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VOLUME X X XII

NUMBER 4

FALL 2015

The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly

ROLL AND GOLDEN: Art of Recovery

D The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly

E X H I B I T I O N S & T O U R S

All exhibitions are free unless noted otherwise.

CURRENT

From Winnfield to Washington: The Life and Career of Huey P. LongThrough October 11, 2015Williams Gallery, 533 Royal Street

It’s Only Natural: Flora and Fauna in Louisiana Decorative ArtsThrough November 28, 2015Boyd Cruise Gallery, 410 Chartres StreetCurators will lead walk-throughs of the exhibition every Tuesday, noon–1 p.m., through November 24.

The Katrina Decade: Images of an Altered CityThrough January 9, 2016Laura Simon Nelson Galleries, 400 Chartres Street

Rolland Golden’s Hurricane Katrina Series: A SelectionThrough January 16, 2016Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street

PERMANENT

Louisiana History Galleries533 Royal StreetTuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

The Williams Residence Tour THNOC Architectural Tour533 Royal StreetTuesday–Saturday, 10 and 11 a.m., 2 and 3 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m., 2 and 3 p.m$5 per personGroups of eight or more should call (504) 598-7145 for reservations or visit www.hnoc.org.

UPCOMING

An Architect and His City: Henry Howard’s New Orleans, 1837–1884November 18, 2015–April 3, 2016Williams Gallery, 533 Royal Street

At Home and at War: New Orleans, 1914–1919December 9, 2015–May 7, 2016

Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street

E V E N T C A L E N D A R

CONCERTS IN THE COURT YARDThe fall concert series will feature Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (September), Banu Gibson (October), and Little Freddie King (November).

Fridays, September 18, October 16, and November 20, 6–8 p.m.; doors open at 5:30 p.m.533 Royal Street$10 admission; free for THNOC members

SCREENING OF ALL THE KING’S MENJoin us for a free screening of this 1949 classic as part of our programming for the exhibition From Winnfield to Washington: The Life and Career of Huey P. Long. One of the show’s curators, Amanda McFillen, will introduce the film.

Saturday, September 19, 2–4 p.m.Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres StreetFree

FINE PRINT BOOK CLUB SESSIONS Join photographer David G. Spielman for a fascinating discussion about THNOC’s latest title, The Katrina Decade: Images of an Altered City. Lunch will be provided. All participants are expected to have read the book prior to the meeting.

Friday, September 25, and Saturday, September 26, noon–2 p.m.533 Royal Street$15 for those who register before September 19, $25 for those who register September 19 or later. Registration is required. Please call (504) 523-4662 or email [email protected].

TEX TILE DOCUMENTARY SCREENINGCoton Jaune—Acadian Brown Cotton: A Cajun Love Story documents the history of handspun Acadian cotton blankets and the women who made them. After the screening, the filmmakers and other scholars will lead a discussion of Acadian weaving traditions.

Saturday, October 17, 9:30 a.m.–noonWilliams Research Center, 410 Chartres StreetFree; reservations are recommended; please contact [email protected] or (504) 523-4662.

LES COMÉDIENS FR ANÇAIS LECTUREIn commemoration of Louis XIV on the 300th anniversary of his death, this annual event will take the form of a musical journey honoring the Sun King. Narrated by THNOC curator Howard Margot, the concert will feature musicians Daniel Lelchuk, Joseph Meyer, Jaren Philleo of Lyrica Baroque, and harpsichordist Pierre Queval.

Monday, November 16, 6–7:30 p.m.Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres StreetFree; reservations are required; please call (504) 523-4662.

LECTURE AND BOOK SIGNINGNicholas J. Meis will discuss his book New Orleans Hurricanes from the Start, coauthored with David F. Bastian, which examines the development and effects of major storms throughout New Orleans history. This event is being presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Katrina Decade: Images of an Altered City.

Saturday, November 21, 2–4 p.m.533 Royal StreetFree

GENER AL HOURS

533 Royal Street Williams Gallery, Louisiana History Galleries, Shop, and Tours

Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

400 and 410 Chartres Street Williams Research Center, Boyd Cruise Gallery, and Laura Simon Nelson Galleries Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

F R O M T H E D I R E C T O R

C O N T E N T S

O N V I E W / 2

Two exhibitions chronicle the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in different ways.

An Architect and His City sketches a portrait of New Orleans during the highs and lows of the mid-19th century.

Off-Site

E D U C A T I O N / 7

A suite of new lesson plans connects New Orleans to its Spanish heritage.

R E S O U R C E S / 8

THNOC to launch a new digital collection of needlework textiles.

C O M M U N I T Y / 10

On the Job

Staff News

Recently Retired

Become a Member

On the Scene

Focus on Philanthropy

Donors

A C Q U I S I T I O N S / 18

Acquisition Spotlight: an 18th-century manuscript exposes France’s contingency plans for Quebec.

Recent Additions

ON THE COVER:The Spirit Returns2007; acrylic on canvasby Rolland Golden, painterThe Historic New Orleans Collection, acquisition made possible by the Diana Helis Henry Art Fund of The Helis Foundation, 2008.0109.11; joint ownership with the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Fund, 2007.113.10

One of the great things about working at a place like The Collection is our variety of activity. Exhibitions close and events come and go, but the horizon is always full with new content and fresh ideas. In July we said goodbye to one of our most affecting exhibitions, Purchased Lives: New Orleans and the Domestic Slave Trade, 1808–1865. The show garnered critical acclaim, national-news coverage, and our third-highest attendance total ever. More than 1,000 visitors came to see it in its final weekend alone, and the comments we received in the exhibition guest book were truly humbling.

As we said goodbye to Purchased Lives, though, we were busy preparing for three new exhibitions that opened in late summer. Two of them deal with Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, one through the documentary photographs of David G. Spielman. The other features paintings by artist Rolland Golden that we acquired after the storm with assistance from The Helis Foundation. And, for the first time ever, we mounted a deco-rative arts exhibition in conjunction with our annual New Orleans Antiques Forum. It’s Only Natural: Flora and Fauna in Louisiana Decorative Arts marks the first multidisci-plinary decorative arts show drawn entirely from our own collections, as well as the first exhibition by our curator of decorative arts, Lydia Blackmore. The Antiques Forum sold out completely, and we always enjoy bringing together such excellent speakers with an enthusiastic audience.

Though we create a steady stream of events, exhibitions, and publications, some parts of our operation are simply irreplaceable. At the end of June we said goodbye to Senior Curator/Historian John T. Magill, who, in addition to serving as resident expert on myriad aspects of New Orleans history, formed a huge part of our institutional memory. I wish John an excellent retirement and thank him on behalf of the entire staff for being an invaluable colleague and friend for so many years. —PRISCILLA LAWRENCE

2 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly

O N V I E W

E XHIBITION

The Katrina Decade: Images of an Altered City

Through January 9, 2016

Laura Simon Nelson Galleries, 400 Chartres Street

Free

E XHIBITION

Rolland Golden’s Hurricane Katrina Series: A Selection

Through January 16, 2016

Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street

Free

Disaster ResponseTwo shows at The Collection capture artistic and documentary views of the 2005 levee breaches’ aftermath.

As New Orleans and the Gulf region observed, in August, the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the floods that followed, The Collection mounted two exhibi-tions that examine the aftermath of the disaster in strikingly different ways. The Katrina Decade: Images of an Altered City features stark black-and-white photographs, by David G. Spielman, of houses, lots, and structures affected by the storm. Rolland Golden’s Hurricane Katrina Series: A Selection presents colorful, expressive artworks from one of the region’s most acclaimed contemporary painters. Whereas Spielman strives for objec-tivity and verisimilitude in his images, Golden’s paintings mine the teeming pathos and vulnerability of the city as it struggled to recover.

