Volume XVII, Number 4 Fall 1999

QUEEN OF THE SOUTH: NEW ORLEANS IN THE 1850S

rom November 2 through April 8,

2000, an exhibition about the

golden age of New Orleans history

will be on view in the Williams

Gallery. The new exhibition

takes its inspiration from the

Collection’s latest publication,

Queen of the South:

New Orleans, 1853-1862,

The Journal of Thomas K. Wharton.

F

“FRANCE AND LOUISIANA: UNE JOURNÉE D’ÉTUDE”WILLIAMS RESEARCH CENTER SYMPOSIUM: PAGE 7

Top, Canal Street view of Custom House, detail, by Marie Adrien Persac (1958.78.1.3); above, St. CharlesHotel in Flames, detail, by J. R. P. (1992.156)

Thomas Kelah Wharton was an accom-plished architect who served as superinten-dent of construction for the New OrleansCustom House on Canal Street at mid-cen-tury until his death in 1862. He lived atColiseum Square in the neighborhood nowcalled the Lower Garden District, walkedto work down Camp Street, and sketchedand wrote about what he saw. SamuelWilson, Jr., F.A.I.A., edited THNOC’spublication Queen of the South andwrote a biographical introduction onThomas K. Wharton. The following twoexcerpts are from his essay:

On October 23, 1848, the day work-men began digging trenches for the hugebuilding’s foundation Wharton resumed hisduties at the Custom House. On November1, he was named clerk and draftsman at asalary of $90 a month. When the corner-s tone of the bui ld ing was la id onWashington’s birthday, February 22, 1849,among mementos placed in the stone weredocuments, medals, coins, newspapers, anda roll of parchment with a long list of namesbeginning with President James K. Polk anddescending through state, city, and localofficials to “T. K. Wharton, draftsman.”

�In addition to his position at the

Custom House, Wharton maintained anactive architectural practice. A good dealof his work was done for the EpiscopalChurch, beginning with his design for theoriginal Christ Church. He designed acollege in Austin, Texas, for his brother-in-law Charles Gillette, an Episcopal priest.

Other notable architectural projectsinclude the Methodist Steele Chapel, theSeamen’s Home, a Baptist church, severalwarehouses, a cotton press, and the splen-did residences of A. W. Bosworth and PaulCook. The Cook residence on St. CharlesAvenue between Joseph and Arabella,completed in December 1861, was his lastproject and his most impressive.

— Samuel Wilson, Jr., F.A.I.A.

Visitors to the Queen of the South exhibition will see the artifacts and imagesthat reflect the complexity of the period,providing an instructive look backwardbefore one looks ahead to the year 2000.“New Orleans in the 1850s,” one of theintroductory essays to Wharton’s editedjournal, gives an overview of the South’smost prosperous city in the decade ended bythe Civil War. Selections from the essay areprinted below.

During the decade that ThomasWharton kept his journal, the city wasindisputably queen of the South. It wasan age of fortunes made and multiplied,of doubling population, of civic beautifi-cat ion, of d izzy ing technologica ladvances — while the future smilinglypromised more good times ahead.International rather than provincial, thisleast southern of southern cities out-shone its urban rivals in the South, chal-lenging New York as the nation’s greatestport. A sharp-eyed observer walking thestreets of the city in the 1850s foundmuch to set down in his journal.

�Down the river and its tributaries

poured uncountable shiploads of cotton,sugar, wheat, corn, lumber, lead, liquor,building materials, and all the othercommodities of a burgeoning nation.East-west roads were nonexistent or hor-rible: it was cheaper and faster to shipdownriver. At the port of New Orleans,goods were loaded onto sailing ships,their deep holds crammed with cargo forthe markets of the Northeast or Europe.

�The river was the true main street of

New Orleans: the city hugged the banksof the Mississippi’s sweeping crescent,lined with the smokestacks of steam-boats and the masts of ships, as thick asfloating forests. All the important busi-nesses, attorneys offices, warehouses,cotton presses, and retail stores were

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QUEEN OF THE SOUTH:NEW ORLEANS IN THE 1850S

NOVEMBER 2, 1999 - APRIL 8, 2000

FILMQueen of the South: New Orleans in the1850s, a documentary film on NewOrleans at the height of its prosperity, willair on WYES-TV 12 on Sunday,November 14, 1999, at 7:00 p.m. The filmwill explore life in antebellum NewOrleans. The video will also be on sale inthe Collection Shop.

WHARTON TOUR IN THELOWER GARDEN DISTRICTThe Coliseum Square Association, in collaboration with the Historic NewOrleans Collection will present “AtHome on Coliseum Place,” a tour onSunday, December 5, featuring LowerGarden District houses and churches dating from the period of architectThomas K. Wharton. Ticket sales beginin Coliseum Square at 10:30 a.m. andwill end at 3:30 p.m. An actor portrayingWharton will meet visitors there andfamiliarize them with Coliseum Place asit was in the 1850s. Tours of thebuildings Wharton passed every day willrun from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.Tickets: $15.00; seniors and students:$12.00. The Historic New OrleansCollection publication Queen of theSouth: New Orleans, 1853-1862, TheJournal of Thomas K. Wharton will be onsale in the square. A rain date isscheduled for December 12. Don’t missthis chance to step back in time to the1850s to retrace Wharton’s steps throughhis neighborhood.

GALLERY TALKSGallery talks on New Orleans in the 1850sJanuary 5, 12, 18 and March 15, 22, 29at 12:30

LECTURES SCHEDULEDNew Orleans As It Was: The 1850sat 12:30 in the Counting HouseJanuary 26: “The Growth of the City,”

John MagillFebruary 2: “Architecture,”

Henry KrotzerFebruary 9: “Garden District Lifestyle,”

Speaker to be announcedFebruary 16: “Yellow Fever Epidemics,”

Patricia BradyFebruary 23: “Gardens,” Lake DouglasMarch 1: “African Americans in the

City,” Donald Devore

within a few blocks of the river. Thereclustered the factors, brokers, andwholesalers, the middlemen for theflood of trade, as well as the bankerswho provided loans, currency, lettersof credit, and all the intricate financialapparatus of trade.

�In the past, people who didn’t

own horses or carriages had to hirethem from a livery stable or walk.Now horse-drawn coaches calledomnibuses (picture a stage coach witha door at the rear) followed regularroutes through the city, and the age ofthe railroad had arrived. Street rail-roads with passenger cars, pulled firstby mules and then by small steamengines, reached out to the shores ofLake Pontchartrain. Wharton grum-bled at their popularity: “an intensi-fied nuisance rather than a conve-nience, for at the cheap rate of 5 Centsthey are overwhelmed with all the ‘Oipolloi’ of the City and environs.” Inthe 1850s railroads also began to runfrom New Orleans to Louisiana andMississippi cities not accessible by theriver, a great convenience for travelers.

