In a complex of historic French Quarter buildings at 533 Royal Street, The Collection operates a museum with changing exhibitions, the Williams Residence (a house museum) and museum shop. The Williams Research Center at 410 Chartres Street is an archive, which comprises some 35,000 library items, more than two miles of documents and manuscripts, and approximately 350,000 photographs, prints, drawings, paintings, and other artifacts along with changing exhibitions.

Williams Research Center
410 Chartres Street (map)
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-523-4662
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday,
9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

The inaugural exhibition in the galleries is representative of Nelson’s collection, which is a diverse group of more than 350 objects ranging from impressionist works to cubism and other modern styles. Dozens of paintings from her donation are on display, including artists such as Jacques Guillaume Lucien Amans, Josephine Marien Crawford, Ellsworth Woodward and William Woodward.

Guided by long-time friend, art enthusiast and dealer, George E. Jordan, Nelson’s collection showcases the talents of many artists who lived and worked in Louisiana. Her gift remains the largest single donation of visual art ever received by THNOC.

The Laura Simon Nelson Galleries for Louisiana Art are open Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Admission is free, and guests may enter at 400 Chartres St. For more information, call (504) 523-4662.

This lithograph diagrams the flood inundation from an 1849 levee breach on the plantation of Pierre Suave, located in what is now Harahan.

Cartography and Natural History
March 20–August 4, 2013
Gallery hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street
Admission is free.

Throughout Louisiana’s early history, maps were created by different people and governments for varying reasons: to chart new lands, to project national influence and establish claims, and to direct future explorers to sites first encountered by chance. As time went on, the basic notion of what a map should entail became more refined and precise: topographical contours on paper reflected their real-world character; major rivers and lakes were firmly located and drawn; and placement of settlements, villages, and cities corresponded more accurately to their actual geographic coordinates. As cartographic information necessary for finding one’s way became more reliable, the map as a documentary form became a base on which to layer additional kinds of information.

The selection of maps in Cartography and Natural History suggests how map-making and its ties to the natural environment evolved over nearly three centuries. The maps on display, all from THNOC’s holdings, chart subjects such as the locations of Native American tribes, the existence of shell beds and navigational hazards, the evolution of shifting river channels, and the best spots for recreational fishing. Several maps address New Orleans’s history and future regarding storms and flooding: one tracks past and projected flooding patterns, while another shows decades of Atlantic hurricane paths, suggesting by extension the effect of those storms on Louisiana’s coastal wetlands.

For more on Louisiana’s natural history, visit the exhibition Seeking the Unknown: Natural History Observations in Louisiana, 1698–1840, on view through June 2 in the Williams Gallery at 533 Royal Street.

Above: Diagram showing the inundated District – Sauve’s Crevasse May 3rd 1849; 1900s; lithograph by Ludwig von Reizenstein; THNOC (1950.57.34

Seeking the Unknown: Natural History Observations in Louisiana, 1698–1840
February 23–June 2, 2013
533 Royal St.
Gallery hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Free and open to the public.

Watch FOX 8′s Dave McNamara’s “Heart of Louisiana” segment and get a close up look at the exhibition and hear from the curators.

Roost; between 1900 and 1925; watercolor and gouache by George Louis Viavant; THNOC, gift of Barbara Viavant Johnson (2010.0333)

The Historic New Orleans Collection relives the romance and mystery of Louisiana’s early scientific expeditions with its latest exhibition, Seeking the Unknown: Natural History Observations in Louisiana, 1698–1840.

Louisiana’s lush and distinctive environment has long played into the state’s identity, evidenced by monikers like “the Sportsman’s Paradise,” “the Bayou State” and “the Pelican state.” Records from some of the first explorers prove that the area’s flora, fauna and native people were compelling centuries ago. The new exhibition draws on reports from early European explorers, their accounts kicking off a flurry of interest in the New World’s environment that lasted well into the 19th century. Scientific curiosity—in addition to economic potential and romantic notions—motivated the brave men and women who tackled the strange terrain and its sometimes harsh climate.