“They’re both based on observation, but David’s work is, certainly by perception and by his own statements, designed to be neutral,” said John H. Lawrence, director of museum programs. “Rolland Golden’s pictures put you in the scene, as it were. Golden was almost like a painting machine following Hurricane Katrina. The subject and the

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A. Elysian Fields, Land of the Gods2006; acrylic on canvasby Rolland Golden, painteracquisition made possible by the Diana Helis Henry Art Fund of The Helis Foundation, 2008.0109.5; joint ownership with the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Fund, 2007.113.5

B. Death by Drowning2007; oil on canvasby Rolland Golden, paintergift of Mr. and Mrs. Rolland Golden, 2008.0109.14; joint ownership with the New Orleans Museum of Art, 2007.119

C. West Bank, 2014photographby David G. Spielman2015.0225.13

D. Seventh Ward, 2011photographby David G. Spielman 2015.0225.17

E. Helicopter Hands2006; acrylic on canvasby Rolland Golden, painteracquisition made possible by the Diana Helis Henry Art Fund of The Helis Foundation, 2008.0109.8; joint ownership with the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Fund, 2007.113.8

recording of his feelings about it are just an incredible expression of his energy as an artist and his feelings about what happened.”

The Katrina Decade grew out of Spielman’s book of the same name, which THNOC published in July, and the Golden paintings’ acquisition was made possible by the Diana Helis Henry Art Fund of The Helis Foundation. THNOC shares joint ownership of the works with the New Orleans Museum of Art. One of the paint-ings was a gift to the two institutions from the artist. Together, the two exhibitions represent the duality of recovery, one experienced by many residents as they worked to resolve myriad practical problems while carrying heavy emotional burdens.

“What [Spielman’s] images can tell us is that although a tremendous amount of recovery has happened in the last 10 years, there is still a lot to go,” Lawrence said. “With Golden’s work, people can react to them in a very wide range of feelings and emotions.” —MOLLY REID

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One of the 19th century’s most prolific architects, Henry Howard (1818–1884)—designer of iconic buildings such as the Pontalba buildings flanking Jackson Square and the planta-tions Madewood and Nottoway—called New Orleans home for nearly 50 years. During this time, the Irish native established his career, left an indelible mark on the landscape of Louisiana, and witnessed the growth of one of America’s greatest cities. The Historic New Orleans Collection will examine New Orleans as experienced by Howard in its upcoming exhibition An Architect and His City: Henry Howard’s New Orleans, 1837–1884, which opens November 18 at THNOC’s Williams Gallery.

When Howard arrived in New Orleans in 1837, the city was the third-largest in America and facing an economic crisis and a yellow fever epidemic. Over the next several decades, from the boom of the antebellum years through the upheaval of the Civil War and Reconstruction, Howard’s fortunes paralleled those of his city.

“Howard’s career coincided with a period of great change for both New Orleans and the design profession in which he worked,” explained John H. Lawrence, director of museum programs. “You have the consolidation of New Orleans’s various municipalities occurring in 1852. From 1836 until 1852, there was a single mayor but three different councils, one for each municipality. After consolidation, there was only one council.”

The city also grew, with the upriver annexations of the City of Lafayette, Jefferson City, Carrollton, and across the river to Algiers. With such an increase in size, the city provided plenty of opportunities for builders and designers. One section of the exhibition will display tools of Howard’s trade, such as building manuals and design guides. Howard was one of the first professionals to operate solely in the arena of design, rather than serving as contractor as well as architect. As Lawrence explained, at that time, “the profession of architect as we understand it today was only just coming into being in the United States.”

EXHIBITION

An Architect and His City: Henry Howard’s New Orleans, 1837–1884

November 18, 2015–April 3, 2016

Williams Gallery, 533 Royal Street

Free

NEW FROM THNOC

Henry Howard: Louisiana’s Architect

by Robert S. Brantley with Victor McGee; photographs by Robert S. Brantley and Jan White Brantley

The Historic New Orleans Collection and Princeton Architectural Press, 2015

$60, hardcover, 8.9 × 12 inches, 352 pages, 330 color images

ISBN: 978-1-61689-278-4

Now available at The Shop at The Collection, www.hnoc.org/shop, and local booksellers

Growing Up TogetherIn An Architect and His City, THNOC traces the development of Henry Howard’s career alongside the bustling expansion of New Orleans during the 19th century.

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A companion to the new book Henry Howard: Louisiana’s Architect (THNOC and Princeton Architectural Press, 2015), this exhibition will give special consideration to the city’s architecture, urban growth, and municipal improvements. Featured items will include maps, rare books, and manuscripts, as well as contemporary photographs by Robert S. Brantley, the architectural photographer and author of the newly released Howard book. —TERESA DEVLIN

A. Canal Street, north side [700 block] (detail)1873; architectural elevationby Marie Adrien Persac, delineator1958.78.1.6

B. St. Charles Hotel1850; pencil and watercolorbequest of Boyd Cruise and Harold Schilke, 1989.79.344

C. Lafayette Square, New Orleans, Louisianabetween 1825 and 1899; wood engravinggift of Harold Schilke and Boyd Cruise, 1959.159.1

D. The Cotton Exchange1873; wood engravingby John William Orr, draftsman1974.25.3.204

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OFF-SITE

The Portage’s ProgressThe following are holdings that have appeared outside The Collection, either on loan to other institutions or reproduced in noteworthy media projects.

O N V I E W

The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) and Louisiana State Museum borrowed one work from The Collection for the exhibition Pierre Joseph Landry: Patriot, Planter, Sculptor, on view at NOMA October 16, 2015–March 20, 2016.

Seaman’s Allegory ca. 1834; carved woodby Pierre Joseph Landry, sculptor1950.34

Louis McFaul selected 13 THNOC images for an exhibition tracing the history of the Carondelet Canal, which replaced New Orleans’s found-ing portage route from the bayou to the river. The canal was filled in by the mid-1930s. The Pitot House is mounting the show, which runs through mid-October 2015, to commemorate the in-progress Lafitte Greenway, a bicycle and pedestrian path on the former site of the canal.

Spanish Fort bath house1923; photographby Charles L. Franck PhotographersThe Charles L. Franck Studio Collection at The Historic New Orleans Collection, 1979.325.6367

By Dawn’s Early Light: Jewish Contributions to American Culture from the Nation’s Founding to the Civil War, an upcoming exhibition at the Princeton University Art Museum, will feature three objects from THNOC’s holdings. The show will be on view February 12–June 5, 2016, in Princeton, New Jersey.

Locket with photo of Louis Moreau Gottschalk (detail) between 1867 and 18691979.144.1

Author Carol McMichael Reese will include six images from THNOC’s Charles L. Franck Studio Collection in her book Longue Vue House and Gardens: The Architecture, Interiors, and Gardens of New Orleans’ Most Celebrated Estate (Skira, 2015), to be released this November.

Dillard University refectoryphotographby Charles L. Franck PhotographersThe Charles L. Franck Studio Collection at The Historic New Orleans Collection, 1979.325.1923

Bruce E. Baker and Barbara Hahn reproduced four THNOC images for their book The Cotton Kings: Capitalism and Corruption in Turn-of-the-Century New York and New Orleans (Oxford University Press, 2015), due out this October.

Steamboat loaded with cottonfrom The Picayune’s Guide to New OrleansNew Orleans: Picayune Job Print, 190497-381-RL

Operating room in Flint-Goodridge Hospital1932; photographby Charles L. Franck PhotographersThe Charles L. Franck Studio Collection at The Historic New Orleans Collection, 1979.325.1033

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For the ninth year, THNOC and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra are working together to connect educators and students to Louisiana’s musical history.