�The federal government recognized

the importance of New Orleans to thenation’s economy in the usual manner ofthe day — a grandiose building pro-gram. A branch of the U.S. Mint onEsplanade Avenue supplied the South’shunger for currency, and a new marinehospital was begun in 1857 to care forthe thousands of sailors who landed atthe port in the course of a year.

But the most ambitious of the gov-ernment’s projects was a huge new cus-tom house, reflecting the immense vol-ume (and value) of commerce thatpassed through the port. The NewOrleans Custom House, which providedWharton employment for the last four-teen years of his life, was the largest fed-eral building in the nation at the time,larger even than the U.S. Capitol.Overseeing its construction was certain-ly no sinecure, given that all the essentialbuilding materials — iron, bricks, granite,

marble — had to be shipped in and thatthe city’s soil was very unstable, shiftingand subsiding, causing buildings muchsmaller than this to settle unevenly andcrack. But the challenges were successfullymet, and the massive granite structure istoday a feature of Canal Street.

�When Wharton married in 1851,

he brought his wife home to a small

cottage without further ado; weddingtrips were only for the wealthy. EmilyWharton’s mother and little sistermoved in wi th them, a commonarrangement for extended families.Within a year, the Whartons’ only sonwas born. By today’s standards the homewas quite small for so many inhabitants,but to the family it was snugly filledwith every comfort and quite a few luxuries.

�The nineteenth century was mal-

odorous. After all, vehicles were horse-or mule-drawn, regular bathing wasuncommon, open gutters clogged withsewage lined the streets, and garbagewas frequently left to fester. No wondersweet-smelling plants — sweet olives,jasmine, gardenias, roses — were plant-ed at the entrances to homes, not justfor their beauty, but to counteract thepungent smells of the street.

�The custom on New Year’s Eve,

Wharton noted, was “to keep up a con-tinual firing of guns, pistols and crackersall night long on the demise of the oldyear.” The observance of New Year’s Dayitself was much more to his taste. It wasa day of formal calls ruled by fixed con-ventions, their exactly graded levels ofcivility worthy of Chinese mandarins.He was immensely proud of his youngwife receiving callers at home while hebust led about the c i ty ca l l ing onacquaintances at homes and hotels,exchanging greetings with other menbent on the same errand, and preeninghimself on the number of calls he made.

�Death and despair hung over New

Orleans like a miasma that summer[1853]. Longtime residents had acquiredsome degrees of immunity from thefever, but the sword of pestilence cutdown unsuspecting natives and attackedareas of the countryside formerlyb e l i e v e d s a f e f r o m i n f e c t i o n .Unacclimated newcomers contracted thedisease and died by the thousands.Apparently perfectly well one day, vic-tims would suddenly be struck with

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Illustration from one of Thomas K. Wharton’s notebooks showinga view from the top of the Custom House. Courtesy, Manuscriptsand Archives Division, New York Public Library

Children carrying coffins during the yellow fever epidemic of1853, from History of the Yellow Fever (Philadelphia, 1854)

fever, jaundice, black vomit, and deliri-um, dying the following day. Otherswould linger for several days, unexplain-ably dying or surviving. Whole familiesdied here, children there, and parentselsewhere. So many children lost parentsin 1853 that orphanages were opened tocare for them.

�New Orleans was plagued by fires in

the 1850s because of its many largewarehouses and cotton presses filled withcombustible goods. Once one of thesebuildings caught fire, the combinationof open spaces (speeding the flames) andparty walls (spreading them to adjoiningbuildings) made fires practically impossi-ble to control. Volunteer fire companies— 24 engines, four hook and ladder, andseveral hose companies — did their best,not least because of the rewards offered byinsurance companies tired of expensivelosses. The hand-operated pumps whichdrew water for the hoses were simply tooslow to quench large fires. The arrival in1855 of Young America, a fire engine witha large steam-powered pump, was causefor rejoicing, but it proved too heavy andhard to maneuver in narrow streets. It wassoon replaced by an engine built in NewOrleans that continued in service for sev-eral years; its steam pump delivered great

quantities of water quickly and consider-ably improved firefighters’ efficiency.

�Most New Orleanians, including

Wharton, trusted the strength of thecity’s defenses. More seriously, the newConfederate government disastrouslyunderestimated the danger of a Unionattack. The compass of the Confederacyh a d s w u n g f a r t o t h e e a s t , a n dLouisiana’s best troops were routinelyordered to the Virginia theater of war,depleting the city’s defenses. Mistakecompounded miscalculation as anciento r bumbl ing o f f i c e r s we re g i ven command; army, navy, and civilian offi-cials labored under divided authority;and the government stubbornly main-tained that any attack on the city wouldcome from upriver.

A year into the war, the fleet of Flag Officer David G. Farragut movedinto the river to mount an attack.Mortar boats bombarded the defendingforts for days, and then in the very early morning of April 24, 1862, Unionships broke the chain barrier, ran thegauntlet of the forts in the darkness, anddisabled Confederate ships upriver. Itwas a short, fierce encounter, but oncepast the forts, there were no furtherdefenses of importance.

�New Orleans remained under

Union control throughout the remain-der of the war. The Queen had beenswept from the board, and although noone knew it yet, the war would play outslowly to checkmate at Appomattox.Without the port of New Orleans, theSouth could not prevail. And during t h e l o n g y e a r s o f w a r t i m e a n dReconstruction, national and worldtrade patterns definitively altered. New Orleans would never regain thecommanding position of the 1850s. The capture of the city marked the endof its golden era.

—Patricia Brady

Queen of the South: New Orleans, 1853-1862,The Journal of Thomas K. Wharton is a selectionof Wharton’s journal entries that tell the story ofdaily life in antebellum New Orleans. The book,edited by Samuel Wilson, Jr., F.A.I.A., PatriciaBrady, and Lynn D. Adams, includes introductoryessays: “Remembering Sam Wilson” by Mary LouiseChristovich; “The Life of Thomas Kelah Wharton”by Samuel Wilson, Jr.; and “New Orleans in the1850s” by Patricia Brady. Queen of the South is ajoint publication of the Historic New OrleansCollection and the New York Public Library. Forordering information, see page 15.

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U.S.S. Pensacola at Anchor in the Mississippi River at New Orleans, detail, by Edward Everard Arnold, 1864 (1983.1). The Pensacola was one of the Union ships thatarrived at the city April 25, 1862, after running the gauntlet of Forts Jackson and St. Philip.

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The following excerpts are from the forewordto Queen of the South: New Orleans,1853-1862, the Journal of Thomas K.Wharton. The foreword is an appreciationof the architect Samuel Wilson, Jr., F.A.I.A.,who edited Wharton’s journal and wrote theintroduction to the book.

In 1980 Sam mentioned three wish-es: to go to Uxmal in the Yucatan (as a stu-dent, he had won an award for his Mayandesign in Frans Blom’s class at Tulane), topublish the New Orleans section of theWharton diary, and to restore theNapoleon House (originally known as theGirod House, built in 1814, probably byHyacinthe Laclotte, and considered thefinest example of the continuing Frencharchitectural influence). It was only thelatter wish that Sam, realist above all,knew to be an impossible dream. He final-ly did see Uxmal, and the edited Whartondiary — with copious illustrations that farexceed his ambitions — is now in hand.

