On October 30, 1897, S.J. Shwartz, Gus Schullhoefer, and Hartwig D. Newman—with financial backing from banker Isidore Newman—opened the Maison Blanche at the corner of Canal Street and Rue Dauphine in New Orleans. Converting Shwartz's dry goods store into the city's first department store, the trio created a retail brand whose name lasted over a century. In 1908, Shwartz tore his store down and built what was the city's largest building—13 stories, with his Maison Blanche occupying the first five floors. The MB Building became, and still is, a New Orleans icon, and Maison Blanche was a retail leader in the city, attracting some of the best and brightest people in the business. One of those employees, display manager Emile Alline, created the store's second icon, the Christmas character "Mr. Bingle," in 1947. Mr. Bingle continues to spark the imagination of New Orleans children of all ages. Even though Maison Blanche has become part of New Orleans's past, the landmark Canal Street store lives on as the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
In addition to being a former employee of Maison Blanche, author Edward J. Branley is a former high school history teacher and author of Images of America: New Orleans: The Canal Streetcar Line and Images of America: Brothers of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans.