Tulane exhibits “The Art of Proteus” century-old float and costume designs

The original designs for Proteus floats and costumes from the late 1800s will be on display at Tulane University this spring.

Via an emailed news release:

In celebration of a recently completed two-year project to place more than 5,500 original float and costume designs from the “Golden Age of Carnival” online, Tulane University’s Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC) will exhibit “The Art of Proteus” in its Special Collections Room, Jones Hall, Room 205. The exhibit, which will run through May 30, will showcase Proteus costume and float designs from 1882 ­ 1907. This is a rare opportunity to view original artworks from the world’s largest Carnival design collection.

The exhibit will be on view from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The designs are not only stunningly beautiful works of art in their own right but working drawings used by highly-skilled artisans, with pin holes where the designs were tacked to a wall or board while being used. Particularly interesting are hand-written notes on the designs indicating sizes, colors, and measurements.

The bulk of LaRC’s online collection includes designs from Comus (1882-1975) and Proteus (1882-1939). The collection also includes designs from Momus (1902-1913), and Rex (1912-1914). The exhibit reveals the work of Carnival’s most notable designers, including Charles Briton, Jennie Wilde, Carlotta
Bonnecaze, and Bror Anders Wikstrom.

The effort to place the collection online had three purposes: to make Carnival designs easily available to students and scholars around the world; to reveal the true artistry and beauty behind Carnival in New Orleans; and to digitally preserve these international treasures.

Tulane Howard-Tilton Memorial library staff made high-quality scans using the latest archival-grade equipment and digital preservation standards. Master files are stored on an off-campus server which is backed up daily to servers out of state, helping ensure the permanent preservation of the digital files.

Howard-Tilton Memorial Library’s Web Services Department led by David Comeaux and intern Kathryn Rumer lent their expertise to the project with support from Dr. Bruce Raeburn, director of Special Collections at Tulane, the Charles L. “Pie” Dufour Fund and a grant from the Tulane University Office of the Provost.