Obituary Cocktail: The Great Saloons of New Orleans By Kerri McCaffety

Obituary Cocktail: The Great Saloons of New Orleans By Kerri McCaffety

Regular price $35.00 $0.00 Unit price per
Shipping calculated at checkout.

A tour of some of the most historic saloons in America.

There is no doubt that New Orleans has more drinking establishments per capita than any other city in the United States. Lavishly illustrated with more than 200 photographs, this elegant pictorial history provides a glimpse into the architectural and cultural treasures still operating today. From urban legends to classic recipes, all is revealed in this collection of fascinating true stories.

  • From the Inside Flap
    "A collection of sumptuous, atmospheric images of the city's most famous taverns, [Obituary Cocktail] relates the history of the city itself through drink, an essential ingredient of New Orleans culture. . . . Informative and lovely, Obituary Cocktail is a treat for those who appreciate the fine art of drinking a smart cocktail in distinguished surroundings. "
    -Christina Masciere, New Orleans Magazine

    "Kerri McCaffety possesses an extraordinary eye and sensibility for the character of place. Her photographic studies of the Napoleon House resonate with an intimacy, as if they were taken from inside the object looking out rather than outside looking in. She has mastery over not only the technique of the photographic art but its soul as well. "
    -Michael Sartisky, president, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities

    "Her academic training in anthropology has lent to her lifetime training in the craft of photography, and to her natural and profound sense of beauty, a quick and true apprehension of the social, historical, and even mythological context of everything she sees."
    - Tom Piazza, author, Blues and Trouble

    "McCaffety's prints are startling, but for reasons having to do with dusky formal reductions we usually associate with the early photo-romantics Steichen, Genthe, or Imogen Cunningham. ... A stationary ballet of elegantly undulating luminosity."
    - D. Eric Bookhardt, Gambit

    New Orleans plays host to more "gin joints" than any other place in America. Almost two hundred luminous photographs provide a visual tour of the architectural and cultural treasures still operating in the city - many housed in some of the oldest buildings in the country. Preserved in their often tattered splendor, these saloons allow a walk directly into the past. Their histories are fleshed out by lurid tales and whispered secrets disclosed on worn bar stools. Stirred and poured together, they serve up the stories of New Orleans cultural stew along with the fabled origins of the world's first cocktail. Many original recipes for unique area favorites like the Sazerac, as well as historic drinks, such as the strange poison for which the book is named, are introduced with each bar featured. Take a visual bar tour of New Orleans with Kerri McCaffety as she dispels erroneous bar folklore and tells the often romantic true stories that prove even more fascinating.

    From the Back Cover
    NEW ORLEANS GULF SOUTH BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION BOOK OF THE YEAR
    NAMED ONE OF THE YEAR'S BEST BY THE NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE
    NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS ABOUT THE CITY BY THE BOOKLOVER'S GUIDE TO NEW ORLEANS
    PUBLISHERS MARKETING ASSOCIATION BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AWARD FINALIST
    INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER AWARD FINALIST

    "Like the silvered mirrors, shadowy with time, that hang behind so many New Orleans bars, McCaffety's book reflects the city in all its drunk splendor, whether it's the golden light of a lazy afternoon or the swirling energy of a dance floor. McCaffety, like a good bartender, knows how to listen, knows how to look, and knows how to tell a great story. In perfectly chosen words and images [Obituary Cocktail] captures something timeless and essential about New Orleans."
    -Susan Larson, New Orleans Times-Picayune

    "The evocative photos of Napoleon House, Pat O'Brien's, Galatoire's, Tujague's, and many lesser known restaurants and bars in the Crescent City are as personal as they are a rich repository of architectural and Louisiana social history, with excellent accompanying text. A beautifully produced book by one of the great photojournalists of America."
    -John Mariani, Esquire

    "Kerri's work is lush with natural light that makes the images sensual and rich, and transforms the places she photographs into poems."
    -Francis Ford Coppola


    Product details
    ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1455615846
    Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pelican; Illustrated edition (October 25, 2011)
    Language ‏ : ‎ English
    Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
    ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781455615841
    ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1455615841
    Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.2 pounds
    UNSPSC-Code ‏ : ‎ 55101500
    Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.3 x 0.9 x 12 inches


Share this Product