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An antique wooden box with hinged doors, displaying intricate scenes of grand architecture. The box is open, revealing a light green interior. The exterior paintings feature detailed buildings and trees, with a vintage, ornate style.

Card box, between 1824 and 1839. HNOC, the L. Kemper and Leila Moore Williams Founders Collection, 72.32 WR

An antique wooden box with hinged doors, displaying intricate scenes of grand architecture. The box is open, revealing a light green interior. The exterior paintings feature detailed buildings and trees, with a vintage, ornate style.

Card box, between 1824 and 1839. HNOC, the L. Kemper and Leila Moore Williams Founders Collection, 72.32 WR

Show-and-Tell

Leila Williams’s Collectible Boxes

A look inside the Williams Residence offers insight into some of the interior decorating styles of the late 1940s and early ’50s, as well as Leila Williams’s personal collecting interests.

Show-and-Tell

Leila Williams’s Collectible Boxes

A look inside the Williams Residence offers insight into some of the interior decorating styles of the late 1940s and early ’50s, as well as Leila Williams’s personal collecting interests.

Home
Research & Collections
Collection Highlights
Leila’s Collectible Boxes

A look inside the Williams Residence offers insight into some of the interior decorating styles of the late 1940s and early ’50s, as well as Leila Williams’s personal collecting interests. In this video, Interpretation Assistant Kurt Owens takes you through several rooms of the house, examining the unique little boxes—tea caddies, card boxes, and more—that can be found throughout the home.

By Xiomara Blanco, media producer

October 27, 2020

Visit

Williams Residence

Currently closed for repairs, the historic townhouse offers a window into the day-to-day life of HNOC’s founders in midcentury New Orleans.

A spacious, elegant bedroom with pale yellow walls features a classic fireplace, a large bed, a chaise lounge, and multiple windows draped with lace curtains, allowing soft light to illuminate the room. Vintage furniture and decor complete the setting.

A charming courtyard with brick flooring features a traditional black lamppost in the center. Surrounding the area are lush green plants, and behind is a two-story building with ornate wrought-iron balconies and tall windows.

Research

718 Toulouse Street: Williams Residence

A man in a tuxedo stands next to a seated woman in a dress who is laughing and covering her face with her hands. They are in a room with ornate furnishings and a cabinet in the background.

About

Meet Our Founders

Kemper and Leila Williams turned their interests in Louisiana history and French Quarter preservation into a lasting legacy.

Online Catalog

Search or browse through HNOC’s vast collection of manuscripts, artifacts, books, artwork, and more in our online catalog.

A woman in a white, off-the-shoulder blouse and a red headscarf gazes softly at the viewer. Her hands rest gently on her knee against a dark background. The painting has rich, warm tones and intricate details.

Related Stories

A vintage wooden secretary desk with a fold-out writing surface. It features open cubbies filled with books, papers, and small boxes, situated in a dimly lit room. The desk has turned legs and a warm, worn finish.

First Draft

African American–Made Furnishings from the Pre–Civil War Gulf South

The work of the Decorative Arts of the Gulf South project has revealed stories of African American material culture throughout the region.

A vintage photo shows four people in a cemetery. Two women in hats are seated with flowers; a man stands behind them. Another woman places flowers on a grave. Tombstones and crypts line the path. Trees and a fence are visible in the background.

First Draft

The Curious Mourning Tradition Involving Human Hair

Making keepsakes out of loved ones’ hair may seem gothic now, but hairwork was a Romantic trend of the 19th century.

Material Culture from our Holdings

A vintage wooden dresser with four large drawers and ornate handles. It features a tall, rectangular mirror framed in the same wood, supported by two turned posts on either side. The dresser has a polished, dark wood finish.

Meeks Dresser

A fine example of early 19th-century furniture, this dresser has a hidden drawer.

Learn More

An antique Remington Portable typewriter with round keys and a black body, displayed on a plain background.

Tennessee Williams’s “Streetcar” Typewriter

Working on a black Remington, Williams wrote his masterpiece in a French Quarter apartment near the Desire streetcar line.

Learn More

A sepia-toned, vintage photograph of a small, fluffy dog sitting on a patterned surface. The dog has light-colored fur and appears relaxed, with one ear slightly perked up. The background is blurred, creating an antique effect.

Mementos of Mat, Eliza Jane Nicholson’s Dog

Eliza Jane Nicholson was a pioneering New Orleans journalist who loved her dog so much, she memorialized him in photo, verse, and even jewelry.

Learn More

Related Virtual Exhibitions

Virtual exhibitions

Goods of Every Description: Shopping in New Orleans, 1825–1925

Peer into shop windows of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

A vintage illustration of a 19th-century pharmacy interior. The room is filled with shelves of bottles. Several people, including pharmacists and customers, are engaged in transactions and conversations. The ceiling is ornately decorated.

Related Books

Blue background with a white illustration of an ornate silver pitcher. The text at the top reads Crescent City Silver. The pitcher features intricate floral and filigree designs.

Crescent City Silver

Learn More Buy Now Buy Now

Cover of Nelly Custis Lewis’s Housekeeping Book edited by Patricia Brady Schmit. Features a silhouette cameo and cursive writing in the background.

Nelly Custis Lewis’s Housekeeping Book

edited by Patricia Brady Schmit

Learn More

A book cover featuring a portrait of a man with dark hair in 19th-century attire, set against a muted background. The title Vaudechamp in New Orleans is at the top, and William Keyse Rudolph is at the bottom.

Vaudechamp in New Orleans

by William Keyse Rudolph

Learn More Buy Now Buy Now

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