But it is a definite crapshoot. Since I only buy lots, the sellers will choose 2 or three shots out of a big batch to show off in their ad, and they’ve selected what they believe to be the best of the bunch… but of course, their idea of what constitutes ‘the best’ is a whole lot different than mine. Let’s be honest- Jackson Square doesn’t change a whole lot, and my main fear is that I’ll open a batch only to find that I’ve paid $20 for 3 dozen shots of Cafe du Monde.

Pretty much every package has a few shots that are really great, and looking at the people and cars is always interesting. I’ve come to realize that the more fashionable you are today, the harder it’ll bite you on the ass later.

I’m powerless- I must develop some sort of storyline around the sets- especially the ones where there are lots of people.

These ladies, for instance, clearly had themselves a kickass time:

It was from a 1967 scrapbook, and I need to scan in some of the stuff they collected- lots of bar napkins and scribbled notes. They were clearly young, uninhibited, and enjoying it. Good on ‘em- they’d be in their 60s now and I’d like to think of them reminiscing and chuckling about their misspent youth.

But the last batch I received? I bought it totally blind- the seller picked it up at an estate sale, the photos formed a full carousel and were labeled “New Orleans Vacation,” but he hadn’t scanned in any actual photos. Still- out of 100 slides, there had to be some interesting things, right? To be fair, yes, there were a few. But mostly it was just…strange. Also, sadly, they must’ve been stored somewhere damp, because they were the most deteriorated shots I’ve bought so far.

This family, which appears to be a couple & their grandkid, took most of their photos of highways. Or city streets…out of their car window, complete with exciting highlights of traffic, their hood, and windshield wiper. These people managed to get the only bland, lifeless photos of the city I’ve ever seen.

Most of them looked like this:

And this:

This one is accidentally interesting, because it happens to catch the Superdome under construction:

Once they parked and actually got out of the car, we have yet more exciting stuff, like this guy’s chest and dog…but you can’t see the French Quarter or architecture or…well, or anything of interest:

And that’s pretty much how it goes…until they hit Bourbon Street. and boy, they really thought the smut was exciting!

We liked the Sho-Bar and its dancing girls:

And REALLY liked the Topless & Bottomless Boys & Girls (there were several shots of it, all from this far away):

(btw, “boys and girls?” Ew. Sounds like Chester the Molester’s destination of choice.)

And the one, the only closeup in the entire batch of 100 is amazing. They didn’t take a close shot of grandma, or of the kid. Not of a building, or architectural detail. The one thing interesting enough to get close to was a teeshirt shop window, witty as ever:

Which is, actually, sort of interesting. From an anthropological point of view, it teaches us that things are same as they ever were. Tacky ye shall have with ye always. Although it’s somewhat more interesting tack, I guess. The ‘fly United’ was certainly different.

Charlie thinks it says something profound about middle America, circa 1973. Lord, I really hope not, lest I end up with more packages like these.

Pete Fountain is a local legend- a popular clarinetist who moved onto the national stage with the Lawrence Welk show. Known for his warmth and humor as much as for his ‘fat’ style of playing, his reputation continued to build and after he returned home, leading up to his opening this club on Bourbon, only blocks from his friend Al Hirt’s club.

Pete eventually moved his club into the Hilton where it stayed until he semi-retired to Bay St. Louis, MS in 2003, with the intention of playing two nights a week in a local casino, but Hurricane Katrina washed away his home and most of memorabilia collected over the course of his career.

Despite the pain of rebuilding, a mild stroke and a heart attack, Pete is back to preforming at the Hollywood Casino now, and going strong.

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I love these…both innocent and what passed for racy at the time. The kid who jumped in beside them, the one watching in awe, the older guy with the camera on the right- love the accidental composition.

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Or not so quiet, if you believe the stories- it has been investigated by every paranormal researcher under the sun and declared to be one of the most haunted places in the country.

The house has a long, tragic history. Built in 1794 on an old Indian burial ground, the carpenters were seeing ghosts well before any of the 10 murders took place.

The most famous of these were the ones a slave named Chloe were involved with. She was a house slave, serving plantation owner Judge Woodward’s family…and the Judge in a more personal way. Chloe was afraid she was losing her master’s favor and began eavesdropping to try to figure out if she was going to be sold or sent out to the fields.

After being caught several times with her ear to his door, Woodward cut her left ear off as punishment and threatened her with expulsion from the house.

Chloe decided drastic action was called for. She boiled some oleander leaves and mixed the resulting poison into a chocolate birthday cake. Chloe knew an antidote for the poison and figured that after she miraculously made the Judge’s children well, her position in the house would be forever secure.

Well, not so much. She miscalculated the poison’s strength and the two young daughters died. The other slaves dragged Chloe out to the pond and hung her to convince their master that they didn’t have anything to do with the children’s deaths.

Their mother and surviving brother died in a yellow fever epidemic a few years later and everyone still hangs about the place, one big happy family.

Below is one of the most famous photos taken at the Plantation. Supposedly it’s Chloe, wearing the green kerchief she used to hide her disfigurement, going between the kitchens and the main house, perhaps to deliver the fateful cake.

Closeup:

We visited there years ago around Christmas, photos in the gallery. There are more photos but I’ve sent the negatives off (yes, actual film! Before digital, can you imagine?!) to be professionally scanned. I’ll add them when they return.