The Hill Memorial Library hosted Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum Curator of Architecture and Design Gary Van Zante on Tuesday evening to discuss photography techniques of the mid-19th century, including insight into a 19th century book about New Orleans architecture.
Zante focused his lecture on early photography techniques and his research into “Jewell’s Crescent City Illustrated.” According to Zante, “Jewell’s Crescent City Illustrated” is a compilation of 150 illustrations and photographic proofs of primarily New Orleans buildings created by Theodore Lilienthal. It also features wood engravings by William Orr.
Zante is working on his own book about the history of “Jewell’s Crescent City Illustrated.” Zante’s book will become a part of the Hill series and will be published by the LSU Press, said Jessica Lacher-Feldman, head of Special Collections at Hill Memorial.
Published in 1873, the “Jewell’s Crescent City Illustrated” is a collection of wood engravings used to showcase New Orleans in the late 1800s. The library not only has copies of “Jewell’s Crescent City Illustrated,” they also boast about having the prospectus of the book, which is a copy that shows how the book was put together, Lacher-Feldman said.
“It is an outstanding example of the commercial booster book that became an important document of city building in 19th century America,” Lacher-Feldman said.
Zante provided a brief history of Edwin L. Jewell, the book’s original creator. He intertwined advancements made in photography throughout his lecture on the illustrations of New Orleans.
Art history junior Endya Hash said that Zante put into perspective how images of the past were taken, especially in terms of engraving versus photography.