New Facebook Group

Since I get a good handful of email regarding this blog, I decided to put together a facebook group!  I know people have questions.  Let's start talking!

Finding Count St. Germain   ⇐ The link!

Jacques Saint-Germain, PART 3

Part 3

I went onto abebooks.com and found three books by Jacques Saint Germain - two with inscriptions from the author.

• Saint Germain, Jacques.  Madame de Brinvilliers.  La Marquise aux Poisons.  Hachette, 1971.  French.
• Saint Germain, Jacques.  La Seconde Mort des Rois de France.  Hachette, 1972.  French.
• Saint Germain, Jacques.  Les Financiers sous Louis XIV.  Library Plon; Paris, 1950. French.

In La Second Mort des Rois de France, there is an author photo and in Madame de Brinvilliers there is an author description.

This is nearly all the information I have been able to find on this guy.  Since not everyone reads French, here's a general translation of his little bio:

"Born on March 28, 1908 in Basse-Goulaine (Loire-Atlantique).  He got a law degree in 1928 and was a long-time journalist and the last editor of The Information Financiere.  He received an award in history from the French Academy.  He is a member of Club des Cent and the Typographic Company.  He has written 5 books on the reign of Louis XIV.  He is preparing a book on the Basilica de Saint-Denis and the profanations of 1793."

Click to Enlarge Photos

As always, despite feeling like this is a dead end, let's compare to the Count's handwriting.  Click to enlarge all photos.

Both handwriting styles are small and tight.  The capital "M"s are different, almost mirrored to each other.  The flourish is on opposite sides.  Capital "G" and "A" differ between the two handwritings.  Different "J".  Similar lowercase letters and letter flourishes.

I think it's a bust.  The guy in the photo doesn't share the facial features that we get from the paintings and engravings of the Count.  Handwriting is close, but there are some key letters that are really different.

Why Did I Bother With This Guy?

All tangents need to be looked at before either accepting it or discarding it.  Also, this guy wrote books that fit into the time frame.  I might have some cool new resources for my bibliography!  I have to go through the books.

I was really intrigued by this guy's work.  I mean, aside from the last name, he really seemed to like writing about the time frame that the Count would have been flourishing in.

I'm going to move this guy's work into Books Not By The Count under the BIBLIOGRAPHY.  It's still relevant, due to subject matter, but just by our Count.

What's Next?

I'm still not done with Jacques Saint-Germain.  Since we first got word about a vampire legend in New Orleans, I will be traveling to NOLA in November.  I have started inquiries about the origins of the legend.

I have scoured legend variations for particular details - names, dates, etc.  I spent SO MUCH TIME going through old newspapers, but there has not been anything written about a "Jacques Saint-Germain" that I have been able to find.

Side Note from Jessie

As always, I extend an invitation to share information with me.  I like to ask for references.  If you can't provide a reference for your information, then it's useless for my research.  Just let me know where you got your info from - simple!  EMAIL - JessieDesmond@Rocketmail.com

I get a fairly steady stream of emails from people and I'm wondering if I actually have...fans.  It seems like a foreign thing and I feel so awkward for wondering about it.  Do I need some sort of social media something for this blog like a facebook group?  Let's see who is interested.  NEW facebook group: Finding Count St. Germain

Jacques Saint Germain - Part 2

Scouring through New Orleans newspapers using newspapers.com resulted in finding nothing regarding Jacques Saint Germain.  I found nothing about a woman leaping from second floor balcony on Royal Street.  I also could not find a published police report about the women killed in 1933.

I did find an advert for the storefront at 1039 Royal Street; the residence is at 1041 Royal Street. The advert (click to enlarge it) comes from:
The Times-Democrat (New Orleans, Louisiana) · 12 May 1901, Sun · Page 18

Obviously, you could buy Queen Freezers from A.J. Bessec in May 1901.  This seems like pointless information.

