The very first and last instruments Louis Armstrong blew are but a few of the treasures at Satchmo: His Life in New Orleans, opening at the Old U. S. Mint, just in time for the the Satchmo Summer Festival.

The biggest takeaway of the display is that Armstrong remained a son of the Crescent City.

Karen Leathem, Historian for The Louisiana State Museum says, “That’s correct. He never lost that, and what you really get in this exhibit is Louis’s voice. Literally you get his voice because you get to hear some audio pieces and some radio audio broadcasts from 1949 for example.”

Satchmo’s voice also comes to light in a host of writings and scrapbook pieces made by Armstrong.  Pops was a prolific letter writer, most often corresponding with friends and family  long before email and texting.

The exhibit was made possible by the Louisiana State Museum, The Louis Armstrong House in the New York, and Satchmo Summer Fest, and even includes Armstrong’s love of NOLA food.

“He was New Orleans to the end, and so it’s great to talk about food and the things he loved here,” says Greg Lambousy of the Louisiana State Museum

As for the first cornet, Armstrong himself identified the horn by the mouthpiece notches he made on a later visit to New Orleans.

Satchmo: His Life in New Orleans opens Thursday July 30th and runs through January 2017