Tulane University's
Louisiana Research Collection

LaRC Manuscripts Collection 185, originally part of a larger 1967 donation by descendant, Dorothy Inbusch of Milwaukee, is made up of personal papers of the Watkins and Orton families of New Orleans and Milwaukee.  Included are handwritten and typed correspondence, certificates including an 1890 German-language birth certificate for John Orton Watkins, financial documents, drawings, poetry, scrapbooks, family and travel photographs, biographical and genealogical information, medical notes and a prescription by Dr. William H. Watkins, a 1902 memorial resolution by the Orleans Parish Medical Society following the death of Dr. Watkins, invitations and other items of social ephemera, New Orleans Carnival newspaper clippings, and other printed items. This collection's numerous family photographs include formal posed studio portraits made in New Orleans, Milwaukee, and Vienna, as well as many less formal, almost candid shots.  It seems that twins run in the family. ...

Collections of family papers contain items saved by various individuals over long stretches of time.  These archival collections, often including genealogical and biographical research notes, are rich resources for studying changing lifestyles and cultural values.  The Louisiana Research Collection holds a wealth of archival collections containing documents and objects considered important enough to pass on to a family's next generation. An advanced search of the library catalog for LaRC archival collections with the phrase “family papers” or “families papers” in the title retrieves 146 results .  The oldest of these is the De la Villesbret family papers, 1534-1937, and the youngest is the Nuhrah family papers, 1967-1996.  Another example, which will be of interest to students of American history, is the Hoffman and Bowman families papers, 1832-1929 (LaRC Manuscripts Collection 982). Collection 982 is composed of personal papers of members of the...

We are excited to announce that a selected group of our Manuscripts finding aids are now online. The finding aids are currently in a PDF format, and users will need a PDF reader to download and use them. Patrons can also search for keywords in most of the finding aids. This is just a small sample of the more than 1,000 manuscripts collections we hold, and we are planning to add more. If you wish to see a finding aid that isn't on the page, please contact us , and we will be happy to make it available if resources allow. Many of our noted collections now have their finding aids available online for the first time, including the papers of John Kennedy Toole , Rudolph Matas , Charles Colcock Jones , and Natalie Scott . We also have organizational records from the Christian Women's Exchange , First German Lutheran Church , Council of Social Agencies , and the Orleans Parish Medical Society . Many thanks to Neal Schexnider for his assistance with getting these online. Posted by Ei...

Bert Myers collection of art photographs Dr. Bert Myers, a retired academic physician and full-time artist living in New Orleans, has authored two publications which are held in our Louisiana Collection: Inner Beauty of Nature, X-ray Photography ; and Festival of Fins, a Public Art Display in New Orleans, Louisiana, 208 Fish Photographs. In the Manuscripts Department, there is also an archival collection (Manuscripts Collection 906) of 315 of his photographic prints, 1,792 slides and 35 glass holograms created and donated by Dr. Myers. He is best known for his work with x-ray and high contrast images of elegant natural and manmade subjects, in both color and black & white. Dean Benjamin Sachs of Tulane University School of Medicine asked Dr. Myers to donate images for the new building on S. Robertson St., several of which have been installed-- two of them measure 4 x 6 feet. For more information about Dr. Myers’ publications and photographic techniques, and to see many of thes...