Que la fête commence!
The French Influence on the Good
Life in New Orleans
An Exhibit from the New Orleans Public Library
Louisiana has been enjoying the good life since its
founding in 1699--on Mardi Gras. History tells us that Pierre Lemoyne
Sieur de Iberville and his men celebrated the occasion with a Te Deum, but
it's quite likely that they lifted a glass of brandy or two after the
prayers were done. Not
too many years later, after the city of New Orleans
was established in 1718, one of its early settlers, Pierre Dreux, started
the colony's first manufacturing enterprise--a brewery. The party has been
in full swing ever since as French men and women--and generations of
their descendants--have eaten, drunk, and made merry in ways similar to
their compatriots in Orleans, Paris and Marseille.
In observance of
FrancoFete, the year-long celebration of Louisiana's tricentennial, the
New Orleans Public Library has mounted an exhibit highlighting the French
influence on the good life in New Orleans.
The exhibit combines
original
documents, photographs, and objects along with large scale reproductions
of related items from the New Orleans City Archives and other library
collections to illustrate how French taste has left its mark on what we
eat and drink, where we dine and tipple, and how we entertain ourselves
with music, theatre, and even larger spectacles such as the Mardi Gras.
Que la fête commence! was designed and mounted by Wayne Everard and
Irene Wainwright of the Louisiana Division staff. Ridgways, Inc. provided
large-scale reproductions from scanned image files and lamination
services. Additional lamination was provided by Robert Baxter and Charles
DeLong of the NOPL Duplications Division.
This exhibit is respectfully dedicated to
the memory of Professor Joseph Logsdon, a New Orleans scholar who loved the Crescent City and its good
life.
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