The Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections (LLMVC) document the history and culture of this region. The largest accumulation of materials on Louisiana and the lower Mississippi Valley in existence, LLMVC includes a comprehensive collection of books, periodicals, maps, prints, pamphlets, state documents, Louisiana newspapers, historical manuscripts, and photographs.
The LLMVC consists of over more than 5,000 manuscript holdings which encompass over more than 10 million items. Recognized as one of the nation’s premier repositories of historical documents for materials relating to the Aantebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction South, LLMVC includes the papers of individuals and families; records of plantations, merchants, and financial institutions; and the files of political, social, and labor organizations. Geographically, the manuscript collections cover the entire state of Louisiana and the Lower Mississippi Valley from Memphis to New Orleans. Notable strengths in holdings reflect the areas of Natchez, St. Francisville, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. The collections date from the French and Spanish colonial periods to the present day and relate to the region’s social, economic, political, cultural, literary, environmental, and military history.
In addition to its manuscript collections, LLMVC includes more than 50,000 books, periodicals, maps, state documents, newspapers, pieces of sheet music, musical recordings, and other published materials dating from the 17th century to the present that document the social, economic, political, cultural, literary, and environmental history of Louisiana and its people.
The LLMVC holds nearly 250,000 photographic images. The earliest is a daguerreotype portrait, created around 1845, of Varina Davis, wife of Jefferson Davis. Many photographs are included in family papers or the records of businesses and other organizations, but LLMVC also includes a number ofseveral studio collections.
LLMVC houses a number of collections of political papers, with an emphasis on elected officials at the state and national levels. The collection includes the personal papers of many of the most important figures in the political history of the region, including those of Huey Long and other Long family members. ItThe collection also contains papers focusing on party politics and individuals associated with political offices, such as political consultants, staff members, lobbying groups, and state-wide party officials.