Photographs of a young Sam show atall, thin man whose dark hair contrastedwith his large light-blue eyes. Theseimages do not suggest the gravelly textureof his strong voice, rarely raised, butalways heard to the last auditorium seat. ANew Orleans pronunciation, neithersouthern nor inappropriately colloquial,

identified him with the city. His laughtermatched the tenor of his voice, politerather than exuberant, while a smile oftenaccompanied a natural detachment.

Years later, Sam’s mannerism ofcombing his fingers down his thick, graymustache would call attention to hislarge, graceful hands. He always walkedquickly with a slight forward, almostanxious tilt, as if he wanted very muchto move on, and then would hesitatesometimes to look around and back,always keen and observant.

—Mary Louise Christovich

Mrs. Christovich and Mr. Wilson worked together inthe preservation movement in New Orleans for near-ly 40 years, beginning in 1952 as founding membersof the Friends of the Cabildo. They were fellow mem-bers of the Louisiana State Museum Board, crusadedto bring the National Register of Historic Places toLouisiana, and served together on the board of SaveOur Cemeteries, Inc. Mrs. Christovich is president ofthe Kemper and Leila Williams Foundation.

REMEMBERING SAM WILSON

View of Jackson Square, J. Dürler, delineator, 1855 (1948.3). In 1849-1850, St. Louis Cathedral had been rebuilt and the Pontalba buildings flanking the Square erected,giving the square its appearance at the time of Wharton’s journal entries selected for publication in Queen of the South.

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In the spring of 1843 a comet litup the sky above New Orleans.Some made ready for the end of

the world, while others simplyblamed the comet for unusuallywarm weather. A traveling lecturerwas ridiculed for his belief in the pos-sibility of an “aerial carriage” as ameans of transportation, and ane x h i b i t o f L o u i s D a g u e r r e ’s“Chemical Pictures” enchanted largecrowds. Within this cultural milieu, a young mus ic teacher namedThomas Cripps developed a fascina-tion with “the science of the soul,” a practice more commonly known as Mesmerism.

Cripps, a recent immigrant fromEngland, was f i r s t exposed toMesmerism in June 1843 at a lectureat the American Theater on CampStreet. He had lost his job as chorusmaster at the St. Charles Theaterwhen it burned in 1842 and mayhave had some extra time to dabble innew pursuits. During the spring andsummer of 1844 he participated in aseries of experiments on 20 individuals,mostly young women and children.Cripps documented each case in a journalnow in the vaults of the Will iamsResearch Center.

Mesmerism was developed in themid-to-late 18th century by Franz AntonMesmer, a German physician. Mesmerbelieved that a fine “fluid” (or energy)permeated all creation and that humandisorders, both mental and physical, werecaused by obstructions in the flow of thisfluid through the body. Mesmer thoughtthat he could store an extra supply of thisenergy in his body and channel it intoanother individual to restore health.

He taught his technique to a selectgroup of wealthy Parisians who calledthemselves the Society of Harmony. Oneof its members, marquis de Puységur,became particularly interested in thestrange effect that Mesmer’s techniques

had on some “patients” – the inducementof a strange, vacant, sleep-like state.Puységur believed that these people couldrestore their proper flow of energy andcould be made immune to pain. He aslothought the subjects would exhibitheightened perceptions while in the sleepstate. The benefits to society seemedunlimited and were particularly attractiveto the vibrant, optimistic, and unregulatedculture of mid-19th-century America.

The Daily Picayune for June 8, 1843,noted that a “mesmeric boarding-house”was to be established. Room and boardwould be “ninety per cent below presentprices” if the boarders agreed to submit toexperiments in Mesmerism, an incentivethat naturally attracted those searchingfor cheap housing. Cripps frequentlymentioned consulting other mesmeristsregarding his subjects.

Each person was assigned a numberand referred to by the number through-out the journal. Number 2 was inCripps’s words “very susceptible.”

Number 7 became extremely rigidand could not speak, while Number 9could speak, but only in monosylla-bles. Some of the subjects complainedof headaches and nausea as a result ofthe experimentation, and Crippswrote that one young girl became“somewhat deranged at times.”

Cripps notes how long it took toput the subject into a mesmeric sleepand how long the sleep lasted. Onlytwo of the 20 subjects were men, andCripps noted that he had difficulty inputting them into a mesmeric sleep.He induced sleep “through” one ofthe female subjects who, while in amesmeric state, would hold thethumbs of the male subject whileCripps would stare into his eyes. Hementioned making one of these sub-jects, number 16, sing and dancewhile in a sleep state.

Views on Mesmerism tended tobe extreme. Some believed the secrets

of the soul were finally being revealed,while others considered the whole thing asham. Much of the literature of the time portrays the mesmerist as a sinister char-acter intent on inflicting his will on ahelpless victim.

A year after Cripps conducted hisexperiments, a formal mesmerist societywas created in New Orleans, the Sociétédu Magnétisme de la Nouvelle-Orléans. In1848 membership included 71 individu-als, primarily from the French-speakingpopulation of the city. The group, likemany interested in Mesmerism, involveditself in the spiritualist fads of the 1850sand 1860s believing that in a mesmericsleep some people became clairvoyant andat times could communicate with thedead. They were also interested in the useof Mesmerism as a form of medical treat-ment and often received referrals fromlocal physicians and clergy.

The work of this society may havemade the New Orleans medical communityslightly more receptive to the use of

THOMAS CRIPPS AND THE SCIENCE OF THE SOUL

Portrait of Thomas Cripps, ca. 1869 (1993.76.1 a)

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Mesmerism. On the whole, however, thepractice was rejected by the scientific com-munity until the 1870s when Jean-MartinCharcot, one of the founders of modernneurology, introduced it at the SalpêtrièreHospital in Paris, under the name hypnosis.

—Mark Cave

Sources: Carol O. Bartels, “Letters from Home:The Thomas Cripps Papers,” Historic New OrleansCollection Quarterly, vol. XIV, no. 3; ThomasCripps Papers, MSS 459, folder 166; DailyPicayune, April 9, May 2, 23, 27, 31, June 8, 15,1843; Rober t C. Fu l l e r , Mesmer i sm and the American Cure of Souls (Philadelphia, 1982); Wallace K. Tomlinson, M.D., and J. JohnPerret, Ph.D., “Mesmerism in New Orleans, 1845-1861,” American Journal of Psychiatry 131(December 1974).