This past February, the ninth installment of Musical Louisiana: America’s Cultural Heritage, The Collection’s annual concert series with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, investigated the centuries-old musical and cultural connections between New Orleans, Spain, and Spanish-speaking places in the Americas. Following the concert, the education departments of THNOC and LPO began the work of turning the concert material into resources for teachers and students, something they have done since Musical Louisiana’s inception in 2007. Taking inspiration from the detailed program notes, writ-ten by Williams Research Center Director Alfred E. Lemmon, as well as from the music itself, the two institutions produced a two-part bundle of lessons that “examine New Orleans and the Spanish world through different disciplines, with music, history, and culture creating an enriching opportunity for experiential learning and listening,” said THNOC Curator of Education Daphne L. Derven.

Geared toward seventh- to ninth-grade students—though easily adaptable to other levels—the “New Orleans and the Spanish World” lessons, six in all, offer different points of entry for educators based on the dominant subject matter: some of the lessons are more music-focused, whereas others are more applicable to social studies and history classes. Regardless, all the lessons are designed for flexible use, so that a music teacher can feel confident using the more history-focused plan, and vice versa.

THNOC’s contribution examines the history of Louisiana as a former Spanish colony and New Orleans’s relationship with its neighbors in the Americas. In creating LPO’s portion of the guide, Amanda Wuerstlin, director of education and community engage-ment for LPO, drew from the music performed at the concert. In the lesson focusing on Hector Berlioz’s Roman Carnival, students are directed to create a “listening map” that diagrams the piece’s many changes in mood, tempo, instru-mentation, and dynamics. The lesson involving “El Choclo (Tango Criollo)” by Ángel Villoldo teaches students to recognize and perform the distinctive habanera rhythmic pattern.

The lesson plans are available on the educa-tion pages of THNOC’s and LPO’s websites, and their release coincided with the start of the fall semester, giving teachers time to incorporate the material into their curricula. In addition, an educator workshop scheduled for Saturday, October 3, at the Wdilliams Research Center will allow THNOC and LPO to share their lessons with area educators in greater detail. —ERIC SEIFERTH

E D U C A T I O N

A. Mexican Music1889; sheet musicJunius Hart, publisher86-1724-RL

B. The Tangoca. 1947; watercolor-on-paper float designby Alice Peak Reiss, designergift of School of Design, 1996.67.12

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Tracing the Spanish Tinge


Points of InterestForthcoming digital collection of needlework images includes the oldest known sampler in Louisiana history.

Scholars, collectors, and fans of women’s textile arts will soon have the ability to study, from the comfort of their homes, The Historic New Orleans Collection’s rich variety of needlework samplers, landscapes, and figure compositions, collected primarily by THNOC cofounder Leila Williams between 1935 and 1965. A group of more than 40 needlework pieces, dating from the 18th through early 20th centuries and including the earliest known Louisiana sampler still in existence, has recently been digitized, and the images will be made publicly available on THNOC’s website.

Needlework presents special challenges for digitizing. “People need to be able to see indi-vidual stitches and the details,” said Melissa Carrier, the THNOC photographer who digitized the majority of the collection, “so you have to get it just right.” Those who think of embroidery as essentially a two-dimensional art are mistaken: one mixed-media piece—a favorite of both Carrier and of Decorative Arts Curator Lydia Blackmore, who initiated the digitiza-tion project—boasts nubbly three-dimensional tree trunks and leafy branches, fashioned from chenille, which rise an inch above a landscape featuring two figures rendered in stitches and watercolor on silk. The figures gaze upon a paper cupid attached to the silk. “It’s like a shadow-box,” Carrier said of the early-19th-century piece. “It’s ahead of its time.”

The three-dimensional pastoral scene, like many works in the collection, sits in a frame under glass and cannot be scanned but must be photographed in situ. “Shooting through glass is hard,” said Carrier, who used a Hasselblad H4D camera. “Glass has warps, bubbles, scratches, shadows, and reflections,” which obscure the fine stitches crucial to understanding and appreciat-ing needlework. Many pieces are too large to

capture in one photograph, and Carrier was sometimes required to take and merge as many as four images.

“Most of these works were made to be framed,” Blackmore explained. “The frame and the embroidery are one object—you can’t separate them.” The pieces are usually anony-mous, and curators can only guess where and when a work was made based on its subject and style. “We need to have pictures of the back, too,” Blackmore said. “Most of these are likely in their original frames. Sometimes there are notes about the title or shop [where it was sold]—or sometimes wallpaper or newspaper on the back—that tell more about its past than we can tell from the front.”

The earliest known sampler made in Louisiana is neither framed nor anonymous: the artist helpfully stitched her name, the date, and her age: Pauline Fortier (later Sarpy), at the Convent of New Orleans, December 8, 1815, age 10 years. Created as part of her education at the Ursuline Convent School, the sampler was discovered folded up in a family armoire.

R E S O U R C E S

A. Sampler (detail)1815; embroideryby Pauline Fortier Sarpygift of the Leon Sarpy family, 2004.0030

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Birds, keys, and other subjects typical of samplers share the field with items more specific to her convent education: a ladder, an incense burner, altars, and a cross.

While the pieces in Leila Williams’s collection tend to be representative of the genre—florals, pastoral scenes, and allegorical figures—Blackmore said she found herself drawn to those more out of the ordinary, such as a mid-19th-century interior scene in which two girls tickle a sleeping boy’s nose with a feather. A rendition of a curious abstract painting, atypical for its era, hangs on the wall above the children and invites the viewer to wonder what it depicts.

Carrier enjoyed working with the mixed-media pieces, both for their aesthetic qualities and for the challenge they presented. “The hard ones were fun, like figuring out a puzzle,” she said. The most difficult piece to digitize was an allegorical scene with four women dressed from different centuries. “The thread is so fine,” Carrier explained. “I had to get the camera really close to get things like the cheekbones and the jewelry, the detail of the sandals. The woman is breastfeeding, maybe? I had to go back and do it again—I wasn’t happy the first time.”

A needlepoint depiction of a beggar, created in 19th-century New Orleans, presented a 21st-century problem: the thick worsted wool used to create the stitches resulted in squares that behave like pixels when the image is rendered digitally. The result was a disrup-tive moiré pattern in the image. The solution was to take several photographs at very close range and merge them.

The embroidery project was “different from what I’m accustomed to shooting,” Carrier said, pulling up an elaborate 19th-century landscape on her monitor. “Look at the texture. Someone went to all that trouble to make the side of a cliff—you want people to be able to appreciate all that work.” —THNOC STAFF

B. Pastoral scene with chenille treesbetween 1800 and 1830; embroideryThe L. Kemper and Leila Moore Williams Founders Collection, 1973.31

C. Children at playmid-19th century; embroideryThe L. Kemper and Leila Moore Williams Founders Collection, 1973.70

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C O M M U N I T Y

ON THE JOB

Amanda McFillenPOSITION: Associate director of museum programs, on staff since 2007

ASSIGNMENT: Co-curate the exhibition From Winnfield to Washington: The Life and Career of Huey P. Long

As someone who loves our region’s history, I enjoy my role as associate director of museum programs, because I continually learn more about the people, places, and events that shaped New Orleans and the Gulf South. My role includes exhibition

and programming work: I help organize our annual Williams Research Center Symposium, film screenings, lectures, field trips, book signings, and more, and I also help curate exhibitions from time to time.

This past year I had the chance to work on the exhibition From Winnfield to Washington: The Life and Career of Huey P. Long with my two fellow curators, John H. Lawrence, director of museum programs, and Matt Farah, museum programs assistant. First we decided how we would organize the exhibition as a team. Since we knew we wanted to focus on Huey Long’s life from childhood through his death, and not just on his 17-year political career, we divided the exhibition into three sections. John curated the section on Long’s early life, Matt covered his political career, and I curated the part that dealt with his death and legacy.

