces as “Who are These in Bright Array?,” “Sinners, You Better Git Ready,” “Gwine to Fight till de War Gits Ended,” “Run Along Home to my Jesus,” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” The back of the single-sheet program contains illustrated testimonials adver-tising Horace Waters & Co.’s Chorale Organs and Pianos. (2008.0281)

—Pamela D. Arceneaux

Authors, agents, editors, actors, scholars, and literature lovers filled the rooms of The Historic New Orleans Collection for the 23rd annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival. Site of the master classes, the scholars’ conference, and Friday evening reception, The Collection bustled with activity March 25 through March 29.

The 23rd Annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival

Actress Frances Sternhagen

Author John Berendt

Author Nevada Barr

Author Richard Ford and local bookseller Deborah MacDonald

Treasurer of festival board Terry Verigan and actress Marion Seldes

Author Brad Gooch, THNOC director Priscilla Lawrence, actress Zoe Caldwell, and author James Grissom

Concert program, University Singers (2008.0281)


Editors Rachel Gibbons

Mary Mees GarsaudDirector of Publications

Jessica DormanPhotographyKeely Merritt

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 and the Williams Residence 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 R. 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

© 2009 The Historic New Orleans Collection

in The communiTy

Erin Greenwald was awarded a McMullen Seapower Grant for Young Naval Historians by the United States Naval Academy. The grant is intended to support research for her dissertation, “Company Towns and Tropical Baptisms: From Lorient to New Orleans on a French Atlantic Circuit.”

chanGes

Katherine Davis, human resources/events assistant; Elizabeth Ogden, docent, research assistant.

voLunTeeRs

George Dubaz, docent department.

Staff

Invention Discovery Trunk: Sorting History into CenturiesIn early January, the education department made eight “Invention Discovery Trunk” presentations to fifth-graders at Lake Harbor Middle School in Mandeville. Through discussion of objects selected from the trunk, students learned to classify dates into centuries and gained a better understanding of how creative ideas have affected history.

Teaching American History workshopThe Historic New Orleans Collection, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education’s Teaching American History grant program, hosted a workshop for Algiers charter school teachers on January 20. Curator of Education Sue Laudeman and local educator Joseph “Roch” Weilbaecher organized the event, which examined presidential inaugurations.

The first segment of the workshop focused on using political speeches as primary resources to interpret history. The group then moved to the nearby Royal House Oyster Bar to watch the inauguration of President Obama on television.

The Teaching American History program is designed to raise student achieve-ment by improving teachers’ understanding of U.S. history. The goal is to promote collaboration between school districts and institutions with expertise in American history to ensure that educators develop the knowledge and skills necessary to teach in engaging ways.

Budding historians at Lake Harbor Middle School

Workshop participants take a break to watch the presidential inauguration


Kemper and Leila Williams FoundationTHE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTIONMuseum • Research Center • Publisher533 Royal Street • New Orleans, Louisiana 70130(504) 523-4662 • Visit The Collection on the Internet at www.hnoc.org

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

NonprofitOrganization

At The CollectionOn January 30–31, The Collection hosted the 14th annual Williams Research Center Symposium, The Acadian Diaspora. Seven speakers examined the period between 1764 and 1788, when 3,000 French-speaking Acadians settled in Louisiana, and discussed how their culture still defines and enriches the region.

Symposium participants look at photographs in The Collection’s Cajun Document, 1974 exhibition.

One couple examines a map at the symposium.

Symposium speakers Carl Brasseaux and Claire Bettag

Tom Strain, Jonathan Weiss, and Tim Pickles reenacted the Acadian expulsion from Nova Scotia at the symposium.

Symposium attendees Susan Judice and Rosemarie Fowler

On February 11, The Collection and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra presented their third annual collaborative concert, “An die Musik: The German Heritage of New Orleans,” in St. Louis Cathedral.

new orleans silver shines at the collection

Documents