Tulane University's
Louisiana Research Collection

In 1971, Mrs. B. Stanley Nelson (Mary Hutson) of New Orleans donated some of her father's papers to Tulane University.  Charles W. Hutson (1840-1936) had been a literature professor, author, and artist at Louisiana State University during Reconstruction, who later settled in New Orleans. LaRC Manuscripts Collection 563 is made up of Charles Hutson's draft typescript translation from French into English of the bulk of J. F. Lelièvre's 1838 work, Nouveau jardinier de la Louisiane, plus handwritten notes and newspaper clippings. The only dated item in the collection is a newspaper clipping from 1921. The text describes plant species most successfully grown in Louisiana in the early 19th century, covering both ornamental and edible plants. Having access to the books of the Louisiana Research Collection, preliminary research quickly turned up the original 1838 book in French, as well as an elegant, different translation of it into English, published in the 21st cent...

LaRC Manuscript Collection 1082 is a combination of organizational records and personal papers. The Louisiana Iris Society was established in 1941; in 1948, its name was changed to the Society for Louisiana Irises, which continues into the twenty-first century. An early name variation was the Mary Swords DeBaillon Louisiana Iris Society.   Biologist and nature photographer Percy Viosca, Jr.  (1892-1961) lived in New Orleans and ran plant nursery businesses named Southern Biological Supply Co., Delta Iris Plantation, and Delta Iris Farms.  He was a member of the Louisiana Iris Society, but why his personal, professional, and business papers were included in this archival collection of the organization is somewhat mysterious. The collection includes handwritten and typed correspondence, post cards, financial documents, items of social ephemera, photographs and negatives ascribed to Percy Viosca, text of radio interviews, drafts and research notes, school ...