I began researching and surveying our holdings to see what kinds of material—objects, photographs, paper ephemera—we had related to Long. Thanks to recent donations, we have some wonderful new material, such as a great candid photograph of Long sitting in the amphitheater of his

A. Bloody Sunday—Sept. 8, 1935 February 14, 1994; ink cartoonby Preston Allen “Pap” DeanThe Anna Wynne Watt and Michael D. Wynne Jr. Collection, 2013.0027.2.172

B. Revolver belonging to George McQuistonsteel, woodThe Anna Wynne Watt and Michael D. Wynne Jr. Collection, 2013.0310.2.2

C. “Long Shot, Assailant Slain”from the New Orleans Times-Picayune September 7, 1975; facsimile reproduction of September 9, 1935, edition The Anna Wynne Watt and Michael D. Wynne Jr. Collection, 2013.0027.2.163

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beloved Louisiana State University, and a revolver and suit jacket that belonged to Long’s bodyguard George McQuiston. We borrowed several items from Tulane University, the University of New Orleans, and Louisiana State University, including a Share the Wealth Society enrollment card and a handwritten death threat. I also contacted the WPA Film Library and was able to obtain four short newsreel clips that feature Long at various public events. I’m happy that we were able to feature these clips in the exhibition because he was a very powerful speaker, and it’s easy to see why people were drawn to him and why he was so successful in gathering public support.

Once John, Matt, and I had chosen our objects for the exhibition, we worked with our registration and preparation departments to design the installation and coordinate the movement of artifacts within the museum. The preparation department uses software that allows us to create 3-D models of our galleries and our objects so that we can work together to plan the layout well in advance.

Once our text panels were written we sent them to editors in our publications department to be reviewed. The most important qualities that we want in our written text are accuracy, brevity, and consistency in style. Our editors reviewed the labels and gave us feedback, and we worked together until the text panels and labels were ready to be printed for the exhibition.

Finally, once the exhibition was mounted, John, Matt, and I met with our docent staff to walk through the exhibition and answer any questions they had about the objects in the show. The docents begin learning about each exhibition long before it opens to the public, so that they are very familiar with the topic and able to answer any question a visitor might have.

I also planned programming for the general public that related to the exhibition. On July 12 we screened the documentary 61 Bullets, which explores the circumstances and aftermath of Long’s death, and held a panel discussion with the filmmaker, Yvonne Boudreaux, as well as two of the film interviewees, Michael Wynne and Alecia Long. On September 19 we’ll screen the 1949 classic based on Long’s career, All the King’s Men.

From Winnfield to Washington will be on display through October 11, and I hope you can come to The Historic New Orleans Collection to see it. Creating an exhibition goes far beyond the work of a curator, or curators. It’s truly a team effort. —AMANDA

MCFILLEN

STAFF NEWS

New StaffChristopher L. Deris, associate preparator. Dale Gunnoe, head preparator. Karyn Murphy, develop-ment associate. Jenny Schwartzberg, education coordinator. Heather M. Szafran, reference assistant. Eric Tallman, security manager.

ChangesSusan Eberle is now collections processor. Matt Farah is now museum programs assistant. Robert R. Gates III is now associate preparator. Kara B. LeBeouf is now associate preparator.

PublicationsErin M. Greenwald published a review of Brett Rushforth’s Bonds of Alliance: Indigenous and Atlantic Slaveries in New France in Louisiana History 56.2 (spring 2015).

Robert Ticknor, reference assistant, has taken up responsibility for writing the history feature in French Quarterly magazine. For years, the articles were written by Senior Curator/Historian John T. Magill, who recently retired.

HonorsIn May 2015, Lauren Noel, market-ing associate, earned a master of arts degree in English, with a concentra-tion in professional writing, from the University of New Orleans

Listening on the Edge: Oral History in the Aftermath of Crisis (Oxford University Press, 2014), co-edited by Senior Curator/Oral Historian Mark Cave and Stephen Sloan of Baylor University, was awarded the Oral History Association’s 2015 Book Award. Cave wrote the intro-duction, as well as a chapter related to The Collection’s oral history efforts following Hurricane Katrina.C

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RECENTLY RETIRED

John T. MagillFor the past 30 years, “Ask John Magill” has been the default response among THNOC staff members to queries about New Orleans history. “John’s vast knowledge and instant recall of much of the city’s history is matched only by the wide range of his interests: urban history, population move-ments and census counts, city infrastructure (both above and below ground), the growth of retailing, neighborhood development, Mardi Gras, plagues, and disasters, to cite just a few,” said John H. Lawrence, director of museum programs. So, when the staff bid a happy retirement to Magill in June, it was with gratitude for his many years as an invaluable resource to both the public and his colleagues.

Born in New Orleans, Magill was raised in California. When his father retired from the United States Navy, the family moved back to New Orleans in the early 1960s, and Magill entered business school at the University of New Orleans (then LSUNO). “I wanted to go into advertising, but I strug-gled in my business courses,” Magill recalled. “My advisor pointed out, ‘You do really well in these history courses, of which you’re taking too many.’ So, I dropped out of busi-ness and went into history.” After receiving

a bachelor’s degree in 1969, he pursued a master’s degree, also at UNO. Magill credits Professor Joseph Tregle for encouraging him to study New Orleans history.

“I’ve always loved the histories of cities,” he said. “From the time I was a kid, I loved the history of San Francisco and other major cities like London and New York, as well as Honolulu, where my great-aunt lived, and Auckland, New Zealand, where my mother was from. What interested me about New Orleans was not its overall history but how it grew and developed.”

Magill’s longtime colleague and friend Pamela D. Arceneaux, senior librarian/ rare-books curator, elaborated on Magill’s fascination with the development of urban infrastructure: “John has a real interest in sewerage, paving, drainage—you know, the yucky, unglamorous stuff—how buildings are built, how they are serviced, the devel-opment of electricity, the transferral from kerosene lamps to gas to electric power.”

Magill was hired as a curatorial cataloger by The Historic New Orleans Collection in 1982, specializing in the cataloging of photographs. Because of his familiarity with the urban development of the city, as well as a burgeoning interest in fashion history, he became adept at identifying the dates of photographs by sight. At his retirement party, Judith H. Bonner, senior curator, reminisced about this distinctive skill: “If I showed a photo to John and said, ‘This street scene is dated 1916,’ he would say, ‘No, that can’t be 1916; the air-conditioning unit didn’t go on top of that building until 1917.’”

From his first days at THNOC, Magill immersed himself in The Collection’s holdings. “There was no such thing as a computer when I arrived here; we barely had a card catalog,” he said. “I’d play guessing games with the photography holdings: could I identify the picture with-out looking at the back? And progressively I became more knowledgeable about our curatorial holdings.”

Magill’s colleagues and the larger community quickly came to appreciate this knowledge. “Sharing what he knows is one of John’s most admirable qualities,” Lawrence said. “His sharing has occurred

John T. Magill and longtime colleague Pamela D. Arceneaux, senior librarian/rare-books curator, clink glasses at Magill’s retirement party in June.

throughout his THNOC career, in gallery talks; television, radio, and internet appear-ances; book clubs; professional meetings; and almost every other type of gathering that brings people together for the apprecia-tion of Louisiana’s history.”

As Magill rose through the ranks—from cataloger, to head of the Williams Research Center’s Reading Room, to senior curator/historian—he built lasting friendships with his colleagues. “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like John,” said Arceneaux. Maclyn Le Bourgeois Hickey, curatorial conser-vation coordinator, remembers her first encounter with Magill fondly: “The day I met John Magill, July 21, 1987, is the day he became my friend, and so he remains.”