“FRANCE AND LOUISIANA: UNE JOURNÉE D’ÉTUDE”FIFTH ANNUAL WILLIAMS RESEARCH CENTER SYMPOSIUM

Saturday, January 22, 2000, New Orleans, LouisianaGrand Ballroom, Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, 621 St. Louis Street

Coffee, 8:30 Welcome, 8:45Speakers

JUDGE MORRIS S. ARNOLD, moderator

French Colonial Historian and Author

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, Little Rock, Arkansas

DR. CARL EKBERG

Professor Emeritus of History, Illinois State University at Normal

Winner of the 1998 Williams Prize in Louisiana History

“Settlement Patterns and the Use of Land in the French Colony of Louisiana”

DR. PATRICIA BRADY

Director of Publications, The Historic New Orleans Collection

“Carnival of Liberty: Lafayette’s Visit to Louisiana, 1825”

ELISABETH GRIMAUDE-CAUDE

Conservateur de Patrimonie, Cour d’Appel, Rouen

“The Archive of the French Consul General in New Orleans (1818-1918)”

Lunch breakDR. DEREK CARTWRIGHT

Executive Director, Musée d’Art Américain, Giverny

Invitation to “France and Louisiana: Une Journée d’Étude,”

Musée d’Art Américain, Giverny, France

DR. IRA BERLIN

Professor of History, University of Maryland

“The Case of the Code Noir and the Transformation of Slavery in Louisiana”

ANN MASSON

Architectural Historian, New Orleans

“The Architectural Career of J. N. B. de Pouilly”

Reception, 4:15-6:00

at the Williams Research Center410 Chartres Street

FROM THE ACTING DIRECTOR

Although we are all saturated with the

idea of websites — andit seems that everyonehas one — we are stillparticularly proud ofo u r s , a n d I w o u l d like to encourage everyone to click onwww.hnoc.org. Our webmaster is also ourhead preparator. With the ambitious exhibi-tion program of the last several years, it is nosmall accomplishment for Steve Sweet toadd the design and upkeep of the website tohis already full schedule. The site has alreadyachieved prize-winning status when itreceived an award of excellence from thePublic Relations Society of America, NewOrleans Chapter, in 1998.

Hnoc.org can be consulted for upcom-ing programming, information concerningthe annual Williams Prize, and views of ourgalleries and courtyards. Soon you can readthe Quarterly online.

Of particular note in the comingmonths is our annual Williams ResearchCenter Symposium. Presentations this yearwill center on historical relationshipsbetween France and Louisiana. “Une Journéed’Étude” (or “A Day of Study”) will combinepresentations on a wide variety of topics cel-ebrating our French heritage. January 22 isthe date to save on your calendar!

Continuing a tradition begun last yearof presenting the WRC symposium a sec-ond time in the spring in Havana, Cuba,this year we will present “France andLouisiana: Une Journée d’Étude” on May 6in France. The Musée d’Art Américain inGiverny has agreed to be our partner in thispresentation. The museum, situated acrossthe street from Monet’s garden, has splendidAmerican Impressionist collections of itsown. In addition, the museum contains afine auditorium and audio-visual facilities,making it well equipped to be the site forthe event.

For January’s symposium, we will offera block of hotel rooms in New Orleans at aspecial rate for out-of-town attendees, andwe will also offer an organized trip to Francefor those traveling to the presentation inGiverny. The week-long French tour willinclude special sites related to Louisiana his-tory in and around Paris. Please call us or“log-on” for developing information!

—Priscilla Lawrence

SPRINGTIME IN FRANCEIn conjunction with the presentation of “France and Louisiana: Une Journée d’ Étude”at the Musée d’ Art Américain in Giverny on May 6, 2000, THNOC will offer atour to France May 3–10. Tour participants will retrace Bienville’s footsteps in Paris,while staying only steps away from the Place de la Concorde at the Hôtel Lotti. Forfurther information, please call Peter McLean, Ltd., at (504) 833-6275 or the recep-tionist at the Williams Research Center (504) 598-7171.

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Jeanne de la Vigne signs Ghost Stories ofOld New Orleans.

There are several dreamy portraits ofLyle Saxon, the dean of literary life inNew Orleans in the 1930s, including awonderful picture of Saxon in MardiGras regalia. And there are photographsof Saxon’s legendary bartender, JoeGilmore, at a signing for Saxon’s book,The Friends of Joe Gilmore.

The Basement Book Shop was alsothe place to spot literary visitors to thecity. Two photographs document the1935 visit of Gertrude Stein and Alice B.Toklas. Gertrude signed books after alecture at Tulane University, while ashadowy Alice patiently endured thelong line of well-wishers. I was put onnotice to look for such photographs byRenate Stendha l ’s Ger trude St e inRemembered, which includes a letterfrom Alice B. Toklas to Tess Crager:“My dear Miss Crager,

Miss Gertrude Stein will very will-ingly autograph books some afternoon atthe Basement Book Shop and Library,but she must decline to meet ##### [sic]anyone. She finds meeting people veryfatiguing and as she wishes to keep her-self fresh for her lectures, Miss Steinthanks you for your invitation but isanuable [sic] to accept it.”

There are a number of photographsof Irving Stone, including several takenat the Chalmette Battlefield. HerbertAsbury, Roark Bradford, and E. P. “Pat”O’Donnell appear in these photographs.Other well-known visitors to the shopincluded André Maurois, T. H. White,W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender, andAlexander Woollcott, Anya Seton, VeraBrittain, Betty McDonald, and BennettCerf. Many of these guests adjourned tothe shop for a reception following a lecture at nearby Tulane University.

What we also see in the photographs

is a record of changing times. Peopletook literary occasions seriously anddressed accordingly in those days. Rarelyis a man without a jacket and tie. Inmany photographs, partygoers areturned out in full evening dress. At a literary luncheon, women wear suits andhats. In one photograph, women weredressed in antebellum costume for apublication party for Belle of Fortune.Louisiana Cookery author Mary Landwears a lovely corsage.

But most of all, one gets a sense ofwhat fun they were all having. Manypartygoers were smoking and drinking.In one photograph, taken in 1953 at apublication party for Robert Tallant’sLove and Mrs. Candy, an admirer hasobviously brought the author a rose,which is lying on the table near an over-flowing ashtray. A black cat sniffs curi-ously at the promotional poster for thebook, perfectly at ease in the crowd.There are always trays of food around,little meatballs or shrimp on skewers. Attimes, the tiny two-room building seemslike a circus clown car — how manypeople crowded into it for these partiesand spilled out onto the street, into thenight? The list seems endless.

The shop closed its doors on the lastday of 1981. But in these marvelousphotographs, we get a sense of just howmuch happened there in that excitingchapter in New Orleans literary history.

—Susan Larson

Susan Larson is the book editor for the New OrleansTimes-Picayune and the author of The Booklover’sGuide to New Orleans, which will be published byLouisiana State University Press in November.

________Sources: Renate Stendhal, Gertrude Stein in Wordsand Pictures (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1994); Times-Picayune, Jan. 1982.

TREASURES IN THE BASEMENT BO O K SHOP

It’s hard to believe that the derelict building at 7221Zimpel Street was once the center of literary life inNew Orleans. Only a trace of its cheerful yellowexterior remains, and the sign for the BasementBook Shop is long gone. Its presiding spirit, Tess

Crager, died in 1985; September 20 of this year marked thecentennial of her birth. The shop finally closed in1981 afterbeing in business for 50 years. But at the Historic NewOrleans Collection, in some remarkable photographs donat-ed by Crager’s daughter, Gretchen Crager Sharpless, one canstill find proof of its remarkable history, traces of the energythat made the Basement Book Shop the place to be in the1930s and ’40s.

