Tulane University's
Louisiana Research Collection

Arthur Hardy, a premiere authority on Mardi Gras in New Orleans, has donated to Tulane University Special Collections (TUSC) Carnival ball invitations and programs for more than eighty krewes. Ranging from Achaeans to Zeus, the donation is a major addition to TUSC's Carnival collection. Tulane University Special Collections preserves one of the world’s largest Carnival collections with materials documenting more than 300 krewes. “Arthur’s donation is a tremendous help in making our collection more complete,” said Leon Miller, curator of the Louisiana Research Collection. “In particular, the donation’s focus on smaller krewes,  neighborhood krewes, and krewes that were only briefly in existence will be invaluable in helping scholars extend Carnival research to broad facets of New Orleans society and culture.” Included in Hardy’s donation are programs and invitations from fifteen LGBTQ krewes. “Materials from these krewes are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain,” said Har...

In honor of the 150th anniversary of Lafcadio Hearn’s arrival in the United States, Special Collections is hosting a screening of “Kwaidan,” the critically acclaimed horror film directed by Masaki Kobayashi based on four of Lafcadio Hearn’s ghost stories. Special Collections will also have on display books from its Hearn collection, and free pizza! October 25 from 6:30 to 10:00 p.m. in Jones Hall, Room 102. https://www.facebook.com/events/391951208363432/

On October 11, 1886, Josephine Louise Newcomb wrote to the Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund donating $100,000 for use in establishing the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College. In celebration of this day, 133 years ago, Susan Tucker and Beth Willinger, editors, are launching a website to recognize the importance of Josephine Louise Newcomb’s letter writing and contribution to women’s higher education. The Letters of Josephine Louise Newcomb The website provides direct access to more than 130 of her letters (transcribed here for the first time) and indirect access to 350 more, thus encouraging others to interpret her life and contributions more fully and with greater fidelity to her own vision. Many of the letters are from the Louisiana Research Collection’s McConnell family papers (LaRC1156) and Schmidt Family Papers (LaRC-207). Happy Reading!