Louis Janin Papers: Finding Aid

Processed by The Huntington Library staff; supplementary encoding and revision supplied by Brooke Dykman Dockter, and by Diann Benti in 2016
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© October 2000
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Overview of the Collection

Title: Louis Janin Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1859-1914
Bulk dates: 1859-1894
Collection Number: mssJanin, Louis papers
Creator: Janin, Louis, 1837-1914.
Extent: Approximately 162 pieces in 3 boxes.
Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains the papers of American mining engineer Louis Janin (1837-1914), chiefly consisting of correspondence, primarily from the Concepcion Mining & Milling Co. for the years 1887 through 1889, and 47 notebooks and pocket diaries kept by Janin between 1859 and 1889 containing financial accounts and mining survey notes and experimental data.
Language: English.

Access

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Administrative Information

Publication Rights

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Preferred Citation

[Identification of item]. Louis Janin Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Provenance

Gift of Mrs. Elliot Evans, September 24, 1984.

Biographical Note

Mining engineer Louis Janin (Nov. 7, 1837-March 6, 1914), one of three sons in a New Orleans family who followed the profession of mining engineer, figured prominently in Western mining for nearly sixty years. Educated at Yale and then at the Freiberg Mining Academy, Janin began his career out West in 1861, shortly after his return from Europe. He made his first mark on the profession in the early 1860s on the Comstock Lode, where he applied his scientific training to improving the extraction of silver from formerly-discarded tailings. In subsequent years, first in the employ of others and later in his own practice, he obtained experience on mining fields all over the Far West. Having established a considerable reputation as a consulting engineer for accuracy and discriminating judgment, Janin acquired a growing list of clients including investors in Mexican properties and, in 1873, the Japanese government. His many skills and the breadth of his experience particularly attracted litigants in mining suits, who regularly employed Janin to ascertain the facts of the matter or provide corroborative testimony. Although afflicted in later life with a variety of ailments, Janin carried on with his work for some years and attained the profound respect of his peers. The three sons of his marriage to Elizabeth Marshall, Louis, Jr., Eugene, and Charles, chose their father's profession, carrying on the distinguished family name with their own careers.

Scope and Content

This collection contains the papers of American mining engineer Louis Janin (1837-1914), chiefly consisting of correspondence, primarily from the Concepcion Mining & Milling Co. for the years 1887 through 1889, and 47 notebooks and pocket diaries kept by Janin between 1859 and 1889 containing financial accounts, addresses, memoranda, experimental data, and rough notes for mining surveys. The collection also includes two letterbooks containing press copies of Janin's business and personal correspondence between 1878 and 1894, and several property appraisals authored by Janin in the 1870s.
Subject matter includes: Freiberg Mining Academy (1859-1860), mining and milling techniques, mining operations in the trans-Mississippi West (1861-1889), in Japan (1872-1873) and in Mexico (1876-1879, 1880, 1887-1889), Louis Janin's business and financial affairs, Janin family matters including Santa Ynez (Calif.) ranch
Items of special interest include: three school notebooks from Janin's attendance at the Freiberg Mining Academy (1859-1860) (Box 1, notebooks 1-3); notebooks from his consulting work in Japan (1872-1873)(Box 2, notebooks 19-21) and in Mexico (1876-1879, 1880) (Box 3, notebooks 30, 40); notebooks containing testimony given in a mining debris suit (1878) and Bulwer v. Standard (1889) (Box 3, notebooks 31 and 47); and correspondence between Janin and the Concepcion Mining and Milling Co. concerning company finances and field operations in Mexico (1887-1889) (Box 1, folder 1 and letterbook 2).