There’s no question that Tess Crager was good at whatshe did. In photograph after photograph, she shows thecanny bookseller’s habit of marketing: she’s always holdingthe book under her arm so that the book title is perfectly legi-ble. The shelves are crammed with books, but one can readmany of the titles; photographs from shop events, hung onthe walls, are visible as well. There’s always a crowd on hand.

Pictures do tell the story, and the tale that emerges is oneof an active, supportive literary community. A smilingHarnett Kane turns up for practically everything, as onewould expect from the author of Have Pen, Will Autograph.Photographer Clarence Laughlin looks on as Robert Tallantperuses Ghosts Along the Mississippi. John Chase displays amap that later appears in his classic of New Orleans history,Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children…and Other Streets of New Orleans. Robert L. Crager & Co., the publishing company run by Crager and her husband, first published thatwonderful book.

Another memorable photograph chronicles a party fortwo well-known authors. Walker Percy and Turner Catledgestand next to a table with their books, The Last Gentlemanand My Life at the Times, respectively. Joining them are KayArcher of Maison Blanche, Tess Crager, and Paul Rosseter,along with legendary historian T. Harry Williams.

A party photograph for Charles “Pie” Dufour’s GentleTiger: The Gallant Life of Roberdeau Wheat, shows the historianflanked by his loving family, including his daughter MarieDufour Goodwin, who is now an author herself. In a 1956photograph, newspaperman Thomas Sancton shyly butproudly looks at a copy of his novel, Count Roller Skates, withfriends Tommy Griffin, George Chapten, and Ed Desoby.

Above, Tess Crager, Gertrude Stein, and Erma Rosen at the Basement Book Shop, 1935 (1983.215.111); and below, Walker Percy, Kay Archer, T. Harry Williams, Turner Catledge, Tess Crager, and Paul Rosseter (1983.215.28)

Historical Memoir of the War in WestFlorida and Louisiana in 1814-15, the revisededition of the 1816 book by Arsène LacarrièreLatour, has recently been published by theUniversity Press of Florida in cooperation withthe Historic New Orleans Collection. Dr. GeneA. Smith of Texas Christian University servedas editor. The following article provides a foot-note to Latour’s account of the battle and refersto a letter written by James King to anunnamed uncle shortly after King’s return toRutherford County, Tennessee, in April 1815.The letter is part of an unprocessed collectionknown as the James King Papers, housed at theAlbert Gore Center, Middle Tennessee StateUniversity in Murfreesboro.

Aletter has recently come tolight concerning one soldier’s account of the Battle of New

Orleans. James M. King, a 23-year-old cor-poral, and his younger brother Henryserved in a company of Tennessee volunteermounted gunmen in the brigade com-manded by General John Coffee. Thisbrigade held the left portion of what was known as Line Jackson on the fieldsand swamps of Chalmette during theBritish siege of New Orleans. Although the encounter on January 8, 1815, hasbecome the Battle of New Orleans, theengagements preceding this historic datewere of importance to the participants,especially the famed “night battle” ofDecember 23, 1814.

The encounter of the 23rd wasmarked by uncertainty on both sides con-cerning the numbers and strength of theopposing army. Adding to the difficultywas “friendly fire” caused by the confusionof darkness, combined with close, savagehand-to-hand combat. King’s account veri-fies all these aspects.

He writes:“We made the attack on them about

eight o’clock in the night by moonshine …the regiment that I was in attacked them inthe rear … we marched through theencampment, where we found that we haddeprived them of their fine supper — therewas turkeys, chickens, ducks, quarters of

mutton they had so nicely roasted. Our soldiers gathered and ate it while fighting.”

As they refreshed themselves with theirstolen supper, King and his companionsran into a raking fire from their rear. TheTennesseans soon realized the fire was com-ing from their own troops — or was it?

King continues:“In marching up to the enemy we

came to a fence that ran angling from thecourse we were going, which cut off threecompanies of us [which] threw us consider-ably to the left … then [we] advanced ahundred yards of the main body when wewere fired upon in our rear … it was imme-diately concluded that it was part of ourown men … some of the men as well asofficers began to holler out to them and tellthem they were firing at their own men.”

As King’s company began to complywith the commands coming from the dark-ness, the assailants became visible enoughfor the Americans to discern that they were,in fact, British troops. After a brief, butsevere, skirmish at close quarters, King’scompany retreated to safety having had onesoldier killed, four wounded, and threetaken prisoner.

One of the prisoners, Cornet DanielTreadwell, managed to escape twice beforethe enemy was able to subdue him:

“The first time taken he was sent off

under guard with one man. He had apistol concealed under his coat whichthey did not observe. In going along,he turned around and observed, ‘seehow the British is running,’ the fel-low turned to look, the cornet drewhis pistol and shot him down. Hethen jerked off the fellow’s cartridgeand took his gun, then tried to makehis escape but ran right up to theBritish force … he was the secondtime taken under guard and in carry-ing him off there was a firing brokeout not far from them, which theyturned round to look at. A thoughtstruck him that he could knock the

fellow down and clear himself, at whichtime he pealed away and dropped him,then cleared himself. When making hisescape [he] came across Captain [James]McMahon who was mortally wounded inthe head. The captain requested him to staywith him which he done, though it was notlong before they were taken again. Then hestayed taken.”

King managed to survive all theengagements at New Orleans, includingthe historic Sunday of January 8 — a battlehe said, “the British will never forget in thelatest ages. They were most shamefullywhipped.” James recovered from one seri-ous bout of sickness, but his younger broth-er was less fortunate. Henry died onJanuary 5, 1815, from an illness that origi-nated with a cold but soon developed into“violent pains in his head and back, whichthrew him out of his senses most of thetime.” In spite of this loss, James stoicallyadmitted that he “was tolerably well pleasedwith a campaign life, in good weather, butin bad, most undoubtedly it is a very dis-agreeable occupation.”

—Tom KanonTom Kanon is on staff at the Tennessee State Library andArchives (Nashville) and writes about Tennessee’sinvolvement in the War of 1812. Lisa Pruitt and JimNeal of the Albert Gore Center, Middle Tennessee StateUniversity, cooperated in making this document avail-able to the public.

10

“A VERY DISAGREEABLE OCCUPATION”:A TENNESSEE SOLDIER AT THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS

The Battle of New Orleans from Ballou’s Pictorial Drawing-RoomCompanion (1958.98.6)

THE HISTORIC NEW

ORLEANS COLLECTION

encourages research inthe Williams ResearchCenter at 410 ChartresStreet from 10:00 a.m.to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdayt h r o u g h S a t u r d a y( e x c e p t h o l i d a y s ) .