Magill’s retirement promises to be filled with academic and personal enrichment. He will continue to serve as a researcher for the Carnival organization Mystick Club and will become the historian for a local social club. He has several writing projects in the works and one dream book project: a history of New Orleans from 1880 into the 1930s. “I feel that is when the New Orleans that we know today was really evolving,” he said. His colleagues have plans for him as well: “His daily presence at The Historic New Orleans Collection will be sorely missed,” said Erin M. Greenwald, curator/historian. “I wish him the best of luck in this next phase of life and look forward to a contin-ued friendship punctuated by long lunches at local restaurants.” —MARY M. GARSAUD

C O M M U N I T Y

Become a MemberBENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIPAll members of The Collection enjoy the following benefits for one full year:• complimentary admission to all permanent tours and rotating exhibitions• special invitations to events, trips, receptions, and exhibition previews• complimentary admission to the Concerts in the Courtyard series• a 10 percent discount at The Shop at The Collection• a subscription to The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly

HOW TO JOINVisit www.hnoc.org and click the Support Us link or complete the enclosed envelope and return it with your gift.

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS

Founder Individual $35 Founder Family $65 Full membership benefitsFamily memberships are for one or two adults and any children under 18 all residing in a single household, or for one member and a guest.

Merieult Society $100Full membership benefits plus:• a special gift

Mahalia Society $250Full membership benefits plus:• a special gift• private, guided tours (by appointment)

Jackson Society $500Full membership benefits plus:• a special gift• private, guided tours (by appointment)• free admission to all evening lectures

Laussat Society $1,000Full membership benefits plus:• a special gift• private, guided tours (by appointment)• free admission to all evening lectures• invitation to annual gala

Bienville Circle $5,000Full membership benefits plus:• a special gift• private, guided tours (by appointment)• free admission to all evening lectures• invitation to annual gala• lunch with the executive director

NORTH AMERICAN RECIPROCAL MUSEUM PROGR AMMembers of the Merieult, Mahalia, Jackson, and Laussat Societies and the Bienville Circle receive reciprocal benefits at other leading museums through the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) program. These benefits include free member admission, discounts on concert and lecture tickets, and discounts at the shops of participating museums. Visit www.narmassociation.org for more information.

Participants in the New Orleans Antiques Forum’s preconference tour explored the picturesque Hilaire Lancon House, located on Bayou Teche in Franklin, Louisiana.

Jack Pruitt, Janine Skerry, and Tom Savage at the 2015 New Orleans Antiques Forum

Fall 2015 13


ON THE SCENE

Forum Fans and Heralding Howard

C O M M U N I T Y

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Antiques Forum

Over four days in late July/early August, decora-tive arts lovers gathered for the 2015 New Orleans Antiques Forum.

A. Anne and Ron Pincus

B. Paul Leaman and Marilyn Dittmann

C. Hunt Slonem and Annette Blaugrund

D. Ellen Denker and Bradley Brooks

E. Nanette Shapiro and Neal Alford

F. Beth Carver Wees, Michelle Erickson, and Rob Hunter

G. Keil Moss, Andrée Moss, and Ceil and Tom McGehee

H. Katie McKinney, Jennifer Rebuck, Caryne Eskridge, Hannah Boettcher, and Philippe Halbert

Henry Howard Launch

On June 9, The Collection celebrated the release of Henry Howard: Louisiana’s Architect, copublished with Princeton Architectural Press.

I. Dorothy Ball and author/photographer Robert S. Brantley

J. John Adcock, Mercedes Montagnes, Robin Riedlinger, and Tootsie Burk

K. Will Widmer and Jeanne Firth

L. Tana Coman, John Menszer, and M. L. Eichhorn

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Fall 2015 15

Jeanne Williams’s family tree is like a magnificent live oak, one she’s explored with tireless curiosity and prideful owner-ship. She knows, for instance, that her ancestor Louis de la Ronde accompanied Iberville on his 1699 voyage up the mouth of the Mississippi River—it says so in Iberville’s own journal from the expedition. In the parlor of her uptown New Orleans home are impressionist paintings by her great-great-aunts, Emilie and Marie de Hoâ LeBlanc, who were among the first Newcomb Pottery artists and whose faces and hands were immortalized in plaster by Ellsworth or William Woodward (only the signature “Woodward” is inscribed on the back). In The Collection’s Counting House hang the two oldest known portraits of French colonists in Louisiana history, her relatives Pierre Denis and Marie Madeleine Broutin de la Ronde. Williams’s love of family and history suffuses her work, home, and recreation; she sees herself as a bearer of the knowledge gathered and preserved by previous generations.

“Learning my roots, for me it’s a very visceral thing,” Williams said. “I feel attached to the earth, I feel that history, and I think it’s my purpose to carry that on.”

Williams’s affection for history and genealogy started in childhood. One of 14 children—she’s number seven—she was born in New Orleans and grew up

FOCUS ON PHIL ANTHROPY

Jeanne Williams

wanting to learn more about my city and state,” she said.

Her love of history abided through the busy years of getting married, moving to Hawaii, Washington, DC, and back home to New Orleans, and raising four children—Emilie, 34, Conrad, 33, Courtney, 29, and David, 27, all of whom she discusses with the same excitement and pride she has for her forebears. Williams has been and is still active in many historical and literary orga-nizations, including the Daughters of 1812, which has commemorated the Battle of New Orleans with a wreath-laying ceremony for over a century, most recently this January, with British diplomats in tow for the 200th anniversary of the battle. “I was one of the youngest when I joined [the Daughters], but I loved it because I love learning,” she said. “Every meeting I went to, I’d learn something about my family history or New Orleans history.”

Williams brought her zeal for learn-ing to The Collection when she became a volunteer, in 2006. Common Routes: St. Domingue–Louisiana was her first exhi-bition, and she quickly fell in love with the institution. “I love working with The Collection,” she said. “The people are wonderful. They do everything first class, and they are exceptionally good stewards of everything they have responsibility for.”

“History is a series of links in a chain,” she said. “It’s important that someone in each generation makes sure that the chain isn’t broken.” —MOLLY REID

primarily in the Carrollton neighborhood. Her paternal grandmother, Fabiola Pilié, lived one block away, and she was a font of genealogical knowledge. “I grew up with the history of my family,” Williams said. “My grandmother would share stories with me, and I absolutely loved it.”

Pilié gave her children carefully researched family trees, written out in a tabular format with generations extending left to right. There, one can see the names of Ignace Broutin, who came to Louisiana in 1725 as a royal surveyor and designed the original Ursuline Convent, and Pierre Denis de la Ronde, fils, one of the signers of Louisiana’s first constitution.

Williams’s pride in the de la Ronde branch of the family led to a formative experi-ence following her graduation from Loyola University, where she majored in history and education. Knowing that she wanted to become fluent in French, she decided to learn the language in the country itself, in the town of her de la Ronde ancestors, Tours. She arrived with little more than “the name of a school where foreigners could learn French,” and, after staying in a hostel for a while, met an older couple, Jean and Ginette Blanc, who, though extremely formal in manner, instantly felt like family. “From the first moment, it was a match made in heaven,” said Williams, who still keeps in touch with Jean, as Ginette has passed on.

The experience prompted Williams to become a tour guide when she returned to New Orleans. “I came from Europe really

Plaster casts of Williams’s great-great-aunts, Newcomb artists Emilie and Marie de Hoâ LeBlanc


Jane Adams

Samson Alexander

Anonymous

Dr. E. Ramon Arango

Pamela D. Arceneaux

Jeanne M. Ardoin

Geraldine P. Aucoin

Jacqueline Provosty Avegno

Tiki and Arthur J. Axelrod

Jenny Bagert and Dave Sobel

Clinton Bagley

Karan Bailey

Judy Bajoie

Baptist Community Ministries

Björn Bärnheim

Jeanette and Robert Barras

Baskerville

Lawrence E. Batiste

Joan W. and Roland Becnel

Deena S. Bedigian

Judge Peter Beer

Col. and Mrs. Joseph Bekeris

Aimée and Michael Bell

Marjorie P. Belou

Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel V. Benjamin III

Susan and Stephen Bensinger

Myrna B. Bergeron

Cheryl M. and Dixon B. Betz

Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Beyer

Kellie Martin Bieber

Christopher G. Bird

Eric R. Bissel

Stanley Blackstone

C. J. Blanda

Drs. Erin Boh and Corky Willhite

Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bonner Jr.

