Tulane University's
Louisiana Research Collection

Mary Elizabeth Sanders Family Memorabilia, 1862-1957 (Manuscripts Collection 275) is primarily about the political career of Mary's grandfather, Jared Young Sanders, governor of Louisiana from 1908 to 1912.  But Mary Sanders, like many or most individuals and families in Louisiana, preserved Carnival ephemera along with other personal mementos.  This will be found especially among the more influential citizens' papers, as they were often participants or royalty in the parades and balls, at some point in their lives. A rich source for research on New Orleans Carnival, the Louisiana Research Collection holds the massive physical  Carnival Collection, 1857-     (Manuscripts Collection 900), large selections of which have been digitized in the Louisiana Digital Library, and accessed freely online .    But additionally, LaRC's archival collections widely contain Carnival keepsakes from the nineteenth through twenty-first centuries.   Searching th...

LaRC’s Robert G. Polack Papers, 1764-1984 (Manuscripts Collection 231) contains personal papers of New Orleans lawyer, Robert Goodhart Polack (d. 1984), as well as Polack and Lemann families papers and his collection of genealogical and historical documents primarily relating to New Orleans.  This archival collection includes typed and handwritten correspondence, partially printed legal documents, certificates, telegrams, invitations, post cards, greeting cards, travel diaries, drawings, prints, maps, photographs, petitions, land grants, military papers, campaign items, newspaper clippings and other printed items. Much of the twentieth-century correspondence is between Robert "Bobby" Polack and his wife, Dorothy Prentiss Polack, including letters written by both. Caption: Collection 231, Box 1, Folder 12:  Valentine telegram sent by Bobby Polack to his future wife, Dorothy Prentiss.    The back of the paper is stamped: 1932 Feb 14  AM 12:58 "ONE ...

LaRC’s annual Carnival exhibit is now on display in the Special Collections gallery, Jones Hall Room 201. “Floats, Costumes, and the Vegetable Kingdom: The original designs for the wonderfully odd 1892 Proteus parade.” Using the theme “A Dream of the Vegetable Kingdom,” in 1892 the Krewe of Proteus created floats and costumes based on corn, watermelon, and even English peas. Intended as working drawings for float builders and costumiers, the designs are also stunningly beautiful works of art. The designs are by Carlotta Bonnecaze, the first woman and first creole to design floats for a Carnival krewe. Carnival historian Henri Schindler calls her work “astonishing” and argues that in this 1892 parade, she used subtle layers of color to achieve her most beautifully painted designs. “A Dream of the Vegetable Kingdom” is also a rare instance of LaRC preserving both the complete set of eighteen float designs and the complete set of 101 costume designs for the same par...

Olga Peters was a twentieth-century New Orleans artist and teacher, whose interests included ballet, choreography, ceramics, metalwork, and fashion design.   She was educated at Newcomb College and Tulane University, through a Master of Arts in 1940. In 1983, she donated her numerous and imaginative costume design drawings and paintings to Tulane University, specifically those created for the krewes of Dorians, Bards of Bohemia, and Babylon.    LaRC Manuscripts Collection 684, Olga Peters Drawings , 1927-1976, also includes typed correspondence, Carnival and social ephemera, and several   black and white photographs of the fanciful costumes being worn by the local royalty for whom they were custom-made.    Another similar contemporary collection is Coralie Guarino Davis Costume Designs , 1953-1981 (LaRC Manuscripts Collection 723).   Featured there are drawings for krewes in New Orleans (Maids of Troy, Ancient Scribes), New Iberia (Andalusia)...

The Schiro Reading Room will be closed Saturday, January 18-Monday, January 20, 2014, in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday. For weekend hours of the main Howard-Tilton Memorial Library building, see Library News @ Tulane . The Reading Room resumes current daily hours on Tuesday, January 21.

The Tulane community now has access to the billions of records in the Ancestry Library Edition database, from campus and remotely.    Other visitors to Special Collections have access through the public computers available in the Schiro Reading Room.   " ProQuest has partnered with Ancestry.com to create  Ancestry® Library Edition , one of the most important genealogical collections available today.  It has unparalleled coverage of the United States and the United Kingdom, including census, vital, church, court, and immigration records, as well as record collections from Canada, Europe, Australia and other areas of the world!"   --ProQuest web site. Please note also that selected New Orleans city directories, between 1861 and 1960, are accessible on Ancestry at the present time.  We hope you have an opportunity to explore this important new resource. Posted by Susanna Powers

Best wishes for a harmonious holiday season, and a prosperous 2014!   If you are planning to visit the Schiro Reading Room, our current hours are Monday-Friday 10:00-5:00, and Saturday 9:00-1:00.    On Friday, December 6, the reading room will close at 4:00 to allow the staff to attend a library event. Special Collections will be closed December 21, 2013, through January 1, 2014, for the holidays and winter recess.    The reading room will resume its current schedule on January 2, 2014. It is a good idea to check the hours information and exceptions on the LaRC website, before planning a visit.  Also, because of multiple construction projects on campus, parking is very problematic these days.  You may take public transportation, try to find a legal spot in the neighborhood and walk in, or see Tulane University's general parking information online. Caption: Bob Borsodi Papers, 1959-2003 , 979-1-2, image crop and full sheet.   ...