The Estate of Ellis Sidney Joubert III

The Estate of Ellis Sidney Joubert III

Noted Silversmith and Weapons Collector

New Orleans Auction Galleries is proud to offer the collection of our late colleague and friend, Ellis Joubert. One of the South’s most accomplished silver- and metalsmiths, Joubert’s personal collection includes a trove of 19th-century New Orleans silver, flintlock and percussion firearms, edged weapons, 20th-century militaria, African and Oceanian artifacts and much more. The broad scope of Joubert’s collection reflects his eclectic taste and inquisitive nature and vividly brings his deep reverence for history to life.

Ellis Sidney Joubert III, photo by Cedric Angeles

A Letter from Charles C. Cage, Fine Silver Specialist 

I first met Ellis Joubert in 1994. I was researching early New Orleans silversmiths, and all of the experts – Carey Mackie, Pat Bacot, John Keefe – told me that I needed to speak with Ellis. I met him at his cavernous workshop, which was surprisingly tucked away Uptown on Jena Street, near Pascal’s Manale. Large cabinets lined the entryway, stuffed with anvils and stakes, and rows of hammers and chisels adorned the walls. I was immediately captivated by a large bowl: a neoclassical cauldron with the head of an enormous, snarling alligator erupting from its side – all in gleaming silver. It was, of course, Ellis’s most famous piece. I told him it was magnificent; he ignored me. “Cage,” he said. “Are you any kin to Pulaski Cage?” I had asked around and knew that Ellis –conservator of edged weapons for pretty much any museum within a 1,000-mile radius– had worked on the sword belonging to Pulaski Cage, veteran of the War of 1812 and builder of Jasmine Tree Hill in Wilkinson County, Mississippi. “Distantly,” I replied. “He and my third great-grandfather were brothers. I know that you repaired his sword.”

My appreciation for history and genealogy and the conservation of historic pieces impressed him, and his taciturn demeanor melted into a font of loquaciousness. We spent the afternoon looking through his impressive collection of New Orleans silver curiosa – each piece punctuated by his keen observations: a handle cast from a Hyde & Goodrich cup, clearly – he explained – from a two-piece mold, a Delarue spoon through the backstamp of which he insisted he could see a French hallmark, another spoon perfectly flattened and marked “I.V,” which he concluded could only have been that of Jacques Vitaut. (I was skeptical at the time, but more unflattened flatware has turned up since, and I am now convinced that Ellis was right, as usual; see lot 86.) We thenceforth became colleagues and friends. When I began working at New Orleans Auction Galleries in 2007, I was not surprised to find that Ellis was a friend to the gallery. Any time we needed identification of a weapon or ironwork, or repair of a piece of silver or information on some obscure piece of New Orleans ephemera, Ellis was there to help. His frank and expressionless demeanor belied not only his expansive knowledge of metalwork, warfare and history, but also his cordial, impish and ofttimes bawdy nature.

Ellis was born in Stuttgart, Germany on February 17, 1953, while his father Ellis, Jr. was stationed there with the Army in the last days of the Korean War; the elder Joubert had also served in World War II. One might assume – as I always did – that it was his father’s service that was the origin of Ellis’ fascination with militaria, but rather, it was that venerable French Quarter institution Le Petit Soldier on Royal Street that was the impetus. The tiny shop, brimming with toy soldiers, swords, weapons, medals and royal ephemera was captivating to anyone who entered, and Ellis was no exception; he bought his first medal there, the first of literally hundreds. His young manhood was spent like many of his generation: choosing to backpack Europe and postpone higher education. When time came for the latter, it was the offbeat elective metalworking at LSU that forged his path. His talent was immediately recognized, and his skills were ever after honed and perfected. For a time, he studied metalworking in China, where, once again, I presumed he had learned the Chinese language and culture. And again, I was wrong; he learned those on his own as a teen by sheer dint of his curiosity and discipline. Ellis’s love of all things military extended from medals to swords, and guns to the nascence of aviation and warships at sea. His respect for history – and New Orleans history in particular – was not limited to times of war, but extended to culture, customs and architecture. His metalworking skills merged with these interests to such an extent that he was eventually the only local source to repair edged weapons or old firearms; to revive the lacy wrought-iron fences and balconies of old homes; or to repair or replace a treasured piece of the family silver.

Since New Orleans Auction Galleries was first given the honor of presenting this spectacular collection, we have affectionately referred to it as “the Ellis sale.” Certainly, it is the Estate of Ellis Sidney Joubert III – silversmith, metalsmith, weapons conservator and collector, with hundreds of lots comprising his expansive interests: guns, swords, powder horns, silver, uniforms, historical ephemera, ethnographica and early aeronautica (plus the occasional euphonium or light-up Mardi Gras helmet). But for us, these are Ellis’s things. Each and every one, as we inspected and catalogued it, brought us delight and curiosity and, ultimately, a renewed affection for our treasured friend who continues to instruct and amaze us. We hope that we have been able to do him justice – after all, for literally every lot in this sale, our first call would have been to Ellis himself for assistance. We are honored to offer his collection to inspire a new generation and place it in the hands of those who will treasure it as he would have.

– Charles C. Cage, Fine Silver Specialist

EXPLORE THE ESTATE

OF ELLIS SIDNEY JOUBERT III