Speaker gives the Scoop on an Old New Orleans Scandal Sheet May 10 at the Cabildo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Arthur Smith
Director of Marketing and Communications
Office: 504-568-6945
Cell: 504-251-3330
E-mail: asmith@crt.la.gov

Speaker gives the Scoop on an Old New Orleans Scandal Sheet May 10 at the Cabildo

The Louisiana State Museum is presenting "Scandal! A Brief and Sensational History of The Mascot, the Most Notorious Newspaper of New Orleans in the Gilded Age" by Sally Asher on Thursday, May 10 at 6 p.m. at the Cabildo, Jackson Square.

A professional writer and photographer, Asher holds a master's degree in English from Tulane University where she is also a graduate student in history.

Founded in 1882 by J.S. Bossier, a Civil War veteran who had lost a leg in battle, The Mascot both shocked and delighted readers with its biting satire, sharp gossip, farcical verse and comic illustrations by some of the leading artists of the time.

The Mascot itself was frequently in the news. Stories of crime, scandal and corruption touched off numerous libel suits. Editors and aggrieved citizens also settled scores with clandestine duels or open gunfights. In 1887, for example, a young machinist who was implicated in an affair with his landlady, stormed The Mascot's offices and shot and killed an editor at his desk. At least two other killings were attributed to the newspaper's coverage before it ceased publication in 1896.

Asher's talk will feature readings from The Mascot by Andrew Ward, Veronica Russell and burlesque artist Trixie Minx of Fleur de Tease. The event is free and open to the public as part of the Museum's "Second Thursdays" evening lecture series.