A Pattern Book of New Orleans Architecture


Book Description

A study of historic architectural styles of New Orleans homes. This presentation of nineteenth-century gouache and watercolor archival paintings from the New Orleans Notarial Archives offers a glimpse at what old, renovated, restored, and new buildings in New Orleans neighborhoods not only might look like, but how they should look. Including examples of each New Orleans house type, ranging from the French colonial plantation home to the Creole cottage, this volume offers historic plans for each house along with contemporary adaptive-use alternatives to suit modern needs. An architectural pattern book, educational tool, city planner’s handbook, and stunning visual presentation, this gorgeous resource is intended for all interested in historic preservation and architectural history as well as those wishing to build a modern home in an authentic New Orleans style. Praise for A Pattern Book of New Orleans Architecture “An enchanting waltz through the heart of the Crescent City choreographed by the doyenne of New Orleans’ preservationists. [Toledano] presents two centuries of colored renderings from the New Orleans Notarial Archives in a stunning visual portrait of the city’s built heritage, while architect Gate Pratt’s pattern book of new homes designed in authentic styles provides an indispensable resource for rebuilding efforts. This work is destined to become the quintessential bible for historians, preservationists, architects, and all those interested in the true story of the architectural traditions that have shaped the ‘real’ New Orleans.” —Russell Versaci, AIA, traditional architect and author of Creating a New Old House and Roots of Home “For architects, builders, and developers working in the Crescent City, Roulhac B. Toledano’s A Pattern Book of New Orleans Architecture reveals an extraordinary new design resource. Toledano describes in detail the evolution of the city and the building types that have given the city a character unique in the world. Modern floor plans designed by local architects for historic house types demonstrate that the traditional architectural patterns of New Orleans are as accommodating today as in the past. For local practitioners and visitors wishing to build in New Orleans, Toledano’s pattern book is essential for sensitive and thoughtful design in this most exotic and precious city.” —Paul Ostergaard, AIA, Urban Design Associates, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania




Louisiana History


Book Description

From the accounts of 18th-century travelers to the interpretations of 21st-century historians, Jumonville lists more than 6,800 books, chapters, articles, theses, dissertations, and government documents that describe the rich history of America's 18th state. Here are references to sources on the Louisiana Purchase, the Battle of New Orleans, Carnival, and Cajuns. Less-explored topics such as the rebellion of 1768, the changing roles of women, and civic development are also covered. It is a sweeping guide to the publications that best illuminate the land, the people, and the multifaceted history of the Pelican State. Arranged according to discipline and time period, chapters cover such topics as the environment, the Civil War and Reconstruction, social and cultural history, the people of Louisiana, local, parish, and sectional histories, and New Orleans. It also lists major historical sites and repositories of primary materials. As the only comprehensive bibliography of the secondary sources about the state, ^ILouisiana History^R is an invaluable resource for scholars and researchers.




Gerstäcker's Louisiana


Book Description

A global traveler and adventurer, the German author Friedrich Gerstäcker (1816--1872) first arrived in Louisiana in March 1838, paddling the waterways leading from the wilds of the northwestern part of the state near Shreveport south to cosmopolitan New Orleans. He returned to the state in 1842, living for a year in the areas of Bayou Sara, St. Francisville, and Pointe Coupée -- then considered the most beautiful garden and plantation land along the Mississippi River. In 1867 he briefly visited Louisiana again, observing the devastation wrought by the Civil War and the turmoil of Reconstruction. No mere armchair tourist, Gerstäcker fully engaged himself in exploring Louisiana -- its landscapes, peoples, and Peculiar Institution. He was in the unique position of being both an insider and an outsider, and his sojourns in the state served as the basis for travel books, short stories, and novels. Gerstäcker was a remarkable raconteur and a highly popular author. During his lifetime and beyond, his writings conveyed the tenor of southern life to a German-speaking audience. Now, compiled and translated into English by Irene S. Di Maio, they offer a window on nineteenth-century Louisiana across several decades of growth and upheaval.Gerstäcker's aim as a writer was to inform and entertain, especially through humor, drama, and suspense. His works -- including his fiction -- sustain an almost ethnographic level of detail. The stories, travel sketches, and novel excerpts included here comment on slavery and its aftermath, ethnic and racial diversity, transcultural relations, and immigration and multilingualism. Gerstäcker's impressions of Louisiana remain relevant and deeply engaging




Intimate Enemies


Book Description

Born into wealth in New Orleans in 1795 and married into misery fifteen years later, the Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba led a life ripe for novelization. Intimate Enemies, however, is the spellbinding true account of this resilient woman's life -- and the three men who most affected its course. Immediately upon marrying Célestin de Pontalba, Micaela was removed to his family's estate in France. For twenty years her father-in-law attempted to drive her to abandon Célestin; by law he could then seize control of her fortune. He tried dozens of strategies, including at one point instructing the entire Pontalba household to pretend she was invisible. Finally, in 1834, the despairing elder Pontalba trapped Micaela in a bedroom and shot her four times before turning his gun on himself. Miraculously, she survived. Five years later, after securing both a separation from Célestin and legal power over her wealth, Micaela focused her attention on building, following in the footsteps of her late, illustrious father, Andrés Almonester. Her Parisian mansion, the Hôtel Pontalba, is today the official residence of the American embassy in France; and her Pontalba Buildings, which flank Jackson's Square in New Orleans, form together with her father's St. Louis Cathedral, Presbytere, and Cabildo one of the loveliest architectural complexes in America. As for Célestin, he eventually suffered a total physical and mental breakdown and begged Micaela to return. She did so, caring for him for the next twenty-three years until her death in 1874. In Intimate Enemies, Christina Vella embroiders the compelling story of the Almonester-Pontalba alliance against a richly woven background of the events and cultures of two centuries and two vivid societies. She provides a window into the yellow fever epidemics that raged in New Orleans; the rebuilding of Paris, the Paris Commune uprising, and the Second Empire of Napoleon III; European ideas of power, class, money, marriage, and love during the baroness' lifetime and their inflection in the New World setting of New Orleans; medical treatments, legal procedures, imperial court life, banking practices, and much more. Combining the historian's meticulous research with the biographer's exacting knowledge of her subject and the novelist's gift for narrative, Vella has crafted a rare cross-genre work that will capture the imagination and admiration of every reader.




William Woodward


Book Description

"William Woodward was a powerful force in New Orleans and the art world. His legacy endures. This book is a compilation of his work, spanning his career as an artist. The authors of the essays in this book--all well known and respected in their fields--offer their own unique perspectives on Woodward, his life, his influence, and his art" --Dust jacket flap.




New Orleans


Book Description







The Papers of Jefferson Davis


Book Description

Much of Jefferson Davis' life and career has been obscured in controversy and misinterpretation. This full, carefully annotated edition will make it possible for scholars to reassess the man who served as President of the Confederacy and who in the aftermath of war became the symbolic leader of the South. For almost a decade a dedicated team of scholars has been collecting and documenting Davis' papers and correspondence for this multi-volume work. The first volume includes not only Davis' private and public correspondence but also the important letters and documents addressed to and concerning him. Two autobiographical accounts, a detailed genealogy of the Davis family, and a complete bibliography are also included. This volume covers Davis' early years in Mississippi and Kentucky, his career at West Point, his first military assignments, and his tragic marriage to Sarah Knox Taylor. Together, the letters and documents unfold a human story of the first thirty-two years of a long life that later became filled with turbulence and controversy.