Abstract
The Jeanne Russell Janish Papers span the years 1833 through 1994 with an emphasis on 1894 to 1994. The materials of the illustrator and watercolorist include her school records, research papers, diaries, and personal correspondence. There are two original book manuscripts, dried flowers, hand-woven rugs, a variety of art supplies and tools, and approximately 140 watercolor paintings and pencil sketches of various scenes and subjects, created in China, Florida, and the American Southwest.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The Jeanne Russell Janish Papers cover the years 1833 through 1994, with an emphasis on 1894 to 1994. The materials include school records, research papers, and diaries with entries from 1918-1964, 1968, and 1973. There is also personal correspondence from 1910 to 1992. There are two original book manuscripts: one on Chinese silkworms written by Jeanne's husband, Carl F. Janish, and one by Jeanne on techniques of scientific illustration. There are also dried flowers, a travel diary written by Jeanne's maternal grandmother, Clara Cross, one VHS tape from the Stanford School of Earth Sciences, two hand-woven rugs from the Fette-Li Rug Company in China, arts supplies and tools, and approximately 140 watercolor paintings and pencil sketches of various scenes and subjects, created in China, Florida, and the American Southwest.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged by type.
Biographical / Historical Note
Jeanne Russell Janish was born on October 20, 1902 in Marshall, Iowa. She spent her early years in St. Louis, Missouri, where her father, Francis, was a Presbyterian minister. The family later moved to Santa Clara, California. Janish attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, her mother Lucile's alma mater, and graduated in 1924 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa with a major in Latin and a minor in geology. After graduation, she entered Stanford University, graduating in 1926 as the first woman to receive a Master of Arts degree in geology from the institution. While in school, Stanford paleontologist James Perrin Smith noticed Jeanne's creative abilities and encouraged her to study scientific illustration. Her career led her to illustrate thirty-two major scientific manuscripts, several field guides, and numerous scientific articles.
In 1929, Jeanne left for China on a visit, but stayed to work as a rug designer for her cousin Helen Fette at the latter's Fette-Li Rug Company. Her experiences at the company are recorded in her diaries. She met Carl F. Janish, a former United States Marine working for the New York Times in Beijing, and the couple married in late 1929. In 1934, the Janishes returned to the United States.
The couple spent seven years in California, where Jeanne worked as a freelance illustrator and Carl ran a summer camp, before making several moves around the country in the 1940s and early 1950s. In 1952, the couple settled in Carson City, Nevada for a short time before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1954. Carl Janish, a professional engineer, worked as a contractor at the Nevada Test Site and the Clark County Library District, while Jeanne pursued her career as an illustrator and focusing on local botany.
Jeanne Russell Janish died in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 4, 1998.
Source:
"Jeanne Russell Janish." Women in Nevada History. Aaccessed March 26, 2019. https://www.womennvhistory.com/portfolio/jeanne-russel-janish/
Preferred Citation
Jeanne Russell Janish Papers, 1833-1994. MS-00355. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Collection was donated in 1995 by Jeanne Russell Janish; accession number 95-31.
Processing Note
Material was partially processed in 1995 by Marie Imus. In 2015, Joyce Moore processed the remainder of the collection and created the finding aid in ArchivesSpace. In 2019, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Melise Leech rehoused the materials and updated the finding aid to bring it into compliance with current professional standards.