ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF CHRISTMAS.

For years, I've photographed Christmas in Natchitoches.

The lights. The Festival. The fireworks. The river. The crowds. The quiet streets before everyone arrives and the mess that's left when everyone goes home.

But 2026 is different.

This is the 100th.

And rather than simply making another collection of Christmas photographs, I want to document what this particular moment in the history of Natchitoches actually looks like.

Not just the postcard.

Everything around it.

THE 100TH will combine selected historical imagery, photographs from my own archive spanning over a decade, and an entirely new body of documentary photography made throughout the 2026 Natchitoches Christmas season.

The people.

The preparation.

The traditions.

The crowds.

The workers behind the scenes.

The families who have been coming for generations.

The kids experiencing it for the first time.

The fireworks waiting beside the river before somebody lights the fuse.

And the smoke hanging over Cane River after everyone starts walking home.

I want to photograph the things we're supposed to remember.

And some of the things we usually don't.

A Photographic Record of the Natchitoches Christmas Season

The 100th Annual Natchitoches Christmas Festival 2026

A limited first edition by Jesse D. Poole

PREORDER

PREORDER — This book will be photographed and produced following the 2026 Christmas season. Estimated fulfillment: Spring 2027. Your card will be charged when you place your order.

THE BOOK DOESN'T EXIST …YET.

That's intentional.

The most important photographs haven't been made.

Throughout the 2026 Christmas season, I'll be photographing Natchitoches as the 100th unfolds—from preparation and opening nights through Festival Saturdays, fireworks, Front Street, the riverbank, and the quieter moments happening around all of it.

Only after the season ends will I make the final edit.

I'll sequence the photographs, write the accompanying text, incorporate carefully selected historical material and photographs from my archive, and build the finished book.

Your preorder helps make that work possible.

Rather than producing hundreds or thousands of copies and hoping they eventually find homes, I'm doing this differently.

The first edition will be funded by the people who want to see it exist.

ONLY 100 FIRST-EDITION COPIES.

The first edition of THE 100TH will be limited to 100 individually numbered copies.

Each will be signed by me.

Once those 100 copies are spoken for, the numbered first edition is closed.

No #101.

No second batch of first editions.

These 100 books will belong to the people who helped make the project possible in the first place.

THE 100TH will primarily document the 2026 Natchitoches Christmas season, supported by photographs from my own archive and select historical imagery that helps put this year into perspective.
This isn't intended to be an exhaustive history textbook.
It's a photographic record.
A look at where we've been.
A document of where we are.
And hopefully something people can pull off a shelf years from now and remember what Natchitoches looked and felt like when Christmas reached one hundred.
THE 100TH — First Edition
A limited-edition photographic book by Jesse D. Poole documenting the 100th Natchitoches Christmas season.
Each first-edition copy will be:
• Signed by the photographer
• Individually numbered 1–100
• Professionally printed and bound
• Produced following completion of the 2026 Christmas season
• Available first to preorder supporters
Final page count, dimensions, paper specifications and binding will be determined during production as the final body of work takes shape.
Those decisions will be made around the photographs—not the other way around.
Photography will continue throughout the 2026 Natchitoches Christmas season.
Editing, writing, sequencing, design, proofing and printing will begin after the season concludes.
Estimated delivery: Spring 2027.
I'd rather deliver the right book a little later than rush a hundred-year story through production just to hit an arbitrary date.
Preorder customers will receive project and production updates along the way.
Because I'm not asking a publisher or committee to decide whether this deserves to exist.
I'm asking you.
Preorders directly support the photography, research, archival work, design and production required to create THE 100TH.
If you're ordering one of these first 100 copies, you're doing more than buying the finished book.
You're helping give me the opportunity to go make it.
And someday, when Natchitoches celebrates its 110th, 120th or 150th Christmas season, there will be 100 numbered books scattered across bookshelves that remember exactly what this one looked like.
THE 100TH is a preorder item and is not currently in production. Photography for the project will continue throughout the 2026 Natchitoches Christmas season, with editing, design and production beginning after the season concludes.
Estimated fulfillment: Spring 2027. This is an estimated delivery window and may change due to printing, production, shipping, or other circumstances outside of my control. Any significant changes to the anticipated fulfillment schedule will be communicated to preorder customers.
Final book specifications—including page count, dimensions, paper, binding, design and image selection—may evolve as the project is completed. The finished book will remain consistent with the photographic project and edition described on this page.
First Edition books are limited to 100 signed and individually numbered copies across all editions. Print Editions are limited to 10 packages and Collector's Editions to 5 packages.
Prints included with Print and Collector's Editions will be selected from photographs created for THE 100TH project. Final images will be announced following completion of the photographic work.
Preorder purchases are charged at the time the order is placed.
Because these are limited-edition preorder items produced specifically for this project, all sales are final once production begins, except in the case of damaged, defective, or incorrectly fulfilled orders.
Shipping addresses may be updated prior to fulfillment by contacting jd@poolemedia.co. Customers are responsible for providing a current and accurate shipping address.
By placing a preorder, you acknowledge that THE 100TH is an unfinished photographic project and agree to the estimated production timeline and preorder terms described above.