Alice Robichaux Bonneval

William E. Borah

Isabelle and Lester Bourg

Angela Bowlin

Nina Bozak

Mrs. Philip Breitmeyer II

DONORS

April–June 2015The Historic New Orleans Collection is honored to recognize and thank the following individuals and organizations for their financial and material donations.

C O M M U N I T Y

Jackie Brice

Dr. Andrea Starrett Brown

Elizabeth and Kemper Williams Brown

Mr. and Mrs. Robert N. Bruce Jr.

Frances M. and John M. Bruton

Tootsie Burk

Mike Cafferata and Mark Monte

Amelia M. and Neil C. Cagle

Cahn Family Foundation Inc.

Donna Kay Campbell

Shirley G. Cannon

M. Nell Carmichael

Marilyn D. Carriere

Charles Case and Phillip St. Cloud

Cesar A. Castillo

Janice and John Catledge

Rodolphe Chamonal

Heidi and Samuel Charters

Chris Christian and Rick Ellis

Mrs. William K. Christovich

Sarah Churney

Rosemary Ciaccio

Jerald L. Clark

Mrs. John F. Clark III

Susan Clements

College of DuPage

Linda and Martin Colvill

Mr. and Mrs. James P. Conner

Colleen M. Coogan

Donna Capelle Cook and Tony S. Cook

William C. Cook

Asta V. Cotonio

Mr. and Mrs. Ralph C. Cox Jr.

Angela Crowder

Dave Crowley

Dr. Sammy R. Danna

Joe Darby

Dr. A. C. Davis

Jan E. Davis

Eileen M. Day and Alan J. Cutlec

Marie Louise de la Vergne

Susan B. Deckert

Patricia C. Denechaud

Kathleen L. and Richard A. Derbes

Ana-Maria C. Dobrescu

Linda Donnels

Nancy Donnes

Judith S. and Jeffrey R. Doussan

Elizabeth A. Drescher

Margaret M. Dziedzic and James Marunowski

Dr. and Mrs. Valentine Earhart

J. Peter Eaves

Bernard E. Eble III

Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Edwards

Louise N. Ewin

Deborah Fagan

Sonny Faggart

Col. and Mrs. Walter G. Fahr

Kay Fallon

Dr. Ina J. Fandrich

Jean M. Farnsworth

Michael Fedor

Sheila Ferran

Dr. Terrance “Terry” and Merle Fippinger

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Fitzpatrick

Helen Flammer and Raúl Fonte

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Jude Flanagan

Joanna and Carl Foltz

Dr. R. Fortier-Bensen and Sylvia Bensen

Mr. and Mrs. Barry M. Fox

Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington

Gregg J. Frelinger

Dr. Phillip F. Fuselier

Laura Fussell

Jackson R. Galloway

Betsie Gambel

Lesa Gamble

Garrity Print Solutions, A Harvey Company

Karen Walk Geisert and Gene Geisert

Patricia and Jeremy Gelbwaks

Melissa A. Gibbs

Jean M. and James H. Gibert

George D. Gibson

Henry W. Giles Jr.

Virginia C. Goodwin and Tim Gilbride

Mr. and Mrs. Pat Gootee

Priscilla and Nathan Gordon

Marianne Green

Janice Donaldson Grijns

James Emile Guercio

Russell B. Guerin

Dr. and Mrs. Frank A. Hall

Rhonda S. Hall

Steven Halpern

Dr. and Mrs. William Hammel

Margot E. Hammond

Mrs. Roger P. Hanahan

Rebecca and Wayne Hanley

Ronald Harrell and M. Christian Mounger

Martha Harris and Morgan Lyons

James Harvey

Cameron Hatch

Capt. Clarke C. Hawley

Sam Hazell

Gary Hendershott

Polly and Dan Henderson

The Herman and Seena Lubcher Charitable Foundation Inc.

Mr. and Mrs. John H. Hernandez

Kevin Herridge

Judith Talbot Heumann

Dr. Donald R. Hickey

Earl J. Higgins

History Antiques and Interiors

Dr. and Mrs. Gregor Hoffman

Nancy A. Hogarth

Mona H. Hollier

Lanier L. Hosford

Susan K. Hoskins

Hotel Management of New Orleans

Hotel Monteleone

Judge and Mrs. Henley A. Hunter

Mr. and Mrs. R. Andrew Jardine

Michael S. Jones

George E. Jordan

Madeline and David Jorgensen

Peter Colt Josephs

Jeanne and Mark Juneau

Evie M. and A. Keith Katz

Dr. Nina M. Kelly

Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Killeen

Nancy Kirkeby

Kristine Kolva-Bartleson

Ronald G. Kottemann

Corine Kuehlthau

Carole and George Kulman

Jenny and Barry L. LaCour

Jon G. Laiche

Nora Nolan Lambert

Elizabeth M. and James C. Landis

Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Langley

Dr. Margot C. LaPointe and Roger Zauel

John H. Lawrence

Elsie L. Layton

Mr. and Mrs. Clyde H. LeBlanc

Lorraine LeBlanc

Pierre LeBrument

Lili LeGardeur

Justice Harry T. Lemmon and Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon

Henri M. Louapre

Dr. J. Bruce Lowe

Cynthia C. Lucas

Maison Dupuy

Mamsie and John Manard

Drs. Jamie M. Manders and James M. Riopelle

Howard M. Margot

Donald M. Marquis

Nora Marsh and Julian Doerr Mutter

Kimball P. Marshall, PhD

Edward F. Martin

James A. McAlister

Gretchen McAlpine

C. James McCarthy III

Fall 2015 17

Celia and Colin L. McCormick

Drs. Georgia McDonald and Andy Mayer

Dr. Graham J. McDougall Jr.

Ceil and Thomas C. McGehee

Adrian McGrath

Robert E. McWhirter

Virginia B. Meislahn

Evelyn Merz and John Berlinghoff

Milling Benson Woodward LLP

Jennifer A. Mitchel and Scott M. Ratterree

Dick Molpus

Elizabeth P. Moran

Matthew B. Moreland and Marshall C. Watson Jr.

Mary Martin Morrill

Cynthia D. Morris and Thomas R. Klei

Roxanne Mouton

Dr. Gordon H. Mueller

Lilian and John E. Mullane

Patricia Murphy

Craig W. Murray

Patricia Mysza and Alan Freedman

Katherine B. Nachod

Neal Auction Company Inc.

The New Orleans Advocate

Cynthia L. Nobles

Teri and Randy Noel

Phoebe O’Brien

Mr. and Mrs. Michael R. O’Keefe

Dr. Joseph F. O’Neil

Martin B. Oramous

Carol Osborne

Shyrlene and Michael Oubre

Mary Kay and Gray S. Parker

Mrs. Godfrey Parkerson

Patrick F. Taylor Foundation

Dr. Gene F. Pawlick

Donald Payne

Chadwick Pellerin

Judy D. and Sidney L. Pellissier

Robert S. Perkin

Dr. William J. and Joan R. Perret

Ashton Phelps Jr.

Capt. Robert Phillips and Juan Barona

Carlton Polk

Judith and Frank S. Pons

Demetrius Porche

Darlette and William Powell

Karen L. Puente

Linda and Corky Pugh

Phyllis Raabe and William T. Abbott

Brooke Randolph

Sherman Raphael

Adrienne Mouledoux Rasmus and Ronald C. Rasmus

Deborah Rebuck

Leslee K. Reed

Dr. and Mrs. Richard J. Reed

William Reese

Dr. James L. Reynolds

Dr. Frederick A. and Suzanne Rhodes III

Nijme Rinaldi

Robert E. Rintz

Carolyn and Louis N. Ritten

Florence Robinson

William W. Rosen

Ruth S. Rosenthal

Dr. Marianne and Sheldon L. Rosenzweig

Royal Antiques Ltd.

