Monday, October 26, 2015

Language of the Fan: The Beauregard-Keyes House (New Orleans)

BEAUREGARD-KEYES Historic House & Gardens: A French Quarter Landmark. Built in 1826. Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard (1818-1893) lived here for a time after the American Civil War. Prolific author Frances Parkinson Keyes -- rhymes with "eyes" -- (1885-1970) purchased and restored it after World War II. 
Interior hallway.  They rarely make hallways or ceilings like this anymore! Then again, central air conditioning and heat wasn't an option yet in the 19th century.
"Language of the Fan."  There's quite a collection of hand-held fans on display, including one formerly deployed by Doña María Eugenia Ignacia Augustina de Palafox-Portocarrero de Guzmán y Kirkpatrick, Empress Eugénie de Montijo (1826-1920), consort of Napoleon III. 

Fans could be used to communicate silently in code when one was assigned a chaperone, or if busybodies were in earshot of the holders.   
A cool tiled skylit area with Catholic touches.
More tiles with a burst of religious iconography. 
Courtyard in the back with additional working spaces. Looks and feels like a nice place to live and work. 

Today's Rune: Harvest. 

3 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

I've been there. It's been a while. Nice place

jodi said...

Erik-too much to remember to adequately flirt with a fan! I love the 'religious' wall!

Anonymous said...

What does Toutant mean? What a great name! Hidden treasures inside.