French Quarter Museums: Stellar Shopping Finds
Gallier House docent Ariety Fried showcases an umbrella with the distinctive Gallier House gate design. Photo by Ellis Anderson
November 2025Take a shopping expedition with interior designer and long-time Vieux Carré resident Lee Ali as she ticks off her gift list at seven French Quarter museum shops.
– by Lee Ali
photos by Ellis Anderson unless otherwise attributedI am a woman of neither wealth nor fame, but next fall will mark the 50th anniversary of living in the Quarter. I’ve been an interior designer for nearly that number of years and also have retail experience: my sister and I owned Shop of the Two Sisters on Royal Street – and on Magazine Street.
These credentials were enough for my friends at French Quarter Journal to recruit me to scout out fabulous holiday finds from the myriad marvelous museum shops in the French Quarter.
Alas, even after spending two afternoons exploring and bring home lots of finds, I still have lots of shopping to do – many of my “gifts” are going no further than my own home. There are some great finds out there.
This column is underwritten in part by Betsy Fifield
Photo courtesy HNOC
The Historic New Orleans Collection
We began our search during the annual Holiday Market at The Historic New Orleans Collection (520 Royal Street), where we met the mystical, magical artist Magda Boreysza. According to her artist’s statement, her work “reflects my deep love for nature, animals, and the wilderness in all of us. I make my own world, in which humans are one Creature among many.”
Magda’s primary medium is drawing, but she also works with textiles, sculpture, and printmaking. I snapped up three enchanting prints, a t-shirt and her book. She was making a special appearance at the Holiday Market, but thankfully, The Shop at the Collection carries her pieces year-round. I plan to buy more of Madga’s work and have told other designers about her (cards, fine art prints and tote bags, $6 - $35).
Magda Boreysza at HNOC’s annual holiday market
We ordered up a lovely lunch at the Café at the Collection and dined in the museum’s luminous courtyard. Afterward, we committed to a deep exploration of the gift shop itself – the largest museum shop in the French Quarter. It carries a tastefully curated and extensive collection of books and jewelry, with lots of fine home and holiday décor.
Inside HNOC’s The Shop at the Collection, photo courtesy HNOC
On a prior visit, I had purchased a necklace made from repurposed saris by Kantha ($36 - $50). According to their literature, this Fair Trade these beads are hand-crafted from furniture scraps, then covered with colorful sari fabric. I made a beeline for the display and purchased a set for a friend. These – and most other items in the shop – can also be purchased from The Shop’s elegant, user-friendly website.
Pieces from the Kantha line, made from repurposed sari fabric, at HNOC’s The Shop at the Collection
The Pharmacy Museum
Around the corner, we stepped back in time as we entered The Pharmacy Museum (514 Chartres). We were greeted by gorgeous carved cabinetry and vials and bottles filled with colored tinctures and by a welcoming clerk with a tilted teacup on her head – a Merry Apothecary indeed.
Inside the Pharmacy Museum
The museum has a small gift section in the front with books, t-shirts ($20 in the shop) and a fun selection of vintage-style posters ($20 in the shop) that make for unforgettable, quirky gifts. The website offers a more limited selection, but you’ll find vintage photographs of the museum, Paul Gick watercolor prints and a very cool little booklet, Do No Harm by Kate LaCour ($15 in the shop, $20 on the website includes shipping), illustrating and describing some of the museum’s exhibits - and making you very happy that the practice of medicine has progressed a bit over the last century.
One of the vintage-style posters at the Pharmacy Museum
The distinctive Pharmacy Museum t-shirt
If you’re a local, you’ll want to check out the museum’s Very Merry Winter Market on Sunday, December 14, from 10am - 4pm. Market visitors will also have free access to the first floor of the museum for the day.
Gallier House and Hermann Grima House
Gallier House (1132 Royal) and the Hermann Grima House (820 St. Louis) are sister museums. Both offer guided historic house tours focusing on little-known aspects of 19th-century life, like the popular Creole Death and Mourning offered each fall in Gallier House.
The house museums are operated by The Women’s Exchange of New Orleans, established in 1881, which remains one of the oldest women’s nonprofits in the South. Their Exchange Shop in both locations (and online) offer local artisanal goods.
At Hermann-Grima House, the shop is located in one for the few remaining 19th-century French Quarter stable buildings. We picked out a stunning plate by potter Julie Graff, whose love for gardening is reflected in her work ($100).
Garden-themed plate by potter Julie Graff
For charming stocking stuffers, we were drawn to actual socks, made by Bonfolk, a local company. We like that for every pair purchased, Bonfolk donates a pair to those in need. The designs we picked out in The Exchange celebrated the many delights of New Orleans, featuring streetcars, po-boys, red beans and rice, café au lait & beignets ($19.99).
Socks for stockings, by Bonfolk.
At Gallier House, docent Ariety Fried showed us the gifts made with the pattern of the house’s famous green gates. We were smitten with the umbrella ($35), because it reminded us of the Tennessee Williams quote: Don't you just love those long rainy afternoons in New Orleans when an hour isn't just an hour - but a little piece of eternity dropped into your hands - and who knows what to do with it?
We can think of lots of things to do on a rainy day with that beautiful and eye-catching umbrella (featured at the top of this story) keeping us dry, but the shop also offers the gate design on a number of items, including what appears to be a maddeningly difficult puzzle, jewelry and notecards.
Other favorite finds in the shop include watercolors of local architecture by local artist Jessica Weems are lively, beautifully executed and have engaging color palettes. Prints start at $40, with cards also available.
