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The Historic New Orleans Collection
HNOC in the News

In NOLA.com Guest Column, HNOC Historian Discusses “Captive State” As Public History Project

October 20, 2025

Curator Eric Seiferth explains how HNOC’s 2025 exhibition and companion book serve as an important public telling of privately known truths.

A tour guide gestures towards an exhibition display at HNOC.
NOLA.com / The Times Picyaune
CAPTIVE STATE cover

Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration

News

“Captive State” Book: Upcoming Local and Regional Literary Events

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Exhibitions

Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration

July 19, 2024 to February 16, 2025

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First Draft

Inside Angola’s Prison Newspaper, the ‘Angolite’

First Draft

Poets Respond to “Captive State” in Verse

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A screenshot from a vintage color film shows part of a ship with the name "VERNON C. BAIN" written on the side.

“Vernon C. Bain” Christening Ceremony Video

When New York City’s war on drugs sent incarceration rates soaring, officials commissioned a floating jail built and christened downriver from New Orleans.

The death notice for John Ward Gurley, dated 1808. The notice in the middle is surrounded with drawings depicting a skull and crossbones, funerial trees, a coffin, and broken column.

Death Notice for John Ward Gurley 

One hot-headed young upstart in early 19th-century Louisiana found his way onto the dueling field, where the odds were not in his favor.

The cover of the newspaper "Hospital Banner" from August of 1955.

Hospital Banner Newsletters

An unusual periodical, written and produced by residents of the state mental hospital in the mid-20th century

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A press photograph of an inmate cell inside Orleans Parish Prison. Three Black men can be seen lying on metal rack beds and another man is partially visible lying on a cot on the ground. Newspapers, empty milk cartons, candy boxes, and cups can be seen on a shelf beneath the window.
Announcement

HNOC Book “Captive State” Receives Southeastern Museum Conference Publication Award

August 12, 2026
The 2025 publication was awarded Second Place (Silver) by the SEMC Publications Competitions jury.
Two men are observing an exhibit in a museum. One holds a book while explaining something. Behind them are informational panels and photographs. Text overlays mention a display through January 19, 2025, at 520 Royal St., sponsored by the Historic New Orleans Collection.
HNOC in the News

WWL-TV: Inside a New Exhibit on Mass Incarceration

October 25, 2024
WWL-TV's Great Day Louisiana visited HNOC's new exhibition about the history of mass incarceration in Louisiana.
Exhibit wall with a blue panel stating, The institutions of slavery and mass incarceration are historically linked. A section titled CAPTIVE STATE features text and a colorful quilt with nature and wildlife motifs displayed on the right.
Press Release

“Captive State” Named Museum Exhibition of the Year by Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities

January 15, 2026
HNOC joins eight other Bright Lights Awards recipients that were recognized for their significant contributions to the understanding of Louisiana’s history and culture in the humanities field.
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