WE were MERCHANTS, GOUDCHAUX'S MAISON BLANCHE Book
Updated September 24, 2026
| Lot number | 144 |
| Auction | Round #2 ~ CENTREVILLE, MISSISSIPPI Van Cleave Family ESTATE |
| Date | October 1, 2026 at 6:00 PM CDT |
| Auction house | Bell Remnants |
| Location | McComb, Mississippi |
AVAILABLE FOR SHIPPING or LOCAL PICKUP > A 2009 first edition hardcover copy of We Were Merchants: The Sternberg Family and the Story of Goudchaux's and Maison Blanche Department Stores, by Hans J. Sternberg with James E. Shelledy, published by Louisiana State University Press in 2009. The book contains 160 pages with 42 halftone illustrations and one chart, documenting the Sternberg family's rise from German immigrants fleeing Nazi persecution to operators of one of the South's most significant family-owned department-store chains. Hans Sternberg recounts how his father Erich purchased Goudchaux's in Baton Rouge in 1939 and developed the business into a major regional retailer, eventually acquiring New Orleans institution Maison Blanche. By 1989, Goudchaux's/Maison Blanche had become the largest family-owned department-store company in America, operating 24 stores in Louisiana and Florida and employing more than 8,000 people. The volume combines family history, Louisiana retail history, photographs, recollections from former employees and customers, and behind-the-scenes accounts of expansion, merchandising, desegregation, advertising, and the eventual sale of the business. Chapters include Boycott, Branching Out, Maison Blanche, Mr. Bingle and Beyond, High Water Mark, and Lowering the Flag. A particularly strong regional-history title for collectors of Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Goudchaux's, Maison Blanche, Mr. Bingle, Louisiana business history, Southern department-store history, and retail memorabilia. LSU Press later selected the title for its Around the Press in 80 Books feature, reflecting the book's continuing significance within the press catalog. CONDITION REPORT > A notably well preserved example, close to mint.
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