During the past two weeks, Caribbean Crossroads has made trips to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and to the Latin American Library at Tulane University (also an alma mater of Caribbean Crossroads). The trip to the Library of Congress was organized specifically to look at rare books, maps, watercolors, and prints from the Kislak Collection. This phenomenal collection contains over 4000 books, maps, documents, paintings, prints, and other artifacts amassed during his lifetime by Mr. Jay Kislak. Among the objects consulted in the collection were 19th century travel guides to places like Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Martinique and an "Album pintoresco" of Cuba, with over 20 color lithographs of various scenes on the island. A trip across the street to the Prints and Photographs division afforded exploration of photographs published by Look magazine from the mid 20th century. This included great views of ultra modern hotels built throughout the Caribbean to bolster the tourism industry. In New Orleans, a trip to the Latin American Library at Tulane University yielded a view of a fabulous mid-nineteenth century map of the Caribbean basin, featuring the mouth of the Mississippi River extending deep into the Gulf of Mexico and a host of 19th century post cards and other wonderful ephemera. The image above is the oldest example of Creole architecture in New Orleans, the Jean Pitot home, built in the late 18th century and marked by the typical characteristics of Caribbean architecture, including floor to ceiling shuttered windows to allow for proper flow of air in the tropical climate as well as protection from harsh storms.
