Tulane University's
Louisiana Research Collection

The Louisiana Research Collection and the rest of the Special Collections library will be closed from December 23 through January 3. We wish everyone a happy holiday and a fantastic new year. We will reopen on Monday, January 4.

"As an Expression of Appreciation for Courtesies extended to the Club..." and many of us have a great appreciation of Toole, many years later. Caption: Certificate dated Oct. 20, 1953, thanking Fortier High School student John Kennedy Toole for serving as a guest speaker at a Kiwanis Club meeting. Note signature of Joseph Dresner, brother of Jacob Dresner; their family papers are also in the Louisiana Research Collection. Please request permission for reproduction of this image. Posted by Susanna Powers

The Louisiana Research Collection is the home of the papers of George Washington Cable, author of the Grandissimes and Old Creole Days . Recently I received a reference question from a Mark Twain scholar, and had the opportunity to delve deep into Cable's papers. I found many interesting and delightful items along the way. The collection contains many fascinating letters between Mark Twain and George Washington Cable. Between late 1884 and early 1885, Cable and Twain embarked on a speaking tour together, and the two were billed as "the Twins of Genius". The George Washington Cable papers includes many letters from Twain to Cable. One of the more interesting letters from Twain I found was addressed to "my Dear Nephew", however it contained an envelope scrap showing Twain's return address and the outgoing address to Cable. The letter is dated January 15, 1883. I think what charmed me most was the quote Twain ended the letter with: "When an audience do no...