Nathaniel C. Curtis, Sr. Drawing Collection

Collection

Identifier: SEAA-114

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection includes drawings by New Orleans architect and educator Nathaniel C. Curtis, Sr. (1881-1953), which were mostly made as illustrations for his book New Orleans, Its Old Houses, Shops, and Public Buildings (Philadelphia, 1927). Among the drawings is the original map reproduced as a fold-out insert in the volume. His diplomas are also maintained.

Dates

1920s–1930s

Creator

Nathaniel Cortlandt Curtis, Sr., 1881-1953. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection is the physical property of Tulane University Special Collections. Copyright belongs to the creators or their legal heirs and assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or owner’s heir for permission to publish where Tulane University Special Collections does not hold the copyright. For further information, please contact Research Services at specialcollections@tulane.edu.

Biographical / Historical

Nathaniel Cortlandt Curtis was born in Smithville (now Southport), North Carolina. He was head of architecture at Tulane University from 1912 to 1917, when he left New Orleans. He returned to New Orleans in 1920 to teach part-time at Tulane, eventually worked for New Orleans architect Moise H. Goldstein, and was the main designer of Howard-Tilton Memorial Library (now Joseph Merrick Jones Hall), which is now home to Tulane University Library’s Special Collections. He later worked with the architectural firm of Goldstein, Parham, and Labouisse until his death. Curtis published several books and novels in his lifetime.

His son, Nathaniel Cortlandt Curtis, Jr. (1917-1997), also became an architect, helping to found the firm Curtis and Davis. The firm was responsible for the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library, the Superdome, and many other buildings in the area.