“The curious nature of many of the naturalists and explorers of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries is something that never goes out of fashion. Regardless of the era or the field, curiosity drives discovery,” said John H. Lawrence, director of museum programs at THNOC and exhibition co-curator. “This exhibition will give visitors a better understanding of what early explorers and scientists saw in Louisiana’s forests, swamps, rivers and shores.”

Lawrence and fellow co-curator Gilles-Antoine Langlois of the National School of Architecture at Versailles, University Paris-Est Créteil, chose objects that provide a broad historical background for early observations of the Louisiana landscape. The display comprises selections from THNOC’s holdings plus loaned items from several institutions in the state and four French archives. Together, these pieces spotlight particular individuals whose work was influential in recording the natural history of Louisiana.

“With rare exception, the often groundbreaking work of these men was, during their lifetime, known to a relatively small audience,” Langlois wrote in his essay for the exhibition catalogue. “They were unacknowledged collectors of scientific treasures, operating in the shadows, suffering fevers and other unimaginable hardships, rarely receiving widespread recognition or other acclaim. This exhibition finally brings some of their previously invisible work to light.”

Items on display include centuries-old plant and animal specimens—including a bobcat, a cougar and a Mississippi map turtle—collected by various explorers and scientists. The exhibition even features several reptile specimens in jars that were collected in the 1830s. Detailed drawings, watercolors and illustrated folios—including several by John James Audubon—are also part of the display.

“It’s pretty amazing to see examples of plants and animals that were collected in Louisiana hundreds of years ago,” Lawrence said. “Many of them seem so commonplace to us today—a brown pelican, an alligator gar, Spanish moss—but just imagine seeing something like that for the first time. That’s what this exhibition is about.”

[Show as slideshow]

Carte de partie de la Louisiane qui comprend le cours du Mississipy depuis son embouchure jusques aux Arcansas, celuy des rivieres de la Mobille depuis la baye jusqu’au fort de Toulouse, des Pascagoula et de la riviere aux Perles [Map of part of Louisiana that includes the course of the Mississippi from its mouth to the Arkansas, the courses of the Mobile River from the bay to Fort de Toulouse, of the Pascagoula River and the Pearl River]; March 1733; ink and watercolor by Henri de Poilvain de Cresnay; courtesy of the Archives nationales d’outre-mer, Aix-en-Provence, France (04DFC Louisiane 1A)

Letter from Joseph Barabino to Charles-Alexandre Lesueur describing a fish; November 9, 1831; courtesy of the Lesueur Collection, Muséum d’histoire naturelle du Havre, France, Coll. Lesueur (45083)

Médecine contre le serpent à sonnette [Remedy for a rattlesnake bite] by Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz, author; from Histoire de la Louisiane . . . (3 volumes), volume 2; Paris: de Bure, l'aîné, 1758; The Historic New Orleans Collection (73-16-L)

Emysaurus temminckii (alligator snapping turtle); 1834; reptile specimen collected in Louisiana by Charles-Alexandre Lesueur; courtesy of the Laboratoire des Reptiles et Amphibiens, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, Nr (7884)

“Louisiana Tanager, Clark’s Crow, Lewis’s Woodpecker” from American Ornithology by Alexander Wilson; Philadelphia: Bradford & Innskeep, 1808–14 (9 volumes); vol. 3, plate 20; courtesy of the E. A. McIlhenny Natural History Collection, Louisiana State University Libraries (QL674 W73 Over)

Brown Pelican, Pelicanus Fuscus; by John James Audubon; from Birds of America; London, 1827–38 (4 volumes); vol. 4, plate 421, “Brown Pelican, Pelicanus Fuscus”; courtesy of the E. A. McIlhenny Natural History Collection, Louisiana State University Libraries (QL674 A9 1827 Vault)

Lynx rufus (bobcat); probably 20th century; central Louisiana; courtesy of the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science

Phyllographic print from the journal of John Leonard Riddell; 1835; journal, volume 3; courtesy of the John Leonard Riddell Collection, Manuscripts Collection, Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University (599-3-14)

Pichou /Boeuf Sauvage;1758; engraving by Antoine Simon Le Page du Pratz (draftsman), published by De Bure, l’aîné; The Historic New Orleans Collection (1980.205.22 i,ii)

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Presentation
Pass Christian Historical Society
201 East Scenic Drive, Pass Christian, MS
Monday, May 20 • Noon
Admission is $12 for the general public and $10 for members of the society, and it includes lunch. Reservations are required and may be made by contacting the Pass Christian Historical Society at (228) 452-7254 or emailing info@passhistory.org.

