During the twentieth century, furniture collectors and scholars in New Orleans identified a small group of armoires and named their anonymous craftsman the “Butterfly Man” for his repetitive use of a commonplace butterfly-shaped joint used to reinforce panels.

Today, seventeen Butterfly Man armoires (circa 1810-1825) are documented as having been made in the same New Orleans Workshop. While their maker’s identity remains a mystery, his cabinets represent the zenith of craftsmanship in early nineteenth-century Louisiana. In order to contextualize the Butterfly Man’s story, this study explores the history and use of the armoire in Europe and Louisiana and considers early nineteenth-century cabinet making in New Orleans. Who were the early cabinetmakers and where were they from? What was their place in the fabric of New Orleans? What were the Butterfly Man’s influences and how do his armoires reflect them? Who might the Butterfly Man have been?

Chasing the Butterfly Man: The Search for a Lost New Orleans Cabinet Maker, 1810-1825, written by New Orleans Art Historian Cybele Gontar and published by the Louisiana Museum Foundation, is the first comprehensive exploration of this New Orleans cabinetmaker, his construction methods, and ongoing search for his identity.