The Historic New Orleans Collection

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By the 1950s, fueled by the postwar economic boom and a rise in domestic travel, New Orleans had fully embraced tourism as a key part of its economy. The historic French Quarter was marketed as the cultural heart of the city, offering visitors an escape through the neighborhood’s romance, history, and architecture. Its European essence and foreignness in relation to the rest of the United States offered visitors a temporary escape from everyday America. Want to learn more? Join us for “New Orleans Mosaic,” HNOC's 35-minute guided tour that provides colorful insights behind the historic artifacts, images, and artworks featured in our French Quarter Galleries. Tours are available Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 520 Royal Street. Admission is $10 for the public and free for members. Learn more and reserve your ticket: my.hnoc.org/1562 ??: New Orleans tourism poster, between 1955 and 1960, screen print by Blanchard. HNOC, 1950.64.47

“One of the most recognizable items of 18th and 19th century Creole fashion is the tignon. These headdresses, usually associated with Creole women of color, are evidence of Louisiana’s fraught racial history,” writes HNOC’s Craig Fuchs on our First Draft blog. “Tignons were common among free and enslaved women in colonial Louisiana and the Caribbean. The tradition has roots in West African cultures and, for enslaved women in particular, had a practical purpose: to protect hair, preserve hairstyles, and keep clean while doing dirty work. But wearers made these headscarves beautiful, too, using bright colors and patterns and tying the wraps in intricate ways. The Spanish governor of Louisiana issued a law in 1786 that required all women of African descent to cover their hair in public. Intended to regulate Black women and reinforce the racial hierarchy, these tignon laws had the opposite effect: Creole women of color used their elaborately tied headwraps to accentuate their status and beauty, highlighting their hair rather than hiding it. Many used the finest silk fabrics and adorned their tignons with jewels and feathers. Eventually, white women in Louisiana and even France began to appropriate such headwear.” On today’s #FirstDraftFriday, Fuchs discusses how Creoles throughout Louisiana’s history used fashion to declare and express their cultural identity. ?? Read the full blog post, and be sure to subscribe to our First Draft newsletter for more stories from New Orleans history: https://lnkd.in/gudBKE-5 ?? 1: Portrait of an unidentified Black woman, 1892–1902, by Howard Weeden, HNOC, 1984.2.1 ?? 2: Creole in a red headdress, 1829–1849, by Jacque Guillaume Lucien Amans. HNOC, acquisition made possible by the Diana Helis Henry Art Fund of the Helis Foundation in memory of Charles A. Snyder, 2010.0306

HNOC’s Amy Dailey Williams and Chef Ralph Pausina from Antoine's Restaurant recently appeared on WVUE-TV Fox 8 to discuss our upcoming Food Forum! On November 9 at HNOC, culinary historian Jessica B. Harris will be joined by a panel of experts and culture bearers to discuss the rich history of New Orleans restaurants and how they influence today’s food scene. Conversations about New Orleans food history aren’t complete without tastings! After the day’s sessions, enjoy curated bites and signature cocktails at the Food Fête — free for forum attendees, or available to the general public with a separate $20 ticket. ??? Space is limited, learn more and get tickets: https://lnkd.in/gh5NuTjy HNOC’s Food Forum is presented by Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning Blends in partnership with the New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund, Oceana Grill, Big Easy Whiskey, and Abita Brewing Company.

“Life Means Life: Angola Prison Hospice” will explore an essential question: is everyone in prison dangerous? Close to 80 percent of men incarcerated at the Louisiana State Penitentiary will die behind bars. In 1998, isolation cells were repurposed as hospice rooms and volunteers from the prison population were trained to provide comfort, care, and last requests to the patients. Join HNOC on October 23 for a moving discussion featuring quilts and stories from formerly incarcerated hospice volunteers. The program is presented in conjunction with HNOC's exhibition "Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration,” in partnership with the Spark Justice Fund at Borealis Philanthropy. Registration is free, but space is limited. Learn more and reserve tickets: my.hnoc.org/17158 ??? Location change: this program will now be held at 410 Chartres Street to accommodate more attendees. Before the program, a private viewing of “Captive State” with exhibition curators will be open to attendees from 5 to 6 p.m. ??: “Friends’ Last Visit,” 2007, pigment print by Lori Waselchuk, HNOC, gift of Lori Waselchuk, 2016.0298.5

