Thomas Allibone Janvier (July 16, 1849 – June 18, 1913) was an American story-writer and historian, born in Philadelphia of

Provençal Provençal may refer to: *Of Provence, a region of France * Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France *''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language *Franco-Provençal language, a distinct Roman ...

descent.

Early life and marriage

Janvier received a public school education, then worked in Philadelphia for newspapers from 1870-81.''Who's Who in America'' (1899) edited by John W. Leonard, Albert Nelson Marquis In 1878 he married

Catherine Ann Drinker Catherine Ann Janvier ( Drinker; May 1, 1841 – July 19, 1922) was an American artist, author, and translator. Before she married, she had an established career as an artist and teacher under the name Catherine Ann Drinker. Early life Catherin ...

(May 1, 1841- July 19, 1922), an artist who was the first woman teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and first teacher to Cecilia Beaux. Later in life, she accompanied her husband on his travels while writing books and translating books from the Provencale language. Many of Janvier's published works would be dedicated "To C. A. J."

New York

Janvier went to New York in 1881. From 1884-94, he lived in the Washington Square district of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. A few years after arriving, he published the ''Ivory Black Stories'', tales of artist life, which were reprinted in book form in 1885 as ''Color Studies''. In them he pictured the life and color of what was then considered the Latin quarter of the city, with the old-fashioned French restaurants, the artist colony to the north, and the studios in Tenth Street where Abbey, Millet, F. Hopkinson Smith, Laffan and others made the

Tile Club Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...

famous. He published many stories and articles in ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

''.

Travels and death

Janvier spent several years in Colorado, New Mexico and Mexico, thereby gaining inspiration and material for much of his literary work. His travels in Mexico produced the ''Aztec Treasure House'' and his stories of ''Old New Spain''."Thomas A. Janvier, the Author, Dead" (June 19, 1913) ''New York Times'' He and his wife also lived for three years in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

, Provence, France, where they became friends with

Mistral Mistral may refer to: * Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia Automobiles * Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970 * Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006 * Micropl ...

and Felix Gras.

Catherine A. Janvier Catherine Ann Janvier ( Drinker; May 1, 1841 – July 19, 1922) was an American artist, author, and translator. Before she married, she had an established career as an artist and teacher under the name Catherine Ann Drinker. Early life Catherin ...

's translations of the latter's work introduced him to English-speaking readers. His books from this period include ''An Embassy to Provence'', ''Christmas Kalends of Provence'' and ''The South of France''. He was made an honorary member of the Félibrige society in France, and of the Fol Lore Society of London, where he and his wife lived from 1897 to 1900, and the Century Club in New York. Janvier died in New York on June 18, 1913. He is interred in Moorestown, New Jersey.

Literary family

Janvier's sister, Margaret Thomson Janvier (1844-1913) became a writer of children's literature and verse, using the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Margaret Vandergrift. Janvier's niece, Emma P. Spicer, going by the stage name of Emma Janvier, was a well-known comedian on Broadway and elsewhere from the turn of the century until her death in the early 1920s. Janvier's father was the Philadelphia businessman and poet Francis De Haes Janvier.

Works

Books * ''Color Studies'' (1885) * ''The Mexican Guide'' (1886) * ''The Aztec Treasure House'' (1890) * ''Stories of Old New Spain'' (1891) * ''The Uncle of an Angel, and Other Stories'' (1891) * ''An Embassy to Provence'' (1893) * ''In Old New York'' (1894) * ''The Women's Conquest of New York'' (1894), in which the

suffrage movement Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

is fictitiously presented * '' In the Sargasso Sea'' (1898) * ''The Passing of Thomas, and Other Stories'' (1900) * ''In Great Waters'' (1901) * ''The Christmas Kalends of Provence'' (1902) * ''The Dutch Founding of New York'' (1903) * ''Santa Fe's Trail'' (1907) * ''Henry Hudson: a brief statement of his aims and his achievements'' (1909) * ''Legends of the City of Mexico'' (1910) * ''From the South of France'' (1912), short stories * ''At the Casa Napoleon'' (1914), which contains a memoir by Ripley Hitchcock Articles and short stories * "Pancha, a Story of Monterey" (1884) in ''The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine'', Vol. 28 p. 656 * "The Sea-Robbers of New York" (1894) in ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine'', Vol 89, Issue 2 * "New York Colonial Privateers" (1895) in ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine'' Feb. Vol 90, #537, Frontispiece & p. 333-343 * "A White Penitent" (1901) ''Harper's '' vol 103 p. 131 *"Honfleur the Sedate" (April 1904) in ''Harper's Magazine'' Vol. 108

References

Notes Bibliography *

External links

* * *
Works by Thomas A. Janvier
at The Online Books Page * *
Emma Janvier
(niece of Thomas) at The Actors Birthday Book {{DEFAULTSORT:Janvier, Thomas Allibone 19th-century American novelists 19th-century American historians Writers from Philadelphia 1849 births 1913 deaths American male novelists 19th-century American male writers Novelists from Pennsylvania American male non-fiction writers Historians from Pennsylvania