Monday, January 4, 2016

Dolls of the Louisiana Plantations

Final destination: New Orleans
Back in early December I went on a road trip down to New Orleans with my mother and sister as a way of celebrating my mother's birthday.  That trip involved lots of jazz and beignets, as one would expect.

But on the way there, we spent one night and a day and a half in Vacherie, Louisiana, home to several historic sugar plantations. We drove past several, and did a tour of two of them:  the American-style Oak Alley Plantation and the Creole-style Laura Plantation. And at each of them I was able to do some doll-spotting, so I thought I'd share some of those dolls here. Enjoy!




The alley of oak trees that gave Oak Alley its name.
An antique boy at Oak Alley.
An antique girl in one of Oak Alley's cottages
Laura Plantation
The doll chair at Laura Plantation
Rag dolls in the Laura gift shop.
They also sold rag doll making kits, and I'm kicking
myself for not picking one of those up - they were cute.

A good chunk of those plantation tours are quite depressing when it comes to the history, but it's always nice to have a change to see how dolls fit into various historical contexts, so it was an interesting time.

I'd planning on bringing along a travelling toy of my own, but ended up forgetting to pack both of the ones I'd put aside for it (my standard evil bunny and an AG mini).  But that's just means I have an excuse to go back some time, doesn't it? ;)

14 comments:

  1. Hi JSarie! Thank you for sharing some photos of your trip to New Orleans with us. I am sure your sister and your mother enjoyed the time you spent there. The Laura dolls were really cute. The lady in green is my favourite.
    Next time you go to new Orleans, don't forget to bring one or two of your own dolls/toys with you.
    Keep having fun!

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  2. Great photos! It is a very interesting place to visit, and jazz and beignets sounds great :-).

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  3. Oh wow JS, I wish you had packed me in your suitcase!! Forget the dolls (but I did enjoy the photos), I'd love to know more about the jazz!!
    Hugs,
    X

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    1. We were there in the off season and there were still too many concerts to count! It really is a great place for it. :)

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  4. Ohhhh, what a beautiful post. The photos and the dolls are so beautiful. Thank you for sharing!

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  5. These photos are great, lucky you getting the opportunity to go to Louisiana and visit these plantations. Love the antique boy and the rag dolls, I too would have been kicking myself for not buying a kit...but like you say, you have the perfect excuse now to return there again one day!
    xxx

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    1. Heh, it's true, always good to have an excuse for another holiday! ;)

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  6. I loved reading about your trip to New Orleans and seeing your pictures! I live in Louisiana, and the Laura plantation is now on my list of places to visit this year. I want a ragdoll kit. :)

    If you come back to New Orleans, you should visit the Beauregard-Keyes House. The house was built in 1826. Frances Parkinson Keyes (born in 1885) lived in the house from 1945 until her death in 1970. The house has been maintained as a museum ever since. In addition to being a famous author, she was also a doll collector. Her collection of dolls are still on display there.

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    1. Oh, interesting! I'll put the Beauregard-Keyes House on my list for next time - thanks! :)

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  7. I would love to visit Louisiana someday as I've never really been to the "deep" South before. I know what you mean about forgetting dolls as I did the same thing on our trip this past fall, lol. It's really cool that you were able to notice dolls on the trip as well and it's always interesting to me to see what kinds of dolls were available during certain time periods. :)

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    1. It's a fun place to visit - you should definitely go some time if you have the chance! :)

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