The Majesty of the French Quarter Hardcover - 1999

From the rear cover

"The mysteries of the French Quarter have yielded themselves to Kerri's camera like uncorked perfumes. What kind of camera does she have? There is a mystery-uncorking, poetry-uncapping, surprise-producing mechanism inside it. Kodak doesn't make it. There is only one such instrument, and I am grateful that Kerri owns it. The French Quarter is grateful, too. The old coquette never had it so good."
--Andrei Codreiscu, National Public Radio correspondent and author of Messiah

"This is the real Vieux Carrï¿1/2, rarely seen by casual visitors, beautifully rendered in evocative color photographs. The visual texture of its design, detail and patina is palpable."
--Frank W. Masson, AIA

"Kerri McCaffety's photographs represent the haunting, shabby grandeur of the French Quarter. Though her subjects are diverse, they share an aura which few photographers ever capture on film. Kerri's images reveal an inner city suspended somewhere in time, languid in its sultry air and splendid in its ethereal light."
--M. Lindsay Bierman, Southern Accents

"McCaffety knows how to capture the fleeting beauty of a moment."
--Susan Larson, Times-Picayune

"What a fine photographer. . . . It takes a red-headed woman to shoot pictures like that."
--John Mariani, Esquire

In Old Creole Days, George Washington Cable described the French Quarter succinctly: ". . . beauty lingers here." A century later, in his poem "New Orleans," Jim Metcalf implored, "Never forget what you really are . . ./this beautiful old enchantress . . ./this siren at the bend of the river . . ."

New Orleans remembers.

She lives.

She loves.

And her heart, beating for hundreds of years, following her own rhythm, is the French Quarter.

Here, award-winning author and photographer Kerri McCaffety captures the majesty of the French Quarter and brings it to life in a luxurious parade of pictures and prose.

Fabulous hotels, churches, fine restaurants, antique shops, and art galleries line the streets of the Quarter. But some of the most fascinating architecture--that of private residences--has never been photographed until now.

Elaborate patios and secret gardens, hidden from the street, are captured here in all of their opulence.

A look beyond the French Quarter faï¿1/2ades reveals rare glimpses of antique-filled and artfully decorated interiors where reminders of French and Spanish ancestry, voodoo, and Mardi Gras sit on the mantels and hang on the walls.

Through the long life of the French Quarter, its architectural styles have evolved. Much more than wrought iron balconies and the St. Louis Cathedral, the French Quarter is a mï¿1/2lange of European, Caribbean, and American elements warmed by the Southern sun.

Regardless of the specific styles, one truth remains--the French Quarter retains its majesty.

Beauty lingers here.

Kerri McCaffety counts among her accolades the 1999 Gold Lowell Thomas Award for a self-illustrated article from the Society of American Travel Writers and the 1998 Book of the Year award from the New Orleans Gulf South Booksellers Association. Her popular and acclaimed first book, Obituary Cocktail, was named one of 1998's best by the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

McCaffety's work has appeared in publications including Southern Accents, The Oxford American, Town and Country, Travel & Leisure, Louisiana Cultural Vistas, and Historic Traveler.

From the jacket flap

"The mysteries of the French Quarter have yielded themselves to Kerri's camera like uncorked perfumes. What kind of camera does she have? There is a mystery-uncorking, poetry-uncapping, surprise-producing mechanism inside it. Kodak doesn't make it. There is only one such instrument, and I am grateful that Kerri owns it. The French Quarter is grateful, too. The old coquette never had it so good."
--Andrei Codreiscu, National Public Radio correspondent and author of Messiah

"This is the real Vieux Carrï¿1/2, rarely seen by casual visitors, beautifully rendered in evocative color photographs. The visual texture of its design, detail and patina is palpable."
--Frank W. Masson, AIA

"Kerri McCaffety's photographs represent the haunting, shabby grandeur of the French Quarter. Though her subjects are diverse, they share an aura which few photographers ever capture on film. Kerri's images reveal an inner city suspended somewhere in time, languid in its sultry air and splendid in its ethereal light."
--M. Lindsay Bierman, Southern Accents

"McCaffety knows how to capture the fleeting beauty of a moment."
--Susan Larson, Times-Picayune

"What a fine photographer. . . . It takes a red-headed woman to shoot pictures like that."
--John Mariani, Esquire

In Old Creole Days, George Washington Cable described the French Quarter succinctly: ". . . beauty lingers here." A century later, in his poem "New Orleans," Jim Metcalf implored, "Never forget what you really are . . ./this beautiful old enchantress . . ./this siren at the bend of the river . . ."

New Orleans remembers.

She lives.

She loves.

And her heart, beating for hundreds of years, following her own rhythm, is the French Quarter.

Here, award-winning author and photographer Kerri McCaffety captures the majesty of the French Quarter and brings it to life in a luxurious parade of pictures and prose.

Fabulous hotels, churches, fine restaurants, antique shops, and art galleries line the streets of the Quarter. But some of the most fascinating architecture--that of private residences--has never been photographed until now.

Elaborate patios and secret gardens, hidden from the street, are captured here in all of their opulence.

A look beyond the French Quarter faï¿1/2ades reveals rare glimpses of antique-filled and artfully decorated interiors where reminders of French and Spanish ancestry, voodoo, and Mardi Gras sit on the mantels and hang on the walls.

Through the long life of the French Quarter, its architectural styles have evolved. Much more than wrought iron balconies and the St. Louis Cathedral, the French Quarter is a mï¿1/2lange of European, Caribbean, and American elements warmed by the Southern sun.

Regardless of the specific styles, one truth remains--the French Quarter retains its majesty.

Beauty lingers here.

Kerri McCaffety counts among her accolades the 1999 Gold Lowell Thomas Award for a self-illustrated article from the Society of American Travel Writers and the 1998 Book of the Year award from the New Orleans Gulf South Booksellers Association. Her popular and acclaimed first book, Obituary Cocktail, was named one of 1998's best by the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

McCaffety's work has appeared in publications including Southern Accents, The Oxford American, Town and Country, Travel & Leisure, Louisiana Cultural Vistas, and Historic Traveler.

Media reviews

Citations

• Booklist, 03/15/2000, Page 1325
• Foreword, 03/01/2000, Page 43
• Library Journal, 02/01/2000, Page 81