Carnival, 1919

John Mendes photo – Maskers in the 800 block of Canal, 4-Mar-1919

There were no parades for Carnival, 1919. World War I ended on November 11, 1918, so the krewes did not plan to parade in 1919. The happy circumstance of the war ending brought out maskers and revelers, though. This John Mendes photo shows an interesting group of maskers and others in the 800 block of Canal Street.

A couple of items of note here:

The streetcar is a “Palace” car, from American Car Company. The “Palace” cars were generally considered to be the most comfortable that ran in New Orleans, including the arch roofs. The operating company in 1919 was New Orleans Railway and Light. It would be four years before the big purchase of arch-roofs from Perley Thomas.

There is a “ghost ad” for “Trianon” on the building behind the streetcar. The actual name of the palace in Versailles, France, where a number of treaties were negotiated over time, is “La Grand Trianon”. The treaty that formally ended WWI wasn’t signed until June 4, 1920. Interesting coincidence.

If anyone know what the product/place “Trianon” referenced here would be, let me know. Here’s a zoom of the ad:

Zoom of Mendes photo from 4-Mar-1919, showing “Trianon” ad.

Parades resumed the following year, 1920.

Liked it? Take a second to support NOLA History Guy on Patreon!