Ca ta loged mate r i a l s ava i l ab l e toresearchers include books, manuscripts,paintings, prints, drawings, maps, pho-tographs, and artifacts about the historyand culture of New Orleans, Louisiana,and the Gulf South. Each year theCollection adds thousands of items to itsholdings by donation or purchase. Only afew recent acquisitions can be noted here.

A fragment of a copper frieze from theold New Orleans Public Library locatednear Lee Circle is a recent donation fromRosemary Deutsch. The fragment, datingto the construction of the building in1908, was salvaged during the late 1950sdemolition of the library. Now mountedon wood, it was made by an unknowncraftsman.

Dr. Edward Ferguson has donated acollection of more than 250 drawings by his wife, the late Marjorie ClarkFerguson, that includes nudes, the Huey P.Long Bridge, arabesques and designs,numerous fashion drawings for Kreeger’sand Godchaux’s newspaper advertise-ments, and designs for store bags andstore promotion.

Twenty photographs depicting NewOrleans photographic artist ClarenceJohn Laughlin, were taken in 1979 inLaughlin’s studio by James BernardByrnes, director of the New OrleansMuseum of Art from 1961 to 1972. Theslides are the gift of James Byrnes andBarbara C. Brynes.

A circa 1923 photograph, taken by anunknown photographer, of what is reputedto be the first swimming pool in the city ofNew Orleans comes from William Greiner.

Fifteen postcard views of the VieuxCarré and other New Orleans scenes, aswell as of Baton Rouge, DeRidder, andLake Charles are the gift of Dr. J. WilliamRosenthal.

Mona A. Mailhes has donated por-traits of the Estalote, Hebert, andMailhes family members, a 1921 oil por-trait of a woman by W. Churchill, and an1873 view of New Orleans delineated byAlfred R. Waud and published by D. G.Appleton and Company. The businesscard of artist Colette Pope Heldner,printed between 1944 and 1960, is adonation from her daughter PauletteHolahan.

The Collection continues to receiveMardi Gras-related items. Five proofs forMardi Gras doubloons for the Rex andZulu organizations and the Krewe ofLouisianians ball in Washington, D.C.,are the gift of Paul Leaman. Jackson L.Molaison gave a 1998 ball program forSquires and a 1967 ball proclamation forRex. Ann Trufant donated nine views,including the arrival of Rex by boat and aRex parade, taken by an unknown pho-tographer. Marian Solomon gave sou-venir pins for the 1971 and 1983 RexMardi Gras balls. Mrs. William K.

11

WILLIAMS RESEARCH CENTER ACQUISITIONS

CURATORIAL

Top, Dauphine Street Interior, 1859, by Carl F.Schwartz (1999.39); middle, Dans le Restaurant,1964, by Sue F. Gussow (1999.43.3); bottom, Uncle Sam Plantation by George GardnerSymons, ca. 1930 (1999.44.2). See page 12.

12

Christovich gave a group of invitations,silver ball favors, and krewe favors for the1999 Rex ball. She also gave a silver traydesigned by sculptress Angela Gregory forthe Quota Club of New Orleans. The tray,created for an occasion on April 26, 1955,was manufactured by Reed and Barton.

Mrs. William Parkhurst gave three1880s sterling silver teaspoons having aMaurice Scooler mark and a souvenirspoon made in 1953 to celebrate the 150thanniversary of the Louisiana Purchase.

Other acquisitions include an 1869watercolor of a Dauphine Street interiorby Carl Frederick Schwartz, a 1942gouache painting of army trucks onRampart Street by Joseph Richards, and a1950s drawing of a girl scout by CharlesRichards. Also acquired are a circa 1917color etching of a rainy day in the FrenchQuarter by Louis Oscar Griffith and acolor lithograph of a young woman in arestaurant by Sue Ferguson Gussow.Additional acquisitions are a 1930s oilpainting of Uncle Sam Plantation byGeorge Gardner Symons and a 1927 oilportrait of Walden Alexander Drysdaleby his father, Alexander J. Drysdale.

—Judith H. Bonner

A miscellany of noteworthy printedSpanish documents related to NewOrleans and Louisiana are certain to pro-vide researchers with interesting glimpsesinto the Louisiana colony under Spanishrule. A 1768 decree, Real Decreto, QuePreviene Las Reglas, Y Condiciones ConQue Se Puede Hacer El Comercio DesdeEspaña a la Provincia de la Luisiana, pub-lished in Madrid, is a recent acquisition.The eight-page folio concerns commer-cial regulations relating to Spain andLouisiana. The decree states that directtrade between Louisiana and the Frenchcolonies in the Caribbean would nolonger be allowed and declared that allmaterial must be shipped through Spain.Overturning well-established patternsand trading connections, this order andlegislation set into motion an insurrec-tion among the French inhabitants ofLouisiana in 1768.

Most accounts of these events havebeen based almost exclusively on Spanishsources. Charles Gayarré, author of thefour-volume History of Louisiana, pub-lished in the mid-1800s, relied onSpanish sources but presented a point ofview sympathetic to the French position.It is Dr. Carl Brasseaux’s 1987 study,Denis-Nicolas Foucault and the NewOrleans Rebellion of 1768 that integratesboth French and Spanish sources in sub-stantiating the events of the rebellion.

A rare pamphlet, Don AlexandreO’Reilly, Commandeur de Benfayan dansl’Ordre de Alcantara . . . , written inFrench and dated November 25, 1769,documents the establishment of Spanishrule. This booklet, part of the recentlyacquired Ursuline Collection, served toinform the colonists about Spanish lawsand government.

An important document, concerningSpanish Louisiana, previously acquired, isthe 1796 publication, Real cédula de S. M.y señores del Consejo, en que se mandaobservar y guardar el Tratado de Amistad,Límites y Navegación concluído y ratificadoentre su Real Persona y los Estados Unidosde América. Printed in Madrid with theroyal coat of arms on the title leaf, thisdocument is the first printed Spanish edi-tion of the 1796 Treaty of Friendship,also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzoor Pinckney’s Treaty. The agreementbetween Spain and the United Statesdefined the boundaries of Florida andLouisiana and secured common naviga-tion of the Mississippi River. Negotiatedby America’s special envoy to Spain,

Thomas Pinckney, this agreementallowed western settlers the “right ofdeposit” for their exports in New Orleansand to engage in commercial transactionswithin the city. A French manuscriptcopy of the treaty may be found in thePierre Clément Laussat Papers in theCollection’s holdings.

Also acquired is Pinckney’s Treaty: AStudy of America’s Advantage From Europe’sDistress, 1783 – 1800 by Samuel FlaggBemis, published in 1926. Researchersinterested in the English translation ofPinckney’s Treaty can consult the followingwebsite: http://earlyamerica.com.

