The library holds a strong collection of rare materials, including the first printed account of Louisiana, Abbe Hennepin's Description de la Louisiane (1683); Henri Joutel's Journal Historique (1713) of the region from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arkansas River; Het Groote Tafereel der Dwaasheid (The Great Mirror of Folly, 1720), satirical prints, prose, and verse describing John Law's Mississippi schemes; and Les Cenelles (1845), the earliest volume of published poetry by African Americans in the United States.

New Orleans imprints from the colonial era to the present are an important facet of the library's holdings. The Collection attempts to acquire all modern monographs about New Orleans and its environs, as well as copies of relevant Ph.D. dissertations. Related ephemera include a large collection of nineteenth-century sheet music, opera libretti from New Orleans premieres, theater programs, and broadsides such as official proclamations, auction sale advertisements, and other public announcements.

The Vieux Carré Survey, an archive of some 130 binders, contains information about individual pieces of property in the French Quarter, organized by municipal square numbers and accessible by current street address. Basic information on each address includes a chain of title to the property and one or more photographs; other information may include copies of nineteenth-century drawings from the New Orleans Notarial Archives, architectural drawings from the Historic American Buildings Survey, additional photographs or drawings, business advertisements, and articles from newspapers or other sources.

The library also holds original and microform copies of New Orleans city directories, published more or less regularly since 1822.

For questions regarding the Library Collections, email us at wrc@hnoc.org
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