For a few weeks every year, a book reviewer’s coffee table doubles as the most beautiful bookshelf in the world as the books stack up. Writing an article about gift books calls for dazzling photography books, elegant art books and charming little stocking stuffers. Here are some suggestions from recent local offerings:
The big and the beautiful
“Louisiana Lens: Photographs from The Historic New Orleans Collection,” by John H. Lawrence (The Historic New Orleans Collection, $49.95) is one of the best books of this or any year. Lawrence retired as director of museum programs at the HNOC in 2020, and during his long curatorial career — 46 years — some 500,000 items were under his care. This generous selection of photographs demonstrates his keen eye and his sense of history. Organized by technique as well as chronologically, this book gives us a sense of the history of photography in our state. You’ll find everything here from an exhausted Mardi Gras reveler to Booker T. Washington making his last speech in Louisiana, and they’ll be burned into your memory. What a photogenic place we call home!
“Creole New Orleans, Honey: The Art of Andrew LaMar Hopkins” (Louisiana Museum Foundation, $65) is a visual delight from the Mobile, Alabama, native who’s adopted New Orleans as his home and muse. He describes himself as a “historical outsider folk artist” as he celebrates all things Creole, and occasionally inserts his charming drag alter ego, Miss Désirée Joséphine Duplantier, into his work, appearing alongside such historical figures as John James Audubon, Baroness Pontalba and Mare Laveau. Essays from such scholars as Jessica Harris, Shirley Thompson and Robbie Cangelosi Jr. only add to the appreciation of his work.
“New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence, The Photographs of Richard Sexton," Narrative by Randoph Delehanty (Schiffer Publishing, $45) is the 30th anniversary edition of this classic volume. It includes Delehanty’s incisive historical introduction, as well as chapters titled "Urban Fabric," "Inward Views," "Verdant Enclaves" and "Cultural Revelry," all illuminating Sexton’s glorious color photographs. It’s definitely time for a new generation to discover this gorgeous book.
“Spanish New Orleans and the Caribbean,” edited by Alfred E. Lemmon (The Historic New Orleans Collection, $44.95) accompanied a gorgeous exhibit at the HNOC, and it stands perfectly well on its own, exploring the four decades (1763-1802) of Spanish rule in New Orleans. The culmination of Lemmon’s (who died earlier this year) life work, this bilingual volume is both beautiful and comprehensive, with essays by Lemmon, Light Townsend Cummins and Richard Campanella; it also includes an exhibition checklist.
For the LSU fan
“MIKE: The Tigers of LSU,” by David G. Baker (Louisiana State University Press, $29.95) is a fascinating chronicle by the veterinarian who cared for three of the live tiger mascots, beginning with Mike V in 1996 and continuing to Mike VII in 2022. Baker gives us a glimpse into the daily life of the tiger, the health care of the animal, and acknowledges the controversy over having a live tiger mascot. The book includes stories of the student caretakers, remembrances of Mike and amazing color photos.
Stocking stuffers
“The Absinthe Frappé,” by Marielle Songy (Louisiana State University Press, $19.95) is the latest in the Iconic New Orleans Cocktails Collection. Curious about absinthe, the Green Fairy? Songy regales us with its rich history, including its association with such writers and artist as Edouard Manet, Charles Baudelaire, Edgar Degas, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Oscar Wilde and Vincent van Gogh. There are recipes for absinthe-based cocktails and suggestions for bars to visit; what more could one want?
“Po’boy,” by Burke Bischoff (Louisiana State University Press, $21.95) is the most recent in the Louisiana True series. Is this beloved food really just a protein stashed between slices of bread? Ah, it’s so much more. Bischoff explores the sandwich’s humble beginnings providing strength for striking streetcar workers and brings that history forward to its most recent incarnation, the Vietnamese banh mi. Make mine a peacemaker, please.
“The Poetry Buffet: An Anthology of New Orleans Poetry,” edited by Gina Ferrara and Geoff Munsterman (New Orleans Poetry Journal Press, $18), is proof that the local poetry scene is thriving indeed. Ferrara and Munsterman have revived Maxine Cassin’s venerable New Orleans Poetry Journal Press for this volume, which includes 100 poets who have read during the 16 years of the monthly series, from Raina Zelinski to Ralph Adamo.
Picture books
“The Hesitant Hedgehog,” by Meredith Maltby Jao, illustrated by Chinshan Jao (Jao Design Studio, $19.99) is the first — but hopefully not the last — children’s book by this husband-and-wife duo. Who can resist an introverted hedgehog as he discovers a wider world? The warm, charming illustrations will win your heart.
And it’s on to the next holiday with “Mardi Gras in New Orleans," by Madison Webb, artwork by Mellisa Moore (Susan Schadt Press, $19.99), a colorful rhyming picture book tribute to our city’s diverse and lively spirit.
Lagniappe
“Goodnight Pothole,” by Shannon Kelley Atwater (Pelican Publishing, $19.99) is perfect for anyone who bounces along one of our pockmarked, canyon-filled streets. You know who you are. And you know you need a holiday laugh.