Table of Contents
Scope and Contents of the Collection
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Overview of the Collection |
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| Creator: | Janin, Albert. |
| Title: | Albert C. Janin Correspondence |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1888-1889 |
| Quantity: | 1 folder (SC) |
| Abstract: | Letters written by Janin to his wife, Violet "Vivie" Blair, in Maryland, while he was in New Orleans running a rice farm and building a canal. The letters discuss his work, her health, their relatives, local events, and gossip. |
| Language: | English |
| Repository: | Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center |
Biographical History
Albert Covington Janin (1844-1928) was a New Orleans attorney and business entrepreneur. Violet Blair (1848-1933) was a socialite from a prominent Washington, DC family. The two married in 1874 and had a highly unconventional marriage for the times. They generally lived in separate places without a shared household, and remained financially independent from one another. For more information about Janin and Blair, see Virginia Jeans Laas's research, especially her book Love and Power in the Nineteenth Century: The Marriage of Violet Blair.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Albert C. Janin Correspondence consists of a series of 20 letters written by Janin to Blair from May 1888 to April 1889. At the time, Janin was in New Orleans while Blair was staying in Washington, DC and Montgomery County, Maryland with her family. Much of the letters are concerned with Janin's rice farm and his fears that the weather will destroy his crop. Along with his farm, Janin discusses his investment in the construction of a canal in Louisiana. The letters also discuss Blair's health, their family members, local events, and general gossip.
The letters also shed light on Janin and Blair's relationship. For example, in his 31 Dec 1888 letter, Janin writes to Blair "...you are a wonderful creature in many way and, perhaps, nothing proves it more than the fact that I, cool and unimpassioned being that I am, after fourteen years of marriage, love you as much as ever, though you and others don't believe it. Respect and love for you are what attach me to the world of men and women. But for that I would, soon after having brought my enterprise to a peaceful termination, become a hermit."
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Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Albert C. Janin Correspondence,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
Finding Aid Information
Created by: [Summit record]
Date: 2001-01-01
Revision history: 12 Mar 2007 - converted to EAD (MRC);
10 Feb 2010 - updated EAD (LMD)