Related Materials in the Huntington Library

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three boxes Box 1: Correspondence, documents, letterbooks, and notebooks 1-9 Box 2: Notebooks 10-24 Box 3: Notebooks 25-47

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

Subjects

Janin, Louis, 1837-1914 -- Archives.
Concepcion Mining and Milling Co.
Königliche Bergakademie (Freiberg, Germany)
Mines and mineral resources -- California.
Mines and mineral resources -- Japan.
Mines and mineral resources -- Mexico.
Mines and mineral resources -- Nevada.
Mines and mineral resources -- West (U.S.)
Mining engineering -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Mining engineers -- Archives.
Santa Ynez (Calif.) -- History.
Santa Ynez River Valley (Calif.) -- History.

Forms/Genres

Letter books -- West (U.S.)
Letters (correspondence)
Notebooks -- West (U.S.)
Technical reports -- West (U.S.)

Alternate Authors

Concepcion Mining and Milling Co.


Box 1

Correspondence, documents, letterbooks, and notebooks 1-9

Folder 1

Correspondence. 1881-1908

Physical Description: 110 pieces
Folder 2

Mining reports. Approximately 1874-1879

Physical Description: 5 pieces
Folder 3

Biographical information. 1910-approximately 1933

Physical Description: 5 pieces
Letterbook 1

Letter book. 1878-1882

Letterbook 2

Letter book. Concepcion M & M. Co. Home Office, etc. 1887-1894

Notebook 1

School notebook, Freiberg. 1859

Notebook 2

School notebook, Freiberg. 1860

Notebook 3

Notebook, Freiberg. 1860

Notebook 4

Commonplace notebook, Freiberg and Dresden. 1861-1862

Notebook 5

Mining notebook, Virginia City, Nevada. 1861

Notebook 6

Pocket Diary, California and Nevada. 1864

Notebook 7

Notebook, Nevada and California. 1867, 1872

Notebook 8

Pocket Diary, California? 1867-1868

Notebook 9

Pocket notebook, Nevada and California. 1868-1869

Box 2

Notebooks 10-24

Notebook 10

Notebook, Nevada. 1868

Notebook 11

Notebook, Nevada. 1866-1868

Notebook 12

Account book, Virginia City, Nevada. 1863-1867

Notebook 13

Notebook, California. 1866

Notebook 14

Account book. 1867-1873

Notebook 15

Mining notebook, Nevada. 1869-1871

Notebook 16

Mining notebook, California and Nevada. 1870

Notebook 17

Mining notebook, Nevada. 1871-1872

Notebook 18

Mining notebook, California. 1872

Notebook 19

Mining notebook, Japan and New Almaden (?). 1872-1873

Notebook 20

Mining notebook, Japan. 1873

Notebook 21

Mining notebook, Japan. 1872-1873

Notebook 22

Mining notebook, California. 1872-1873

Notebook 23

Mining notebook, California. 1873?

Notebook 24

Mining notebook, California. 1873?

Box 3

Notebooks 25-47

Notebook 25

Mining notebook, California. 1874?

Notebook 26

Account book. 1874-1876

Notebook 27

Mining notebook. 1875

Notebook 28

Account book. 1874-1876

Notebook 29

Mining notebook. 1876

Notebook 30

Mining notebook, Mexico. 1876-1879

Notebook 31

Notebook of testimony, Mining Debris Case, California. 1878 July 16-22

Notebook 32

Mining notebook, California. 1878

Notebook 33

Business notebook. 1878

Notebook 34

Notebook labeled "Cypher Book," Butte, Montana. 1878-1879?

Notebook 35

Pocket diary. 1879

Notebook 36

Mining notebook, Arizona. 1878

Notebook 37

Mining notebook, California and Nevada. 1879-1881

Notebook 38

Mining notebook, South Dakota. 1879-1880

Notebook 39

Mining notebook, Idaho. 1879

Notebook 40

Mining notebook, Mexico. 1880

Notebook 41

Notebook. 1881

Notebook 42

Address book/Accounts. 1882

Notebook 43

Mining notebook, Arizona. 1882

Notebook 44

Mining notebook. 1883

Notebook 45

Diary (partial). 1885

Notebook 46

Mining notebook. 1886?

Notebook 47

Mining notebook. Bulwer v. Standard, California. 1889 June-July