From his golden throne beneath a jeweled crown canopy blazing in pink and scarlet, King Rex — the Monarch of Misrule — surveys a roaring sea of confetti and upturned faces packing a Canal Street so dense with humanity that the buildings beyond are barely visible, in this brilliant chrome-era color photograph by Ray Cresson capturing the apex of New Orleans Carnival royalty. The Rex organization, founded 1872, remains the oldest and most prestigious of the Mardi Gras krewes; this card, published by Grant L. Robertson of Metairie, showcases the Royal Float at its most theatrical. A traveler named Cathy sent it to Mr. & Mrs. Ed. Lauderdale of Westville, Indiana, writing: "Good morning! Lovely weather, we're having it — not as cloudy as around [home]. It's nice like this for the Mardi Gras — it's really nice to be here." Three 1¢ Washington stamps, paying the 3¢ postcard rate, frank the card with a New Orleans machine cancel.