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Book signing
Barnes & Noble Gulfport
15246 Crossroads Parkway, Gulfport, MS
Monday, May 20 • 3 p.m.
Admission is free.

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Book signing
Maple Street Book Shop
7529 Maple St., New Orleans
Wednesday, June 12 • 6 p.m.
Admission is free.

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Book signing
Barnes & Noble Citiplace
2590 CitiPlace Court
Baton Rouge, LA
Saturday, June 15 • 1 p.m.
Admission is free.

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Presentation and book signing
Hubbell Library
225 Morgan St. in Algiers Point
Tuesday, June 18, at 6:30 p.m.
Admission is free.

Recently rediscovered and never before published, this buoyant and often irreverent memoir recounts a young man’s 1729 journey from Paris to the New World. A centerpiece of The Collection’s archival holdings, Caillot’s narrative, featuring his own charming illustrations, stands as one of the most significant finds in colonial history in well over a century.

The Collection, a nonprofit museum, research center, and publisher dedicated to the study and preservation of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South, has been publishing award-winning books for more than 40 years. Though our subjects are of the region, the region is not our only subject: we strive always to present a complete story, examining great moments in history without overlooking everyday life. Our list is short—we produce just two or three books and exhibition catalogues each year—but our work is of the highest quality: well researched and edited, lavishly illustrated, and designed.

Recent accolades:

• Ernie K-Doe: R&B Emperor of New Orleans named one of the 100 best nonfiction books of 2012 by Kirkus Reviews

• Unfinished Blues: Memories of a New Orleans Music Man awarded Outstanding Contribution to Publishing award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association in 2011

• Furnishing Louisiana: Creole and Acadian Furniture, 1735–1835 named Best in Show in the 2011 Southeastern Museums Conference Publication Competition

Now we are proud to introduce a new way to explore our publications: the Fine Print Book Club. Dreamed up during last year’s Laussat Society Gala, Fine Print provides an intimate forum for dedicated readers of The Collection’s books to discuss the works directly with the authors and editors responsible for putting them into print. We plan to hold a gathering approximately two months after the release of each of The Collection’s new publications.

In June, over lunch in The Collection’s beautiful Counting House, the Fine Print Book Club will discuss our latest publication, A Company Man: The Remarkable French-Atlantic Voyage of a Clerk for the Company of the Indies with the book’s editor, Erin M. Greenwald. Greenwald, who wrote the introduction and annotations for the book, is a curator and historian at The Collection. She and other members of THNOC’s editorial team will guide a discussion of the production of the book and its contents: Greenwald’s sleuthing in French archives; the persistence of translator Teri Chalmers; and the particular circumstances faced by the author, Marc-Antoine Caillot, as he journeyed from Paris to the New World. Participants will receive a set of questions that will help frame their reading of the book and provide preliminary structure for our conversation. However, we expect that lively discussion will emerge as participants bring their own questions and thoughts about this fascinating tale to the table. Those who care to can stay after and tour the exhibition Pipe Dreams: Louisiana under the French Company of the Indies, 1717–1731, curated by Greenwald.

The Collection launched A Company Man in mid-April with a lecture by Greenwald that drew a standing-room-only crowd; she has been featured on WWNO’s The Reading Life. The Fine Print Book Club provides an opportunity to engage with the text more closely: in order to foster thoughtful, focused conversation, we are limiting the group to 15 people per session. Gatherings will be held on Friday, June 28, and Saturday, June 29, from 12 to 2 p.m. at 533 Royal Street.

Registration is required and includes lunch. The rate is $10 per person now through June 19. The rate will increase to $20 on June 20. Reservations: call (504) 523-4662 and indicate your preferred session. Prepayment is required.

Participants can purchase copies of A Company Man at The Shop at The Collection, local booksellers, and major online retailers.

For reservations call (504) 523-4662 or e-mail wrc@hnoc.org, and indicate which session you would like to attend.