New Orleans

New Orleans : Elegance and Decadence

New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence focuses on the interiors, furnishings, art collections, and gardens of a handful of creative people in New Orleans in the 1990s. Dreamers and urban pioneers, they included bohemian artists, artisans, architects, preservationists, activists, antiquarians, restaurateurs, and teachers, all living outside the American mainstream. They tolerated crumbling plaster, exposed lathe, and sagging galleries in exchange for communal festivity and joie de vivre. Photographer Richard Sexton documented how and where they lived; what they hoarded, collected, and worshipped. In this second edition, historian Randolph Delehanty weaves together the history of New Orleans from the fragments he saw in those photographs. The authors explore in words and images how the combination of climate, a strongly European and Catholic culture, African influences, and the revelry of Mardi Gras have created a modern ambience unlike that of any other city in America. Much has changed in New Orleans over the 30 years since this book first appeared, but far more has stayed the same. The book celebrates the joyous spirit of this distinctive culture, an inspiration to everyone who pursues the art of living. New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence 2nd edition  focuses on the interiors, furnishings, art collections, and gardens of New Orleans' most eccentric and creative dreamers of the ‘90s.

These bohemian artists, artisans, architects, preservationists, activists, antiquarians, restaurateurs, and teachers lived outside the American mainstream and tolerated crumbling plaster, exposed lathe, and sagging galleries in exchange for communal festivity and joie de vivre. Photographer Richard Sexton documented where and how they lived; what they hoarded, collected, and worshipped.

In this second edition, historian Randolph Delehanty weaves together the history of New Orleans from the fragments he saw in those photographs. The authors explore in words and images how the combination of climate, a strongly European and Catholic culture, African influences, and the revelry of Mardi Gras have created a modern ambience unlike that of any other city in America.

A new layout, larger photos, and a revised narrative that includes the city's recent history, this second edition of New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence celebrates the joyous spirit of this distinctive culture!

New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence has a proven track record. No book on New Orleans has superseded it since its first appearance in 1993. In its first incarnation it sold over 90,000 units. While it captures a moment that has passed, it nonetheless evokes a unique culture that is recognized around the world for its spirit of revelry, its seminal music, its architecture, its gardens, its cuisine and its sociable lifestyle. Culturally, New Orleans punches far above its weight. A google search of “New Orleans Elegance and Decadence book” yields 15.5 million hits.

• Second edition offers a look into the soulful homes and gardens of 1990s NOLA creatives, updated with a new layout, larger photos, and a narrative that includes the city's recent history
• For everyone who fantasizes about interiors that evoke an artistic world of color, myth, and romance
• The first edition sold more copies (90,000-plus) than any other photographic book about New Orleans in the city’s history

Size: 10.0in x 10.0in  |  Pages: 224  |  204 color & b/w images