Louisiana Plantation Homes: A Return to Splendor - Hardcover

Majestic homes, exquisitely decorated and lavishly furnished, and surrounded by vast acreages of lush croplands, bespeak the grandeur of the storied days of the antebellum South.

First producing indigo and later producing cotton and sugarcane, plantations in Louisiana produced a bounteous harvest that brought great wealth to their owners and ushered in more than a century of opulent mansion building.

Barely two decades after Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, led the first band of settlers to Louisiana in 1699, the plantation idea began to take root. Fertile soil, a mild climate, and the transport potential of the Mississippi River were the resources that allowed men of vision, initiative, and determination to accumulate untold wealth. These resources also enabled them to construct extravagant mansions that would survive economic upheavals, civil war, and natural disasters.

The era they represented is now cloaked in history, but many of these magnificent homes still stand. Although ravaged by the Civil War and Reconstruction and later by changing personal fortunes and periodic neglect, several dozen have been meticulously restored to their original splendor by preservation groups and determined owners imbued with a sense of history. The results of these loving, time-consuming, and often costly restoration efforts are pictured in these pages in stunning full-color photographs by Paul Malone.

Usually constructed of cypress and other materials from the surrounding land, the homes feature soaring Greek columns, hipped roofs, gabled roofs, dormer windows, balconies, galleries, ceiling frescoes, and formal ballrooms. Riverboats brought the finishing touches--wallcoverings, chandeliers, and marble statuary--from the finest manufacturers in Europe. Elaborate staircases and furnishings made of mahogany, rosewood, and walnut were typical accoutrements of these remarkable homes.

As these pages suggest, the styles of plantation homes ranged widely--from Greek Revival to Victorian Gothic, Acadian, Colonial, Italianate, Southern Classical, and combinations of two or more styles.

In refurbishing many of the homes depicted in this volume, restorers consulted old documents, diaries, and personal papers of the original owners. As a result, many of the houses feature rooms decorated with the original colors, period antiques, and recreations of the original drapes.

Paul Malone was a well-known photographer and member of the Professional Photographers of America. Lee Malone contributed the text that accompanies Paul's photos in all of their books. In addition to Louisiana Plantation Homes: A Return to Splendor they are also the authors of several books in the beautiful Majesty architecture series including The Majesty of New Orleans, The Majesty of the Felicianas, and The Majesty of the River Road.