J. Gentil Papers

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: Collection 68

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The J. Gentil Papers consists of three handwritten documents, all of them in French. The leather-bound volume, titled “Chants de L’exil,” includes sixteen poems or songs. It is unclear if the entries are gathered or the original work of Gentil; entries list a geographic location and date. The other two documents, “Instruction et Avenir” and an untitled manuscript, refer to “College de la Louisiane” and “University de la Louisiane” respectively, suggesting the texts are commencement speeches.

Dates

Created: 1852-1857
Other: Date acquired: 12/10/2012

Creator

Gentil, Jean-Sylvain (Family)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Physical rights are retained by the J. Edgar and Louis S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. Copyright Laws.

Biographical or Historical Information

Jean Sylvain Gentil (1829-1911), a native of France and lifelong proponent of democratic principles, left his country in 1850 as a political exile following imprisonment and expulsion by Emperor Napoleon III. Gentil settled in Saint James Parish, Louisiana in 1853 and obtained a professorship of foreign languages at Jefferson College, a small Catholic school. Following the Civil War, Gentil continued his political activism by partnering with Armand Victor Romain to produce the weekly Le Louisianais. In 1881, Gentil sold Le Louisianais to André Roman and Paul Grima, who continued producing the newspaper until 1883. Gentil subsequently owned La Démocratie française of New Orleans and wrote articles for various other publications.

In addition to political pieces, Gentil composed a great deal of poetry throughout his life. Les écrits de langue française en Louisiane au XIXe siècle, Edward Larocque Tinker presents Gentil’s full name as Jean-Sylvain Gentil; however, Gentil signed himself “J. Gentil” or used one of his noms de plume, which included Jean Gribouille, J. Gringoire, J. Gueux, J. G. jardinier (or, jardinier louisianais).

Extent

1.00 boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement Note

For this collection, the arrangement scheme was imposed during processing.

Physical Access Requirements

Binding on the volume "Chants de L’exil" is non-existent. There are losses to the pages on the binding edge. Sewn binding holds some of the page blocks together and pages are stained. Leather cover has losses and is completely detached. The document titled “Instruction et Avenir” is written in iron gall ink; burning from the ink has occurred.