DIY Rathbone DeBuys

In the early 1930s, New Orleans architect Rathbone DeBuys (1874-1960) was experiencing hard times. He laid off his fourteen employees and reduced his office space. Faced with typing his own correspondence and juggling various contract documents, he designed this time-motion suite in the Hibernia Bank Building and wrote an article about his efforts.

He made the 96 x 30" conference table with griffin legs that he purchased in an antique shop. A sash and door company supplied the top, and DeBuys built an informal truss to tie the elements together. He placed all of his active job files on the table so that they would be close at hand.

Read more in American Architect (June 1932).

Image above:  Rathbone DeBuys Office, Hibernia Bank Building, 812 Gravier Street. 1932. As reproduced in Rathbone DeBuys. "An Architect Cuts Office Time." American Architect 141:2608 (June 1932): p.16.

New Orleans at Sea

We have mentioned naval architect George G. Sharp's designs for the Delta Line in a previous post. The Southeastern Architectural Archive recently acquired Delta's Information and Rate Schedule No. 10 (1956).

The brochure includes Scottish interior designer John Heaney's room arrangements for the Del Norte, Del Sud and Del Mar  (shown above). Passenger staterooms were commodious, and the promenade deck included wedge-shaped variants. Passengers stored clothing and other personal belongings in lockers, but Delta advised that ships in port of call would have many visitors on board, and thus recommended storing valuables with the bursar. For those interested in making new purchases, Maison Blanche department store maintained shops on all three ships.

The air-conditioned "Dels" sailed from New Orleans with stops in Rio de Janiero, Santos, Montevideo and Buenos Aires. The line served southern cuisine in its dining rooms and allowed passengers to develop their own entertainment activities. Cruise directors also orchestrated elaborate festivals, including two-day "Neptune Parties":

"On the eve of crossing the equator, the ship is boarded by Davy Jones, scribe of the Royal Court of King Neptune, accompanied by the royal prosecutor and defense attorney. The initiates who have never before crossed the equator are charged with all manner of crimes.

"On the day of crossing, King Neptune comes aboard to hold court, pass sentence upon the initiates and carry out the royal punishment. King Neptune and his Royal Court are selected from those passengers who have previously crossed the equator. The initiates are awarded a handsome certificate, signed by Davy Jones."(1)

When docked at New Orleans' Poydras Street wharf, the boats became entertainment venues for such groups as the National Coffee Association and the Associated Press Managing Editors' Association. Fashion and jewelry shows, international trade events and awards celebrations became quite popular on the Dels.

(1)"Planned Recreation Keynotes Delta Luxury Line Voyages." The Times-Picayune 4 November 1949.

Images above:  George G. Sharp, architect; John Heaney, interior designer. "Main Deck" and "Promenade Deck." from Delta Line  Information and Rate Schedule. South America-West Africa. No. 10. New Orleans?: Delta Lines, 1956. Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Conversational Spaces

The Southeastern Architectural Archive retains a large and growing collection of building trade catalogs. We add new titles monthly, and so it is always a good idea to check with us to see if we might have the one(s) you are seeking. 

Many of these were digitized last year through our contacts with the Association for Preservation Technology International, with generous financial support from the Heritage Preservation Education Foundation. Digitized catalogs may be located in the Internet Archive's Building Technology Heritage Library. Please note that although many are available online, there is a larger number that are not digitized and must be consulted in the archive.

The Morgan Woodworking Organization produced a very ambitious catalog in 1923. Titled Building with Assurance, the catalog primarily illustrated mill work that the Morgan Company produced in its Oshkosh, Wisconsin factory. With sawmill operations in Arkansas, Michigan and Washington, Morgan could supply its products nationwide. It also sold art glass windows and residential building plans.

Breakfast Nooks became prominent in 1920's mill work catalogs. Morgan copywriters attributed their popularity to "servantless" and informal domesticity. Rose Angell, the former department editor of Woman's World touted their benefits:

In the morning, a few steps from the range take

you into the delightful little alcove--just wide 

enough to hold a long, narrow table and two seats.

What a saving of time and labor not to have to set

the dining room table for the quick breakfast or

cup of tea when the cheery neighbor steps in around

four o'clock.(1)

Nooks could accommodate early and late risers, and sheltered intimate conversations. The Morgan Company's copywriters stressed that tablecloths were optional: the only thing required was a sunny spot!



(1)Rose Angell. "A Woman's Thoughts About A Home." Building with Assurance. Chicago: The Morgan Woodworking Organization, 1923, p. 16. Architectural Trade Catalogs, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Images above:  Building with Assurance. Chicago: The Morgan Woodworking Organization, 1923. Architectural Trade Catalogs, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Upcycle Pioneer (1944)

In 1941, Hazel Dell Brown (c. 1892-1982), the chief interior designer for Armstrong Cork Company, penned her first Album of Room Ideas. She followed with subsequent albums, each time making creative suggestions to readers, and soliciting their written questions. For her 1944 "new approach to kitchen design," Brown developed an "all-in-one" scheme hidden behind a "home-painted" bird's eye view of the town (shown above).

Utilizing corner and wall cupboards to maximize storage space, Brown was able to combine storage bins, pan/utensil holders, shelving and additional counter space.

