Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Rare Books
Molly Gavin's own cookbook
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Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Image not available
Manuscripts
The journal opens on Jan. 1861, when Mollie, a vivacious and well read young woman who thoroughly enjoyed her life as a local society belle, set out to "endeavor to keep a record of passing events, and jot down thoughts as they occur." She vividly describes her friends and beaux, in particular an exciting month she spent in New Orleans in February and March of 1861, going on "shopping excursions," and attending dances, theaters, (she was smitten with a Varieties Theater production of Jeannie Deans, starring Charlotte Thompson (1843-1898) and Fanny Brown (1837- after 1870) and opera performances with Adeline Patti (1843-1919), parties, parades, and other diversions, including a visit to the studio of Alenson G. Powers (ca. 1817 - ca. 1867), the renown New Orleans portraitist. The diary follows Mollie's tortuous romance with Richard J. Hancock, 3rd Lieutenant of Co. D of the 9th Louisiana Infantry, her feelings about the war and growing anxiety in the wake of the taking of New Orleans, and devastating family news. The diary breaks off in October 1863, on the last night Mollie Jones spent in Sunny Dell. An entry, in another hand, records her death, along with deaths of friends and family members.
mssHM 62472
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Manuscripts
Two pieces of correspondence between John Gavin and Otis Chandler, regarding a settlement won against Joyce Haber column.
mssLAT
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Manuscripts
The collection consists of letters (including 1 letter book), manuscripts (including 50 diaries), documents (including 55 account books, 12 cash books, and 5 miscellaneous volumes), and photographs related to the lives and activities of various Janin family members and the extended Janin-Blair-Jesup-Croghan families. Subject matter in the collection includes: politics and government in Washington, D.C., and Louisiana; society and customs in Washington, D.C., and New Orleans; Blair House (Washington, D.C.); land titles in Indiana Territory, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Missouri; the Ocean Canal and Transportation Company, which ran from Louisiana to St. Louis; the history of Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, from the time of purchase by John Croghan in 1839 until 1932, when it became a national park (at which time Violet Blair Janin was the primary owner); and mining in Australia. Persons represented in the collection include: James Lawrence Blair, Mary Jesup Blair, Violet Blair Janin, John Croghan, William Croghan, Albert Covington Janin, Louis Janin, Julia Clark Jesup, Thomas Sidney Jesup, George M. Wheeler, and Lucy James Blair Wheeler. Organizations represented in the collection (with which Violet Blair Janin was affiliated) include: Daughters of the American Revolution, National Association Opposed to Woman's Suffrage, National Cathedral Association, National Society of Children of the American Revolution, and the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
mssJaninf