Virginia Dare Rufin

Eva Rumpf

Marilyn S. Rusovich

Mr. and Mrs. Shelby Russ Jr.

Elizabeth H. and John H. Ryan

Sylvia Ryan

Gordon Sandrock

Mary Satterlee

Alvin Schaut

Juliane Deare Schexnayder

Dianne Schlosser

Florence and Richard Schornstein

Jane Schramel

Lisa Schwartzberg

Betty-Carol Sellen

Naif Shahady

Annelies J. Sheehan

Dr. Alan E. and Joan Sheen

Mr. and Mrs. Barry J. Siegel

Leatrice S. Siegel

Lindy and Jon Silverman

Kate Simister

Norma and Bob Simms

Dr. Vaughan Baker Simpson

Diana Smith

Gayle B. Smith

Patricia and Edwin Soulier

Southern Foodways Alliance

E. Alexandra Stafford and Raymond M. Rathlé Jr.

Harriet and Norm Stafford

Tom Stagg

Howard C. Stanley

Dennis Stark

Anne D. and Richard B. Stephens

Clare B. and John A. Stewart Jr.

Sticking Up For Children

Elizabeth Stout

Lenora Costa Stout

Jenepher Stowell

Mary Lee Sweat

Frances Swigart

Jim Tapley

Mr. and Mrs. William M. Tebow

Patrick Thibodeaux

Sheryl L. Thompson

W. Howard Thompson

Mr. and Mrs. James W. Thornton

Lawrence J. Torres Jr.

Maria Michele Triche and Richard Bretz

Julia Triplehorn

Wade Trosclair

Mr. and Mrs. John J. Uhl

Mary Ann Valentino

Joseph Bayer Vella

Julie Vezinot

Mary Vicroy and Pat Whelan

Colette D. Villere-Ford

Audrey Voelker

Eleonora B. Vogt

William E. Wadsworth

Dolores J. Walker

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ward

Dr. William W. Waring

Leo Watermeier

Elfriede S. Westbrook

Josette and Brad White

Walter H. White III

Dwayne Whitley

Catherine A. Whitney

Marylyn Geiser Wiginton

Frank Williams

Jason Williams

Noël B. Williams

Shelly Wills

Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Wilson

Edie and John M. Wilson

Nancy T. and Charles C. Wilson

Dr. James M. Winford Jr.

Dr. and Mrs. William J. Woessner

Nancy G. Wogan

Jack Hamilton Working

Toni Wright

Melody Young and Steven D. Martin

Tribute Gifts

Tribute gifts are given in memory or in honor of a loved one.Bank of New Orleans in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Adelaide W. Benjamin in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer

Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bonner Jr. in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Marcie duQuesnay, Ralph Cox, and Members of Bourgeois Bennett LLC in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer

Sandra Douglas Campbell in memory of James R. “Reggie” Campbell

David N. Capo in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Jaimee Carreras in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Center for the Study of the Black Belt, the University of West Alabama, in honor of Kevin T. Harrell, PhD

Deborah C. Conery in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer

Carl M. Corbin Jr. in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer

Debbie and Rick Courtney in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Claudia J. D’Aquin in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Margo Delaughter in honor of Jennifer Navarre

Coaina and Tommy Delbert in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Terry and Mike Fontham in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Linda, George, and Paul Hebbler in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Lanier L. Hosford in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer

Claudia K. Kheel in honor of Mallory Taylor and John H. Lawrence

Chad Leingang in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

LSU Health Science Center Foundation in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

LSUHSC School of Medicine in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Dominic Massa in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Emily McCulloch in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Moerschbaecher III in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Frances N. Salvaggio in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Leslie D. Schroth in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

William Solomon in honor of James and Carolyn Solomon

St. Charles Ave. Association’s board members in memory of Lissa Christine Capo

Robert H. Staton in honor of Judith H. Bonner

Effie M. Stockton in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer

Lucile and Harry Trueblood in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer

Officers and directors of the Whitney Bank in memory of Elizabeth Nicholson Fischer

Bookplates

Donations are used to purchase books that will be marked with a commemorative bookplate.Mrs. William K. Christovich in memory of Richard J. “Dick”

Brennan Sr.—Louisiana Eats! The People, the Food, and Their Stories, by Poppy Tooker (Gretna: Pelican, 2013)

Mrs. William K. Christovich in memory of Frances Collens Curtis—Old Limoges: Haviland Porcelain Design and Décor, 1845–1865, by Barbara Wood and Robert Doares (Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2005)

Mrs. William K. Christovich in memory of Mary S. Fitzpatrick—New Orleans, Days and Nights in the Dreamy City: Locals Share Their Favorite Places, by Mary Fitzpatrick and Virginia McCollam (New Orleans: Preservation Resource Center, 2013)


ACQUISITION SPOTLIGHT

When France Was Down, a Scheme to Move Quebec South

A C Q U I S I T I O N S

Essai sur les moyens de transporter à la Louisiane la Peuplade du Canada . . . .2014.0352

In 1758, things were not going well for France’s colonial enterprise in Canada: halfway through the French and Indian War, she had already lost Acadia (Nova Scotia) to the British and, in spite of recording an important military victory that year at Ticonderoga, had good reason to fear further territorial losses. This 40-page manuscript essay documents the little-known historical fact that the French, guarding against the possibility that they might lose their Canadian colony alto-gether, had a contingency plan for moving the entire French Canadian popula-tion south into both the upper (Illinois Country) and lower (Mississippi Delta) provinces of Louisiana. The two known variants of this manuscript are both in the French National Archives: one 10-page version and one similar in length to The Collection’s. The unsigned author, likely

a minister or other high official at court, stresses in his arguments the considerable size of the French Canadian population: the 1739 census had counted 39,683 inhabitants, a number that he estimated to have risen to well over 53,000 by 1758. (By contrast, the population of Louisiana did not reach 48,000 until 1795.)

The author notes with pride how the relatively small French Canadian popula-tion had held out so long against the British, with their standing army of 10,000 men and North American population of at least one million—these were colonists worth saving! Nevertheless, the document provides clear evidence that the French feared the loss of their stake in Canada. These fears and more were realized in 1763 when France, having already ceded Louisiana to Spain, was forced to cede all of Canada to Great Britain.

The author viewed the migration of the Quebecois as necessary to prevent British expansion westward; provide needed agricul-tural products; and expand commerce and preserve the beaver-pelt trade. The author

Related Holdings

Quebec, Fur Trapping between 1860 and 1899; wood engravingby Alfred Rudolph Waud, draftsman1977.137.18.410 i,ii

Pierre Clément de Laussat Papers 1693–1835; manuscript collectionMSS 125

Carte Du Canada et de la Louisiane Qui Forment la Nouvelle France et des Colonies Angloises 1756; engraving with watercolorby Jean Baptiste Nolin Jr., publisher1982.18

Villars Family Papers1668–1934; manuscript collection95-3-L

Acts of the Royal French Administration concerning Louisiana1717–1771; manuscript collectionMSS 268

Fall 2015 19

RECENT ADDITIONS

Louisiana Purchase Announcement, Bicycle Songs, and Merieult’s Trade Woes

Despite the gravity of the news related in this broadside, there was still space available in the lower right corner for three Baltimore merchants to promote their wares.

Broadsides printed on large sheets of paper were meant to disseminate infor-mation quickly, were intended for wide distribution, and were soon discarded. These ephemeral announcements rarely survived past their immediate release, and no other extant copies of this one are known. —PAMELA D. ARCENEAUX

Carta de las Costas de . . . el Golfo de Mexico2014.0250

This rare Spanish admiralty chart of the Gulf Coast dates to 1846. The extent of the map runs from the old province of Nuevo Santander, in northern Mexico, along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico to St. Joseph’s Peninsula in northern Florida. Despite its publication date, the engrav-ing itself must have been completed prior to the United States’ annexation of Texas, in December 1845, because “Republica de Texas” appears in the northwest corner of the map.

