Carnival Collection
Old Line Krewe Ephemera
In this exhibit you will find images of Carnival memorabilia of the original “old line krewes” of Comus, Momus, Proteus, Rex, and the Twelfth Night Revelers. Materials include newspaper “carnival editions,” invitations, admit cards, and dance programs produced by the krewes, all emblems of the ritual and fantasy which is at the heart of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. All items are from the Archives’ Carnival Collection, which also features a large number of krewe badges, favors, throws, Zulu coconuts, and even some costumes from the 1860s through the present day.
What are the Old Line Krewes?
The original or “old line” krewes are the oldest parading carnival krewes in the City. The first Mardi Gras parade was held in 1857, featuring the Mistick Krewe of Comus. There are currently two old line krewes (Rex and Proteus) that still parade today; all five continue to hold annual carnival balls for its members.
- Mistick Krewe of Comus, founded in 1856
- Twelfth Night Revelers, founded in 1870
- Knights of Momus, founded in 1872
- Rex, founded in 1872
- Krewe of Proteus, founded in 1882
The Twelfth Night Revelers stopped parading in 1876, but continue to hold their annual carnival ball on Twelfth Night (January 6) to kick off the Carnival season. Momus, Comus, and Proteus stopped parading in 1992, following the passing of Councilmember Dorothy May Taylor’s ordinance prohibiting discrimination in krewe membership based on race, gender, handicap, or sexual orientation in order to receive a permit to parade. While Proteus resumed parading in 2000, Comus and Momus parades have never returned to the streets of New Orleans. Rex, the King of Carnival, parades Mardi Gras morning.
including more from the Old Line Krewes.
Carnival Editions
In 1886, the Krewe of Proteus became the first Carnival organization to present full color chromolithograph newspaper editions showing the float designs for its “street pageant.” Other krewes quickly followed suit, and these “carnival editions” or “bulletins” continued to be printed and sold on street corners for a dime until 1941.
Invitations
A main feature of the old line krewes, still celebrated today, are the tabluea carnival balls. These are formal affairs for krewe members, where the king, queen, and members of the court are introduced. They feature a play (a “tableau”), where masked krewe members act out scenes depicting the year’s theme. The old line krewe balls are invitation only, exclusive events.
Shown here are examples of two types of invitations to Carnival balls– one typical of the 19th century and the other more common in the 20th century. The earlier invitations issued by many of the old-line krewes were often die-cut chromolithographs, extravagantly designed to illustrate the theme of the krewe’s ball and sometimes intricately unfolding to reveal even more elaborate designs inside. Many of these invitations, like the costumes, masks, and jewelry worn by members of the krewe, were ordered from Paris.
Just after the turn of the century, however, the krewes began to move away from these fancy, foreign-made invitations and to choose instead more restrained, more “elegant” and “dignified” designs. While the krewes would continue to issue colorful invitations in later years, they never returned to the elaborate Parisian creations of the early years. The last elaborate invitation issued by Rex was in 1901, with the following years opting for the more simple designs seen below. The 1949 Rex invitation shows the design that was used throughout the 1920s-1960, while a version of the 1970 invitation with its purple, green, and gold stripe is still in use today.
Admit Cards
Admittance cards were enclosed in invitations and were often as beautifully designed as the invitations themselves. Marked “strictly personal,” these cards could not be passed on to another individual and served to ensure the exclusiveness of the krewe’s invitation list, made up by the organization’s “invitations committee” and strictly guarded. As with the invitations, the admit cards become less ornamental by the turn of the century.
Dance Cards
The dance programs carried by the young women who attended the balls can be as wonderful as the invitations themselves. Like the admit cards, they usually mirrored the theme of the ball, and came with little pencils attached with silken, tasseled chords. Inside were lists of the planned dances with space for the names of dance partners.
Dance cards, or dance programs, were popular throughout the 19th and early 20th century carnival balls. The cards were carried by female attendees to record their promised dance partners. Men were expected to remember who they had asked to dance. The cards themselves were then kept as a souvenir from the carnival ball.
Based on the original exhibit “A Century Ago: Mardi Gras Memorabilia from 1900 and 1901,” created by former Archives Director Irene Wainwright. It was reimagined and reformatted by Brittanny Silva in 2024.