A print from one of Jessica Weem’s watercolors
The 1850 House
The 1850 House offers a fascinating look inside the fabled red Pontalba buildings that flank Jackson Square. The 1850 House Gift Shop on the street level is known for both its jewelry collection and its selection of New Orleans books and serves as the museum shop for all three Louisiana State Museum facilities on the square, including The Cabildo and the The Presbytère.
I chose a meticulously beaded dragonfly pin from the Trovelore Collection ($70 - $110) for a friend who has a special love for the colorful insects. Each creature in the collection is stitched together by hand using a combination of beads, stones, yarns, fabrics and sequins. The entire collection is exquisite, so it may be hard to choose just one - but as a stocking stuffer, any of them is sure to make any giftee giddy with glee.
Pins by the Trovelore collection available at the 1850 House Gift Shop
Detailing on a pin by the Trovelore collection.
We also spotted two of our favorite new books about New Orleans, both of which have been reviewed in French Quarter Journal. Painting the Town, published by Preservation Resource Center, celebrates the many hues of the city’s architecture with luscious photos by Chris Granger and commentary by local writers, including John Pope and Sally K. Reeves. (Read our review by John Sledge here.)
George Valentine Dureau: Life and Art in New Orleans, delivers what it promises - a rich account of the artist’s life, but also gives readers context with essays about Dureau’s contemporaries. Howad Philips Smith is the author and it’s published by University Press of Mississippi, which is known for its quality printing. (Read our review by Thomas Uskali here).
Read FQJ’s review of Painting the Town here.
Read FQJ’s review of George Valentine Dureau: Life and Art in New Orleans here.
Bonus: Until December 1st, the shop and online store is offering generous discounts across the board: 15% off $25+, 20% off $50+, 25% off $90+, and an incredible 30% off $200+ purchases. Discounts are automatically applied at checkout through the promotional period.
New Orleans Jazz Museum
The New Orleans Jazz Museum, housed in the old U.S. Mint, is a treasure trove of musical goodness. Its gift shop is actually a Louisiana Music Factory satellite (the main location of this legendary music store is a stone’s throw away on Frenchmen Street). While this shop is a fraction of the mothership’s size, every inch is packed with musican gems. You’ll find albums, CDs, t-shirts, posters and even our picks: sheet music and coffee.
Inside the Jazz Museum location of Louisiana Music Factory
The musicians in your life are sure to find hours of enjoyment in Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton classics, or music books by more contemporary New Orleans legends – like Jon Batiste, drummer Johnny Vidacovich and guitarist Steve Masakowski. These books are especially popular with parents and grandparents of aspiring musicians and the shop stocks a good selection. You can also order online. Prices range from $15 to $50 for the popular The Real B Flat Dixieland Book, (only available in the shop).
New Orleans sheet music book collection at the Jazz Museum location of Louisiana Music Factory
The snazzy, jazzy Ella Fitzgerald coffee bag is as elegant as the singer was herself, filled with a medium roast coffee by Breakfast at Dominique’s that’s both organic and 100% fair trade. It’s the coffee of choice for LMF owner Barry Smith and team member Stacy Wojcik, who says that “it’s very robust with a hint of candied pecan that’s not overbearing – it smells great too.” 12 ounces for $18.50, available only in LMF’s Jazz Museum location.
Coffee by Breakfast at Dominiques at LMF at the Jazz Museum
Storyville Museum
While the Storyville Museum (1010 Conti Street) only launched last year, it quickly slipped into the French Quarter classics category, with exhibits that both fascinate and educate. The museum already has plans to expand the small gift shop, but in the meantime, you can choose from a curated selection of books and fun items like a careful reproduction of a Blue Book and a Storyville-themed card and dice set.
The Blue Book: Think of it as the Yelp for Storyville brothels and sex workers – with period ads, of course! The guide was distributed by adventurous New Orleans residents and visitors to help them navigate “The District.”
Two convincing reproduction versions are available ($20), 1914 and 1907. Our pick was the 1907 edition, featuring a fetching lady of the night with her Gibson Girl hairstyle and a come-hither look, teasingly holding a mask.
Reproductions of the 1907 Storyville Blue Book
A few of the Storyville-themed boxed card and dice sets
Magnetic peepers at the Storyville Museum make for fun stocking-stuffers
With the Storyville card and dice set, you can take gaming back to the day when people looked at each other when playing a game instead of a screen. Think early 1900s gambling parlor, practice your best bluffing face and go for a big win – in fact, a game of strip poker might be in keeping with the theme. You have your choice of 13 different Storyville boxes. $15 buys this cunning stocking stuffer and they’re available in the shop or online.
And their peepers are a fun gift for those of us who don’t want make spectacles of ourselves looking for reading glasses to read fine print. These spectacles are magnetic and can be affixed to your fridge or parked next to your Blue Book for future perusal.
Weary from shopping? You might want to end the day at Tableau Restaurant housed in La Petit Theater and end the day with a Fence 75 (aka French 75) priced at 75 cents with the purchase of an entreé. It’s named as such to lament the construction fences that are currently corraling parts of the Quarter.
A final note: museum memberships are a wonderful holiday gift for locals. People travel from all over the world to experience the French Quarter’s cultural offerings, but for those of us just a short walk – or a streetcar or Amtrak ride – away sometimes forget to take advantage of them. Day-tripping in the city’s oldest neighborhood and visiting a few of its standout museums will leave you with a renewed sense of pride for our city, the spiritual heart of the Gulf South.
Longtime French Quarter resident and interior designer Lee Ali in the courtyard of the Pharmacy Museum