HNOC is proud to be an Opening Night Sponsor for the screening of “A King Like Me” at this year’s New Orleans Film Festival! The film follows members of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, New Orleans’ first Black Mardi Gras krewe, as they work to bring the Zulu parade back to the streets for Mardi Gras Day 2022. Learn more about the festival held October 16 to 27 at neworleansfilmsociety.org. ? HNOC also holds a number of photographs and objects related to Zulu’s history at the Williams Research Center, where the reading room is open to the public. ? ?? 1: Zulu parade at Mardi Gras, 1925, photograph by Charles L. Franck, HNOC, 1979.325.3768 ?? 2: Zulu parade, 1974, photograph, HNOC, 2020.0161.53 ?? 3: Zulu parade, 1980, photograph, gift of Mitchel Osborne, HNOC, 2007.0001.237

It’s #SecondLineSunday! Keep an eye out for the Family Ties Second Line Parade in Tremé and downtown from 1 to 5 p.m. this afternoon. “When you come to our second line with Family Ties, everybody’s going to show how they dress because it’s the first downtown second line of the season," said Jeremy Horn. "Everybody knows the whole city’s coming out." ?? Read more from Jeremy Horn, Derrick Santa Cruz, and Jazz Henry's interview with the Neighborhood Story Project for HNOC’s "Dancing In The Streets" club narratives. The group started the Footwerk Family club, which joins the Family Ties parade on Sunday: https://ow.ly/UUHT50TEyqr ?? See the route and more information from WWOZ: https://ow.ly/2aph50TEyqs ?? 1: Jazz Henry of Footwerk Family dancing with Da Truth Brass Band, Family Ties parade,2019, photo by and courtesy of MJ Mastrogiovanni ?? 2: Artwork by Derrick Santa Cruz for Footwerk Family, 2019, photo by and courtesy of MJ Mastrogiovanni

Today would have been the 92nd birthday of New Orleans icon Chris Owens! In this photograph from our collection, she and Sol Owens are seen enjoying a timeless New Orleans tradition: dining out with loved ones. HNOC will dive into this tradition at our 2024 Food Forum on November 9, an exploration of the history of iconic restaurants and how they’ve shaped our city’s culture. Join culinary historian Jessica B. Harris and a panel of experts as they discuss how restaurants from the past continue to influence today’s food scene. Conversations about New Orleans food history aren’t complete without tastings! Attendees can upgrade their forum tickets to include a prix fixe lunch at Antoine’s. After the day’s sessions, enjoy curated bites and signature cocktails at the Food Fête—free for forum attendees or as a separate $20 ticket for the general public. ??? Space is limited, learn more and get tickets today: hnoc.org/food-forum-2024 HNOC’s Food Forum is presented by Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning Blends in partnership with the New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund, Oceana Grill, and Big Easy Whiskey. ??: Chris Owens and Sol Owens at dinner, photograph, ca. 1950s, HNOC, 2022.0109.6

Dorothea Vernon Wilde (1924–1997), a New Orleans native, adopted the name "Torchy" in the late 1940s and worked in the French Quarter. She collaborated with poet and artist Kay “Kaja” Johnson on a column for Old French Quarter News and contributed to local entertainment publications. Wilde lived with her friend, bar owner Alice Brady, and a collection of Wilde’s writings, photographs, and other papers were preserved by their housekeeper after Brady's death. The collection, donated to HNOC by Frank Perez, contains many photographs from the 1940s to the 1990s that document Wilde’s life. These include a set of snapshots from the late 1940s featuring famed burlesque dancer Stacy "Stormy" Lawrence (ca. 1925–1982), Wilde’s reputed romantic partner, as well as a series of photos from 1950 showing Wilde and a friend in the countryside and at the zoo. Among other noteworthy items in the collection is a copy of the Louisiana State Criminal Code of 1957 with the address of a bail bondsman written on its cover; the page explaining homosexuality in the section “Crimes against Nature” is bookmarked. Another gem is a sheet of paper on which the phone numbers of various people, including brothel owner Norma Wallace, are written. ?? Read more about the recent acquisition in HNOC Quarterly magazine: https://lnkd.in/gPUQaHNW ?? Want stories from New Orleans history delivered to your door? Become an HNOC member and receive a subscription to HNOC Quarterly! Join today: https://lnkd.in/g-SYNd_v ??On October 16, we’ll celebrate another recent acquisition: a significant collection of promotional posters from the Corner Pocket, a French Quarter gay bar which has long been a hub of the local LGBT+ community. Learn more and RSVP: https://my.hnoc.org/17156 ??: Stormy and Torchy, photograph, Dorothea “Torchy” Wilde papers, HNOC, gift of Frank Perez, 2024.0020.1 #lgbthistory

Congratulations to Jericho Brown for being named a 2024 MacArthur Fellow! Brown served on HNOC‘s strategic planning advisory council in 2020 and 2021, along with members Tod Smith, Mayra Pineda, David Robinson-Morris, and Monique Verdin, to help shape our institution’s future. Andrea Armstrong, a member of our “Captive State” advisory committee, was also named a MacArthur Fellow in 2023.