Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2007 - (Page 57)

The Louisiana State Museum operates nine historic properties open to the public. For more information, log on to www.lsm.crt.state.la.us/ or call: 1 (800) 568-6968 NATCHITOCHES Open Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (318) 357-2270 • The Old Courthouse Museum 600 Second Street Through February 2, 2008, Beyond Blue Dog features Cajun artist George Rodrigue, best known for his “Blue Dog” series. The largest portion of the show will feature Rodrigue’s series “The Saga of the Acadians.” Also on view: Natchitoches: Landmarks in Time. (through April 26, 2008). NEW ORLEANS All properties open Tuesday – Sunday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. 1 (800) 568-6968 • Cabildo 701 Chartres Street at Jackson Square The Cabildo: Two Hundred Years of Louisiana History features exhibits that trace Louisiana’s past from 17th century to post-Civil War Reconstruction. Also on view: Freshly Brewed: The Coffee Trade and the Port of New Orleans. PATTERSON Open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (985) 399-1268 • Presbytere The green pigment in this paper contains a very high concentration of arsenic. 751 Chartres Street at Jackson Square • La. State Museum-Patterson 118 Cotton Road off LA 90 Site of the official state aviation and cypress sawmill industry museum and houses two very important collections documenting Louisiana's rich history. The Wedell-Williams Aviation Collection focuses on the legacy of Louisiana aviation pioneers Jimmie Wedell and Harry Williams who formed an air service in Patterson in the 1928. Both men became nationally prominent during what was known as the Golden Age of Aviation. Celebrate Mardi Gras: It’s Carnival Time in Louisiana. • The Old U.S. Mint 400 Esplanade Avenue damp and ideal for the growth of mold, it is quite probable that arsenic gas caused, or at least contributed to, Napoleon’s death. The Bostick house contained four wallpaper patterns that were printed with green pigments. Museum staff chose the three oldest samples, which Bostick offered to have tested at a local laboratory. All three samples revealed exceedingly high levels of arsenic in the green inks. According to Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, the allowable level of arsenic in drinking water is .01 parts per million (ppm); the ink in one wallpaper sample tested at 3,500 ppm. In the humid climate of New Orleans, mold easily could have grown on the wallpaper paste, releasing trimethylarsine gas into the house. It is not known, however, if the early residents of this house suffered any ill effects from their choice of wallpaper. These interesting specimens of arsenical pigments and other examples taken from the Bostick house, as well as wallpaper from other New Orleans buildings, are kept safely at the Louisiana State Museum, encapsulated in protective Mylar envelopes with warning labels. Designers and any other interested persons are invited to view them at our collections storage facility by appointment. Just as fashions in art, music, and clothing continually recycle historical motifs — the 1816 Psyche and Cupid paper was printed into the 1930s — so the wallpaper collection serves not only to document the patterns and taste of past generations, but also to inspire new designers. —Suzanne Fischer Curator of Material Culture Gold (through Jan. 2, 2008) explores the historical fascination with this enduring symbol of wealth, beauty, and power. • 1850 House 523 St. Ann Street at Jackson Square Authentically furnished Pontalba apartment of a middle-class family life during the most prosperous period in New Orleans’ history. BATON ROUGE Open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday Noon-5 p.m. (225) 342-5414 • Madame John’s Legacy 632 Dumaine Street Excellent example of Louisiana Creole residential design of the late 18th century. The building that stands today was constructed in 1788, although a French colonist named Jean Pascal occupied and built other structures on this site as early as the 1720s. • La. State MuseumBaton Rouge 660 N. 4th Street Exhibits cover the broad history of the state, with themed areas grouped within Grounds for Greatness: Louisiana and the Nation and The Louisiana Experience: Discovering the Soul of America. THIBODAUX Open Tuesday – Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. (985) 447-0915 • E. D. White Historic Site 2295 LA Highway 1 Exhibits on the lives of Gov. Edward Douglas White and his son, United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Douglass White, as well as the history of the White family in the Bayou Lafourche area and the region’s sugar industry. The houseprominently represents the "raised cottage" design that was popular in south Louisiana prior to the Civil war. Most toxic of all three samples tested, this green pigment tested at a massive 3500 parts per million of arsenic. Winter 2007-08/LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES 57 http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2007

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2007 Contents Friends Editor’s Column Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Katrina: Days of Terror, Months of Anguish Paintings by Rolland Golden The Historic New Orleans Collection The Great Ouachita River Flood of 1932 Jazz Notes Louisiana Architecture Louisiana: Where Land Meets Water Louisiana State Museum Through A Lens Sharply: An Interview with Michael Lewis MR-GO: A “miracle” mired in controversy Louisiana Foodways Louisiana Association of Museums New Orleans: An Autopsy Bookstand Sound Advice Forum

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2007

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