—Gerald Patout

Mary Morrison (1911-1999) was activein numerous community organizations,but she is probably most associated withher intense commitment to the preserva-tion of the French Quarter. Originallyfrom Canton, Mississippi, Mrs. Morrisonand her husband, Jacob, moved toUrsulines Street in the Quarter in 1939and persistently fought such potentialdisasters as building demolition, theriverfront expressway, and formosan termites. The deteriorating condition ofthe buildings and neighborhood did notdiminish her vision of the Vieux Carré asa historic district worth preserving. Thechallenge of a proposed building alter-ation resulted in the 1941 state SupremeCourt decision that supported the VieuxCarré Commission’s jurisdiction overexterior changes to French Quarter build-ings. The ruling strengthened the conceptthat preservation is not limited to theappearance of a single building butapplies to the larger community. Theimpact can be seen in the revitalization ofthe Quarter in the subsequent 58 years.Community activism is reflected in MaryM o r r i s o n’s m e m b e r s h i p i n t h eIndependent Women’s Organization,Voters Registration League, Vieux CarréCommission, Patio Planters, LouisianaHistorical Society, Friends of theCabildo, Jackson Square Association,Lower French Quarter Crime Watch, andPreservation Resource Center.

LIBRARY

MANUSCRIPTS

(99-208-RL)

13

Jacob H. Morrison (d. 1974), broth-er of former Mayor deLesseps S. “Chep”Morrison, wrote Historic PreservationLaw in 1965 and also supported manyreforms for the improvement of the entireNew Orleans community. The Morrisonsreceived joint awards for their efforts.The bequest of approximately 16 linearfeet of papers from Mary Morrison’sestate documents the communityinvolvement of both Morrisons.

The New Orleans Newspaper Guild wasorganized in 1942 to be the collective bargain-ing unit of the editorial department of theNew Orleans Item in determining work con-ditions, wages, hours, job security, and otherissues. John Marshall Collier, an investigativereporter for the New Orleans Item, keptcopies of the March-through-Novemberminutes, which include a contract draft,schedule of fees, and membership list. Adonation from Yvonne Collier, John Collier’swife, documents the emergence of newspaperworkers as a united force in local 170 of theAmerican Newspaper Guild. The minutessometimes reflect a lighter side in the Guild’sserious quest. “No meeting was held duringDecember, as everyone was too busy spendingthe large salaries and bonuses they had earnedduring the year (for future readers of therecord, this is a joke),” wrote secretary FrancesBryson in the November 31, 1942 minutes.

Earl Retif has donated a collection ofinvitations, programs, and a scrapbook relat-ed to the career of Caroline Spelman Wogan

August AlfaroAngela Moynan BoseEric J. BrockMr. and Mrs. Peter

BroussardFloy E. Brown and Bruce

Edwards in memory ofEthel EdwardsGonzalez

Barbara C. ByrnesJames B. ByrnesCahn Family FoundationMrs. William K.

ChristovichEugene CizekMrs. John M. CollierW. Page Dame IIIRosemary DeutschChachie DupuyDr. Homer J. DupuyDr. Edward FergusonGeorge A. FinolaGheens Foundation, Inc.Helen K. Goodwin and

John M. Goodwin II inmemory of Helen S.Kammer

William K. GreinerMary Lockett Nelson

GuthrieHallmark Cards, Inc.Harry N. Abrams, Inc.Harvey PressDr. John R. HébertPaulette HolahanRobert C. HollowayDr. Thomas N. IngersollRev. Joseph L. Kehoe VMaxine S. LawrencePaul LeamanDr. Alfred E. LemmonEdward S. LindseyRobert K. LindseyLittle Sisters of the PoorE. B. Ludwig IIIE. B. Ludwig, Jr.Mona Mailhes

Bernard J. ManningBernice ManningBarry MartynMichael Ginsberg BooksJackson L. MolaisonDavid MonroeEstate of Mary MorrisonMrs. Lawrence Kent

NelsonNew Orleans Museum of

ArtHazel Thompson

ParkhurstJames M. PetersenPenny PirriPleasant Company

PublicationsEarl RetifDon RichmondDr. J. William RosenthalSt. Bernard Genealogical

Society, Inc.Elizabeth Wellborn

SchieffelinMrs. James L. Selman IILloyd SensatMarian SolomonEstate of Elise SoniatEstate of Lucille SoniatJohn SteinerThe Syntax SocietyAnn TrufantHugh UhaltUniversity Art Museum

(University ofSouthwesternLouisiana)

University of Florida PressUniversity Press of

MississippiJohn E. WalkerMerlyn WeilbaecherJohn G. WeinmannWYES–TVYale University Library

DONORSAPRIL–JUNE 1999

ON LOANThe Historic New Orleans Collection lends mate-rials from the permanent collection for specificperiods of time only to other private or publicmuseum, historical, or educational agencies for usein temporary exhibitions. These institutions mustbe able to comply with the Collection’s securityand environmental standards.

Five items from the Evangeline exhibition, A Celestial Brightness : 150 Years of Evangeline, to the ArnoldLeDoux Library, Louis iana StateUniversity at Eunice, October 1–31, 1999.

Five artworks, Marriage of a ColoredSoldier at Vicksburg, 1866, by Alfred R.Waud; Hauling the Whole Week’s Picking,ca. 1842, by William Henry Brown; TheRobert Young Family of Natchez, 1844, byAuguste Edouart; Natchez on the Hill,from the Old Fort, 1835, by James Tooley,Jr., delineator; and Cabin Scene on WashDay, ca. 1885, by William Aiken Walker,to the Mississippi Museum of Art,Jackson, Mississippi, September 4 –October 31, 1999.

St . Loui s Cathedra l , 1842, by Ju l e s L i o n t o t h e S m i t h s o n i a nInstitution, Anacostia Museum andCenter for African American Historyand Culture, January – June, 2000.

Durieux (1896-1987). Durieux, noted litho-grapher, painter, and etcher, began art studiesat Newcomb College in 1913. After workingwith Mexican artists and developing herprintmaking technique, she joined the facul-ty of Louisiana State University where shecollaborated with scientists to create two newprintmaking processes. She continued towork and exhibit as professor emeritus of finearts after her retirement in 1964.

The addition of New Orleans States,New Orleans Item, and New OrleansStates-Item microfilm (1958-1980)expands the newspaper holdings. Thiscompletes the Collection’s run of theStates-Item since it merged with the Times-Picayune in June 1980.

—M. Theresa LeFevre

AT THE COLLECTION

Grayhawk Perkins, director, Cannes Brûlée NativeAmerican Center, at his demonstration, “Setting upCamp,” held in conjunction with the exhibitionAmerican Indians in 19th-Century New OrleansDurieux exhibition announcements (99-36-L)

14

PUBLICATIONS

Patricia Brady, foreword to LiteraryNew Orleans; Judith Bonner and TomBonner, “Kate Chopin’s New Orleans,”Southern Quarterly; Judith Bonner,New Orleans Art Review; Jason Berry,review of Lost Chords: White Musiciansand Their Contribution to Jazz, 1915-1945, New York Times Book Review;John Lawrence , review, LouisianaHistory Quarterly. Articles in the follow-ing publications: Preservation in Print,Bet t i e Pend l ey ; Deu t s c h e s Hau sMonatsblatt, Siva Blake.

