Furniture trade in New Orleans, 1840-1880: the largest assortment constantly on hand

Abstract

This thesis is a study of the furniture trade in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the mid-nineteenth century. Using documentary and stylistic evidence gleaned from court records, cargo manifests, census data, receipts, and surviving objects, this study traces the evolution of the furniture business in New Orleans from 1840 to 1880. The rise of the retail furniture trade in New Orleans is analyzed as a function of the economic, political, and social context of the period. The make-up of shops, the nature of business transactions, and the effect of the Civil War on patterns of consumer behavior are all observed within a larger framework to arrive at a better understanding of the American furniture industry in the nineteenth century.