Grass Valley and Vicinity, Taken by D. Fricot, ca. 1894-ca. 1910

Processed by Chris McDonald.

The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, California 94720-6000

1996

Grass Valley and Vicinity, Taken by D. Fricot, ca. 1894-ca. 1910

BANC PIC 1976.034 -- AX

The Bancroft Library

University of California

Berkeley, California 1996

Finding aid and digital representations of archival materials funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Processed and encoded by:

California Heritage Digital Image Access Project staff in The Bancroft Library and The Library's Electronic Text Unit

Digital images processed by:

The Library Photographic Service

Finding aid completed:

November 1996

Collection Summary

Collection Title: Grass Valley and Vicinity, Taken by D. Fricot

Collection Number: BANC PIC 1976.034 -- AX

Extent: 56 photographic prints, 20 x 25 cm. or smaller (some mounted, 23 x 28 cm. or smaller); 1 single-page document, 36 x 22 cm.; 2 booklets: 15 x 24 cm., and 18 x 13 cm. 56 digital objects

Photographer: Désiré Fricot

Repository: The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley.

Berkeley, California 94720-6000

Languages Represented: English

Information for Researchers

Access

Restricted originals. Use of originals only by permission of the Curator of Pictorial Collections, The Bancroft Library.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish photographs must be submitted in writing to the Curator of Pictorial Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Copyright restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Grass Valley and Vicinity, Taken by D. Fricot, BANC PIC 1976.034 --AX, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Digital Representations Available

Digital representations of selected original pictorial materials are available in the list of materials below.Digital image files were prepared from selected Library originals by the Library Photographic Service. Library originals were copied onto 35mm color transparency film; the film was scanned and transferred to Kodak Photo CD (by Custom Process); and the Photo CD files were color-corrected and saved in JFIF (JPEG) format for use as viewing files.

Related Collections

Views of Calaveras and Mariposa Counties, Calif. BANC PIC 1976.033 -- fALB

Album of Photographs of Hawaii BANC PIC 1976.032 -- fALB

Berton & Co. Records, 1904-1934 BANC MSS 70/7 c

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The Grass Valley and Vicinity photographs were purchased in 1976.

Biography

Désiré Fricot (1868-1940) was the son of Jules Nicolas Fricot, a French emigre who became a California mining pioneer. Part of a larger community of French prospectors, the Fricot family owned and operated a number of very prosperous mines in the Grass Valley and Nevada City areas of Nevada County, as well as mines in Calaveras County. They also owned real estate in San Francisco, and were apparently active in French diplomatic and consular activities in California and Hawaii.

Désiré Fricot was also a translator of French language documents into English. In 1940, the California Historical Society published his translation of and introduction to André Chavanne's The Burning of the Golden Gate in July 1862. The Impressions of a Survivor, André Chavanne (in California Historical Society Quarterly, vol. 19, no.1, pp. 27-42), an account of the steamship Golden Gate. In 1944, the same organization published his California Unveiled: A Translation of Treny's La Californie dévoilée (reprinted from The California Historical Society Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 4, December 1943, and vol. 23, no. 1, March 1944). Both of these publications are held by the Bancroft Library.

Scope and Content

The Grass Valley and Vicinity collection contains 56 photographic prints taken circa 1894 by Désiré Fricot. The collection appears to have originally been intended as an album, as two of the mounts are covered in fabric, one of which bears the hand-painted title "Grass Valley, 1894." The collection features views and scenes of the Grass Valley area of Nevada County, California --the most productive gold-mining region in the nation --and reflects various interests of the Fricot family. The town of Grass Valley itself is represented in general views, street scenes, and views of several residences and other points of interest. Also included are several scenes of mines --including the prosperous North Star Mine --and mining; the outlying Deer Creek, Shebley Park, and other natural areas; and a Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad train wreck.

Several people, most of whom are presumably members of the Fricot family, appear throughout the album.

Several of the prints are numbered and bear the name of "D. Fricot." The only other identified photographer is "Dowe."

The collection also contains a document describing the incorporation of the Eastern Star Gold and Silver Mining Company, and two booklets --a promotional report on the region entitled "Nevada, the Banner Gold County of California," published circa 1910; and a general history and overview of the area entitled "Souvenir of Grass Valley and Vicinity," published circa 1895, which is illustrated with many of the Fricot photographs included in the collection.

Container Listing

:1 [View of Grass Valley. Mounted print; apparently front cover of original album. Painted fabric cover stitched to verso of mount reads "Grass Valley 1894."]