EDUCATION

Shop staff: Diane Plauché, CharlotteHoggatt, Shirley Ludman, and SueLaudeman, Louisiana history studies,sponsored by the Louisiana Endowmentfor the Humanities and the LouisianaLibrary Association.

IN THE COMMUNITY

John Lawrence, photographs exhibited inNew Orleans and in Atlanta, also radioand television appearances for the exhibi-tion on Louisiana Indians; Elsa Schneiderand John Magill, “Tidbits of History”millennium spots for television; JudithBonner, participant in retirement cere-monies of Brigadier General Jack M.Shuttleworth, U.S. Air Force Academy;John Magill, lectures, Rotary Club, NewOrleans Public Library, and the OrléansClub. Docents from the National Trustproperty Shadows-on-the-Teche in NewIberia, former home of Weeks Hall, touredJan Brantley’s home, previously owned byHarriet Weeks Torian, Weeks Hall’s aunt.

MEETINGS

Alfred Lemmon, Gerald Patout, CarolBartels, and Nancy Ruck, Society ofAmerican Archivists, Pittsburgh; GeraldPatout , Smithsonian Inst i tut ion,Washington, D. C.; Louise Hoffman,Publishers Association of the South,Greensboro. Workshops: Terry Weldon,conservation of works on paper, Campbell

Center, Mount Carroll, Illinois; JanBrantley, “Digital Imaging Tools andTechniques,” Santa Fe; Nancy Ruck, elec-tronic, web-based finding aids, Society ofAmerican Archivists, Pittsburgh; andJohn Lawrence, “Copyright and Fair Usefor Archivists,” Washington, D.C. MarkCave, workshop presenter, “Interpretingthe History of Childhood at HistoricSites,” National Trust for HistoricPreservation, Washington, D.C.

CHANGES

Jan Benjamin, docent and photo collec-tions processor; Nicole Bernstein, specialprojects. New faces at the Collection: AnnSale and Frances Salvaggio, receptionists;Scott Ratterree, preparation; JesseThomas, photo collections processor.Joseph Warner is relocating to Houston.

INTERNS AND VOLUNTEERS

Zachary Shraberg , intern, LoyolaUniversity New Orleans, and JosephChappell, intern, Tulane University.

Amanda Plauché Jones, library volun-teer; Tom Carter, Williams ResearchCenter volunteer; former board membersSuzanne Mestayer and Gaye Frederic,volunteer members of THNOC’s exhibi-tion committee; David W. Adams, volun-teer, Wharton publication project.

IN MEMORIAM

The Collection mournsthe death of Claire de laVergne, a former mem-ber of the photographystaff, who retired fromthe Collection in 1986.

Editors:Patricia Brady

Louise C. Hoffman

Head of Photography:Jan White Brantley

The Historic New Orleans Collection

Quarterly is published by the Historic New

Orleans Collection, which is operated

b y t h e K e m p e r a n d L e i l a Wi l l i a m s

Foundation, a Louisiana nonprofit corpora-

tion. Housed in a complex of historic build-

ings in the French Quarter, facilities are open

to the public, Tuesday through Saturday,

from 10:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Tours of the

history galleries and the residence are avail-

able for a nominal fee.

Board of Directors:Mrs. William K. Christovich, President

John E. WalkerFred M. Smith

Charles A. SnyderMeg Allan

G. Henry Pierson, Jr., emeritus

Priscilla Lawrence, Acting Director

The Historic New Orleans Collection533 Royal Street

New Orleans, Louisiana 70130(504) 523-4662

hnocinfo@hnoc.orgwww.hnoc.org

ISSN 0886-2109 © 1999The Historic New Orleans Collection

Additional photography by:Dustin Booksh and Chelsea Viles

STAFF

Nicole Bernstein

Frances Salvaggio

Jesse Thomas

Jan Benjamin

Ann Sale

Scott Ratterree

Amanda Plauché JonesTom Carter

Zachary ShrabergJoseph Chappell

Claire de la Vergne

15

Six new books that explore various aspects of Louisiana, its land and its people, should beincluded on every reader’s fall list — to read and to give to family members and friends duringthe holiday season. These beautiful books deserve to be on the bookshelves of anyone whoappreciates Louisiana’s music, architecture, history, and literary accomplishments.

Queen of the South: New Orleans, 1853-1862,The Journal of Thomas K. Wharton

introduction by Samuel Wilson, Jr., F.A.I.A., foreword by Mary Louise Christovich,“New Orleans in the 1850s” by Patricia Brady; edited by Samuel Wilson, Jr., Patricia Brady, and

Lynn D. Adams (Historic New Orleans Collection and New York Public Library) $39.95

The Booklover’s Guide to New Orleansby Susan Larson (LSU Press)

$19.95 paperback, $34.95 hardback

Literary New Orleansintroduction by Patricia Brady, edited by Judy Long (Hill Street Press). Selections by leading local writers, including Sheila Bosworth,

James Lee Burke, Robert Olen Butler, Andrei Codrescu, Tony Dunbar, Ellen Gilchrist, Brenda Marie Osbey, and Christine Wiltz $16.95 paperback

The Reposedintroduction by Steven Maklansky, foreword by Thomas Lynch, photographs by William Greiner (LSU Press), color photographs of cemeteries

$39.95

Vestiges of Grandeur: The Plantations of Louisiana’s River Roadby Richard Sexton, introduction by Eugene Cizek (Chronicle Books)

$40

Zydeco! by Ben Sandmel, photographs by Rick Olivier (University Press of Mississippi)

$25 paperback, $45 hardback

BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS

Please sendQuantity Title Price Total

Subtotal__________Shipping and Handling__________

Hardback: $5 for first book; $2 each additionalPaperback: $2 for first book; $.50 each additionalTaxes as applicable: Tax__________9% Orleans Parish4% other La. Residents

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PAIDNew Orleans, LAPermit No. 863

KEMPER AND LEILA WILLIAMS FOUNDATIONTHE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTIONMuseum • Research Center • Publisher533 Royal StreetNew Orleans, Louisiana 70130(504) 523-4662Visit the Collection on the Internet at www.hnoc.orgADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

The cross section at top shows, fromle f t , the re s idence s o f Wi l l i amGar r i s on and James Wray ; th e

Christian, First Presbyterian, St. Theresa ofAvila, St. Patrick’s, and Coliseum Place BaptistChurches; and the cottage of Thomas K.Wharton. At bottom left of the map is theWharton-designed Steele Methodist Church.At right is T. K. Wharton’s sketch of ColiseumPlace, dated May 24, 1855. Drawing, courtesyManuscripts and Archives Division, New YorkPublic Library

ARCHITECT T. K. WHARTON’S NEIGHBORHOOD, NEW ORLEANS, 1850S

Coliseum Place in the 1850s by Jim Blanchard, 1999, where T. K. Wharton movedin 1851. THNOC has just published selections from Wharton’s journal.