Tulane University's
Louisiana Research Collection

LaRC's digital Carnival Collection was given a highly favorable review in the August 2012 issue of Choice Reviews Online.   D. M. Braquet, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, writes that the resource is "highly recommended, all users."   49-6769   Humanities \ Performing Arts \ General The Carnival Collection .  Internet Resource. Reviewed in 2012aug CHOICE.  http://larc.tulane.edu/exhibits/carnival [Visited May'12] The Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC) at Tulane University preserves one of the most spectacular collections of New Orleans carnival-related materials and has now made a good portion accessible to the world.  The Carnival Collection  boasts more than 5,000 digital images of the original watercolor float and costume designs from artists of the golden age of carnival in New Orleans, which spanned the years from the late 1800s to the early 20th century. Designers represented include Jennie Wilde, B. A. Wikstrom, and Charles Bri...

Another mention of the Louisiana Research Collection's Carnival holdings appeared late last week: "Exhibits celebrate the art of Carnival krewes" in Tulane University's online newsletter, New Wave. We hope you will enjoy the collection now and year-round.

LaRC is pleased to present a special exhibit showcasing Krewe of Proteus float and costume designs from the “Golden Age of Carnival.” The Krewe of Proteus began in response to the growing popularity of parade organizations and float riding. Several Comus members and other carnival supporters came together, forming the Krewe of Proteus in 1881, and presenting the first parade in 1882.The Greek, shape-shifting sea god, Proteus, was chosen as the symbol for the new Krewe. Proteus was the first parade organization to have Creole membership and a Creole captain. Proteus has reliably paraded over the years, with the only exceptions being a few weather interruptions, World War I and II, and the 1992 to 2000 parading hiatus disrupting the parade schedules. Proteus made his 1882 parade debut with the theme of “Ancient Egyptian Mythology,” which was designed by famed carnival artist Charles Briton and was considered one of the most impressive parades of its time. The parade featured Egypti...

LaRC has created a new souvenir bookmark featuring artwork in the Carnival Collection. This graceful composite image, which is also used as the collection's online banner, is derived from artist Bror Anders Wikstrom's "the throne of Saturn", a float design from the 1905 Krewe of Proteus parade in New Orleans. The banners and also many of the library’s digitization projects result from a collaboration between the Louisiana Research Collection and the Web Services Department. We hope you will make a personal visit to the Special Collections Reading Room soon. From your computer, you may browse the large and growing number of digitized images from our Carnival Collection artwork by visiting the freely accessible LOUISiana Digital Library . Posted by Susanna Powers

LaRC is receiving much attention this week for our exquisite Carnival collection. This week, articles highlighting our Carnival holdings ran in both Tulane's New Wave and the Times-Picayune . Tulane University’s Louisiana Research Collection preserves possibly the largest collection of New Orleans Carnival paper and ephemera, such as invitations, dance cards, call out cards, printed float plates and bulletins, and original float and costume designs. Perhaps most notable among our Carnival collection are the more than five thousand original designs for Carnival floats and costumes we preserve. Many of these are from the “Golden Age” of Carnival and feature the work of noted designers such as Jennie Wilde, B. A. Wikstrom, and Charles Briton. LaRC also preserves the works of more contemporary designers, including Patricia Hardin, Olga Peters, and designer and noted Carnival historian Henri Schindler. We are in the process of putting our entire Carnival design collection online ...

Another new digital collection of images derived from artwork in the LaRC Carnival Collection has been published in the LOUISiana Digital Library. This one is the complete set of ornate, colorful float designs for the 1910 Comus parade . These drawings were done by Jennie Wilde (1865-1913), an artist who designed floats for many New Orleans Mardi Gras parades. These images are believed to be tracings she made from her earlier original designs, possibly given as a presentation copy to Comus captain, S. P. Walmsley. The parade had an Islamic theme, and certainly at least the float designs were created with an imaginative and respectful tone. This is one in a series of subcollections, within the large physical Carnival Collection, which are being created for inclusion in the LDL. Earlier in 2010, the 1873 Comus parade costume designs by Charles Briton appeared. In 1873, not only were there no floats in that year’s less-than-respectful Comus parade, the city police refused break up the cro...

Tulane University’s Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC) is pleased to announce its first digital collection available through the LOUIS Digital Library. LOUIS, the Louisiana Library Network, hosts the LOUIS Digital Library, which contains thousands of images of documents, publications, artifacts, art and other materials from libraries, museums, and archives around Louisiana. Our first collection is the 1873 Mistick Krewe of Comus costume drawings. This parade is particularly famous in Mardi Gras history, as it was one of the first major parades steeped in political satire and ridicule. The "Missing Links" referred to the work of Charles Darwin, and the parade not only sent up the theory of evolution, but other topics of the day including Reconstruction. Tulane's Louisiana Research Collection has a complete set of the Missing Links costume designs. This particular set of designs is part of a much larger Carnival collection. We are planning other online digital collection...

For those of you who follow our Twitter account, you may have wondered about this symbol we use. The frog is an image from the Mystick Krewe of Comus' 1873 "Missing Links" parade costume designs. The Missing Links parade was an important event in New Orleans' Mardi Gras history, becoming one of the first major instances of the use of satire and political commentary in a krewe parade. The "Missing Links" referred to the work of Charles Darwin, and the parade not only sent up the theory of evolution, but other topics of the day including Reconstruction. Tulane's Louisiana Research Collection has a complete set of the Missing Links costume designs. They are an important part of preserving the history of Carnival in New Orleans. We are currently making high quality digital copies of the designs, and plan to put together a digital collection of them later this year. (Image from Mystick Krewe of Comus' 1873 Missing Links Parade Costume Designs, Collection...