She harmonized linoleum colors with the painted elements, textiles and comestibles.

Brown collaborated with Sears-Feibleman's interior decorator Lucille Gray to create "Honeymoon Home," Armstrong Cork's New Orleans model residence. Built on the corner of Webster and Benjamin Streets near Audubon Park, the Honeymoon Home opened to the public in July 1937.

Images above:  Brown, Hazel Dell. Album of Room Ideas [Armstrong Linoleum]. N.p.: Armstrong Cork Company, 1944. TS 1779.L5 B76 1944. Architectural Trade Catalogs, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

"Honeymoon Home." Times-Picayune advertisement. 31 July 1937.

BUNGALOWS Closing Month

The Southeastern Architectural Archive's Bungalows exhibit will be closing next month. If you have not yet had a chance to stop by the archive's reading room, consider doing so. The exhibit is the first such to focus on Gulf Coast vernacular bungalow and cottage architecture. Issues of stylistic and typological adaptation, sustainability and climate-specific design are highlighted with the use of original architectural drawings, historic photographs, building trade catalogs, material samples and subdivision surveys. The focus of the exhibit is on regional innovation and adaptation.

Co-curated by Keli Rylance and Kevin Williams, BUNGALOWS  runs through 20 May 2015.  The SEAA is located at 6801 Freret Street/300 Jones Hall, on Tulane University’s campus.  Hours are 9-12 and 1-5 Mondays-Fridays. Admission is free.

Image above:  FAB-RIK-O-NA. Cloth Wall Coverings. Bloomfield, New Jersey, circa 1923.

New Orleans Business Archive: George G. Sharp

After World War II, naval architect George G. Sharp (1874-1960) maintained a New Orleans office on the fourteenth floor of the Hibernia Bank building (812 Gravier Street).  Sharp first gained notice in the Crescent City during World War I, when he was employed as chief surveyor for the American Bureau of Shipping. By 1920, he founded an eponymous firm that rapidly became noted for its innovative ship designs. Sharp obtained numerous patents, and contributed to the establishment of new passenger vessels intended for ocean, inland bay, coastal and river systems. He sought to increase the number of desirable suites by rearranging passageways and clustering staterooms.

The Mississippi Shipping Company (MSC) sought Sharp's expertise to develop commodious cargo-passenger vessels that would serve its Delta Line, its New Orleans - Latin America routes. In 1931, Sharp converted a Hog Island freighter for this use (lounge stairway, top image) and in 1946, he similarly designed Del Norte, followed by Del Sud and Del Mar. The "Del" vessels were built at the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and were amongst the earliest passenger ships to use commercial radar systems and air conditioning. With interior designs by Scottish-born architect John Heaney, Del Norte staterooms featured walls decorated with photographs of historic Louisiana plantations and ocean views through casement windows (deluxe stateroom, bottom image).(1)

Painter and educator Paul Ninas (1903-1964) was the artist responsible for the Del Norte's murals. The ship's lounge was decorated with his Mardi Gras scenes, the cafe with his swamp and bayou scenes. Plaques by French-born sculptor Raoul Josset (1899-1957) featured coats of arms of the nations that had historically controlled New Orleans. The Lonegren firm designed exclusive wallpaper depicting the historic Mississippi River delta.(2)

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History/Kenneth E. Behring Center maintains Fred Boucher's circa 1946 wooden model of Sharp's Del Norte. View it here.

Images above:  Selections from the Work of George G. Sharp, Naval Architect and George G. Sharp Architectural Associates. Architecture and Design Vol. XIII (1949). Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries. Details.

For more about the MSC, see: Gilbert Myer Mellin. "The Mississippi Shipping Company: A Case Study in the Development of Gulf Coast-South American and West African Shipping, 1919-1953." Ph.D. diss.,  Pittsburgh University, 1955 available in print through Tulane University Libraries. Digital format available through ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Full Text, a subscription database also at Tulane University Libraries.

(1)"Naval Architect Opens His Own Office Here." New York Times (13 June 1947): p. 41

(2)Mark H. Goldberg. "Delta Line--The Last Coffee Liners." Chap. in "Caviar & Cargo": The C3 Passenger Ships. Kings Point, NY, 1992. Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Ensembles Nouveaux

As I have mentioned in previous posts, the Southeastern Architectural Archive retains not only architectural drawings, ephemera and three-dimensional objects, it also maintains a small collection of architecture publications. Some of these appear in Tulane's Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC); others do not.

The above illustration comes from a 1930's portfolio titled Ensembles Nouveaux, which was produced by the French fine arts publisher Charles Moreau. The Paris-based Moreau specialized in portfolios illustrated with heliotypes, photogravures and pochoir prints. Subjects included Art Deco interiors, ironwork and shop fronts, as well as Cubist painting and sculpture.

French Deco designers Louis Sognot (1892-1970) and Charlotte Alix (1892-1987) collaborated on the office interior shown above. The pair was known for its embrace of modern materials, and its innovative industrial design. The desk phone and the newspaper rack are wonderful!

Image above: Chevojon Frères, photographers. Charlotte Alix and Louis Sognot, designers. Plate 10 from Ensembles Nouveaux (Paris: Charles Moreau, 8 Rue de Prague, Paris, undated).