The longitude and latitude of the entire northern Gulf Coast is used to delineate the various bays and rivers detailed in the engraving. Bays from the northern Gulf Coast of modern-day Mexico and southern Texas—Corpus Christi, Matagorda, and Galveston—are included, along with a

Telegraphe Extraordinary 2014.0039

The Telegraphe, a newspaper published in Baltimore between 1795 and 1807, issued a special broadside extra on Saturday morning, October 22, 1803. Less than 48 hours earlier, the United States Senate had formally approved the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, immediately doubling the size of the young nation as well as obtaining the strategically important port city of New Orleans. This recently acquired special issue is likely the second printing of the momen-tous news, preceded only by the printing of the treaty in the capital city’s leading newspaper, the National Intelligencer, and Washington Advertiser, on October 21.

Entitled Telegraphe Extraordinary, the broadside states, “Yesterday at about 5 o’clock, P. M. the Senate ratified the LOUISIANA TREATY; twenty four votes in the affirmative, and seven in the nega-tive. . . . We congratulate our fellow-citizens on the prompt approbation given by the Senate to this important act.” The full text of the treaty follows, giving the names of its architects, Robert R. Livingston, James Monroe, and François Barbé-Marbois.

ACQUISITION SPOTLIGHT

When France Was Down, a Scheme to Move Quebec South

acknowledges that authorities will have to persuade inhabitants to leave their homes by appealing to their patriotism and their distaste for English customs and religion, and by extolling the advantages of living in a milder climate with greater agricul-tural opportunities. According to the plan, the Canadians would be offered a large number of inducements to move south, including generous land grants, complete freedom of trade with Indians, exemp-tion from taxes and fees, the rescinding of certain trade monopolies, and the permis-sion to sell Louisiana tobacco in France. In the most surprising incentive mentioned in the document, colonists would have been able to form deliberative assemblies to ensure equitable distribution of their privi-leges, with a special deputy at court who would voice their opinions and complaints to the Minister of the Navy. This arrange-ment would have given them a much more fair and democratic existence than any of their brethren in France at that time could have hoped for.

Compelling as this document is in its broad strokes, it is often most fascinat-ing in its details: the lament that France spent five million pounds a year importing tobacco from Holland and England; the admission that French sea captains charged double the going rate to transport slaves to the New World; and the suggestion—clearly unsubstantiated—that silkworms, cochineals, and camels would all thrive in the Louisiana climate. Several of the observations on flora and fauna—not all of them chimeric—match almost verba-tim reports made by French Louisiana officials to the new French intendant, Pierre-Clément de Laussat, more than 40 years later. Did these clichés originate with the early French naturalists and writers of travel memoirs, then make their way to Laussat’s era via retransmission in docu-ments like this one? —HOWARD MARGOT


praised the healthful pleasures and indepen-dence of bicycle riding. The cyclist’s life, as depicted in “The Wheelman’s Song,” is “one unfading spring /Green and blooming till its close.”

One of the recently acquired pieces, “The Bicycle March” (2015.0159.4), written by Laurent L. Comes in 1892, is “respect-fully dedicated to the New Orleans Bicycle Club.” The club, organized in the 1880s, had more than 80 members in 1892, when it built a clubhouse at the corner of Baronne and General Taylor Streets. The event was important enough that Mayor Joseph Shakspeare came and laid the cornerstone for the building, and the dedication cere-mony was written up in the Daily Picayune. It seems likely that the sheet music was produced to commemorate that event. This acquisition complements The Collection’s scrapbook from the Louisiana Cycling Club (98-62-L), a different bicycling group in New Orleans active around the same time. —ROBERT TICKNOR

Jean-Francois Merieult Petition to the Duke of Santa Fe Regarding Business Losses2014.0289

While traveling in France in 1808, promi-nent New Orleans merchant and slave trader Jean François Merieult (1756–1818), for whom The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Merieult House was built, met the Duke of Santa Fe, Miguel José de Arzana (1745–1826), a former viceroy of New Spain who was then serving as Spanish ambassador, based in Paris. Two years later, Merieult wrote to Arzana to seek his aid in securing reparation for financial losses sustained while attempting to ship goods through the port of Vera Cruz.

Merieult and his business partners had been responsible for the shipment to Havana of $150,000 in government funds aboard the brigantine Martha. The vessel departed Vera Cruz but, in order to evade a British blockade, took refuge in the Mississippi River, where Juan Ventura Morales, inten-dant of New Orleans, ordered the currency to be offloaded and deposited in the city coffers. While the Martha’s public cargo

was seized, her private cargo, a shipment of cochineal dye—red pigment derived from insects—was allowed to remain in Merieult’s possession, provided he deposit in the city treasury a promissory note equal to the dye’s value. Unfortunately, the tropical climate—and a considerable delay between the time of the property’s seizure and that of its release—caused much of the perishable cargo to spoil and lose more than half its value. Hoping to find a more favorable trade environment in a neutral European port, Merieult subsequently shipped the remain-ing cochineal dye to Hamburg. When a second ship, the Tanner, made the return trip to Vera Cruz, the new Spanish viceroy, Félix Berenguer de Marquina, illegally seized its cargo, the contents of which are not specified in Merieult’s letter.

Traveling first to Madrid and then to Paris in search of restitution, Merieult contended he was the victim of unfair trade practices and government corrup-tion. Spanish officials, feeling Merieult had already profited handsomely, quickly tired of his pleas for additional relief, yet Merieult struggled for years to convince foreign offi-cials to compensate him for his losses.

Merieult’s letter to the duke complements other related holdings, including his certifi-cate of citizenship (2008.0100.29), a legal statement he gave at the US Consulate in Paris (2008.0100.26), and an illustration by Boyd Cruise of the Merieult House, which serves as The Collection’s Royal Street entrance (2004.0078.2.4). —M. L. EICHHORN

depiction of the Rio Grande delta. In and around Louisiana, the chart shows details of the Sabine River and its delta, as well as the Mississippi River from Natchez to the delta below New Orleans.

The map includes depth soundings, coded by water color and clarity, through-out the portion of the gulf shown, but the majority cluster around the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida coasts. The soundings surrounding the Mississippi River delta and Mobile and Pensacola Bays must have been especially helpful to seamen navigating those waters. —MATT FARAH

Bicycle Sheet Music2015.0159

The development of the bicycle in the second half of the 19th century had a profound impact on the society and culture of those pre-automobile decades. Providing a healthy and enjoyable way to exercise, not to mention a relatively inexpensive method of transportation, bicycles prompted the growth of a subculture of enthusiasts, called wheelmen, who organized rides, held races, and formed cycling clubs. During this time, before the advent of radio, sheet music was a common means of bringing popular song into the American home. The recent acquisition of 18 pieces of bicycle-themed sheet music shows how the two trends merged for a short time around the turn of the century. With titles such as “The Pretty Little Scorcher” and “The Crackajack March and Two Step,” these songs often

Fall 2015 21

EDITORMolly Reid

DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONSJessica Dorman

HEAD OF PHOTOGRAPHYKeely Merritt

ART DIRECTIONAlison Cody Design

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Turn kitchen prep into a main eventHusband-and-wife team Mandy Simpson and Daren Sumrow of New Orleans Woodworking are the artisans behind Nola Boards, first-class cutting boards made from domestic and imported hardwood. Each piece features an eye-catching design and is conditioned with food-grade mineral oil and beeswax for a smooth finish.

Marigny Triangle II, $94

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Atchafalaya, $130

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