| Xavier University
Xavier University Archives
Xavier University has been collecting archival materials, particularly in
African-American history and culture, since its founding in 1915. The
Archives was founded as a separate division of the Xavier Library in 1988. The
official archives of the university, the department has focused its collecting on the history of the New Orleans region (the
South and the Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean area) as well as on United States Catholicism.
Among the Carnival-related holdings is an item of sheet music entitled Les Folies Du Carnaval (1866) by Basile
Barès,
a Creole of color and one of the most popular pianists of his day. Barès' "string orchestra" (which also used wind
instruments) was much in demand to play at Carnival balls during the 1870s. The Barès Papers also include
rare
photographs and manuscripts of this composer.
The Allen Family Papers also contain valuable information about the Young Men Illinois Club, an historically
African-American Carnival krewe. The collection includes programs and planning notes for ball tableaux from a four
decade period (1950s-1990s).
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