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I took a break from scouring newspapers to scroll through google searches.  There are a few minor differences in stories - some say that he showed up in 1902, others say 1904, etc.  Nearly everyone says that there are still sightings and attacks carried out by Jacques Saint Germain aka "Vampire Jack".  It's supposed to be one thing that inspired Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Count St. Germain novels.

Side Note: If you haven't read any of the novels, you should start with the first one Hotel Transylvania.  I liked it.

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One thing I have an issue with is the lack of details in the stories about Jacques Saint Germain.  We don't have any names of any people that he mingled with and we don't have any specific dates.  We just have this regurgitated legend.

With the previous blog post (HERE) you'll notice that I found some books written by Jacques Saint Germain.  I was actually hoping to find a book just on the legend of "Vampire Jack", but these other books came up instead.  The oldest one I could find is from December 31, 1938.  The topics of the books are all on topics that the Count would of had knowledge of or interest in, such as: 18th century France, industrialization in France, and entertaining.  I cannot find any records or photos of Jacques Saint Germain (the author) via ancestry.com or google or abebooks.com.  Autographed copies of books were ordered for the purpose of comparing the handwriting with the Count's.  You can find a list of Jacques Saint Germain's books on the Timeline.

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Books about Vampire Jack:

Woywod Crandle, Marita.  New Orleans Vampires: History and Legend.  Arcadia Publishing, 2017.

Are there really no books dedicated to this guy?  I'm barely finding anything.

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OKAY...so definitely expect Part 3.

If you come across anything that you think may be of interest, send me an email or leave a comment below.   I'm looking for illustrations, paintings, photos, or other media about Jacques Saint-Germain.  I am also looking for news articles -- which I am not finding.  Has anyone had any sightings recently of Vampire Jack?

Also, I'm thinking about setting something up on Facebook -- like a facebook group or something.  I get a handful of emails each month, usually with info that I already know about, so I guess there is some interest out there.  If you are interested in joining a FB group (if I start one), please let me know in the comments.

Jacques St. Germain, Vampire of NOLA

Thanks to Solomon Ben Abraham for giving me a heads up on this.  I did some digging around and would like to present to you....

Jacques St. Germain, Vampire of NOLA

In 1902, a man named Jacques St. Germain arrived on the New Orleans, Louisiana scene and took up residence at 1041 Royal Street.  You can view the inside HERE.  The home is part of a NOLA vampire tour and is privately owned by the Blondeau's.  He was a handsome cavalier, a lady's man, and was often out and about in the French Quarter's social scene - whether hosting or out at clubs.  He was very fond of throwing lavish dinner parties for socialites.  Invitations were highly sought after due to the food, fine wine, and entertainment.  St. Germain would often regale his guests with stories of his vast travels through France, Italy, Egypt, and other parts of Africa.

He was described as being highly intelligent, a patron of the arts, a master of languages, very wealthy, and very fond of Bourbon Street.

St. Germain had a solid grasp of English, since he had come over from Paris, France.  He could, in fact, speak several languages fluently - English, French, Spanish, and Italian (as noted in tales told about him).  He would often talk about things that he had witnessed decades and centuries before, leaving his guests slightly confused and even more enamored with him.  He even claimed that he was a direct descendant of Count St. Germain from Louis XV's court.  Some guests would compare portraits of the Count with Jacques; they were positive that he must be related since he looked nearly identical.  They were even roughly the same age.  Jacques would neither confirm nor deny being the Count.  This simply led to more mystery to his person.

Jacques' parties were highly sought after, but several people noted that he never partook in dining with his guests.  He simply entertained as they dined and always drank from a rather fancy chalice, presumably filled with wine.

Bloody turn of events.  The following is taken from Ancient Origins.

These rumors took a sinister turn several months after St. Germain’s arrival to New Orleans, when the police were called to St. Germain’s home to investigate the circumstances leading to a woman who had seemingly fallen from his gallery, a full story above.

His guest, a woman who was rumored to have been a prostitute, had in fact leapt from his balcony, rather than fallen, as bystanders had originally surmised. While she survived the fall, she was terrified. People on the street surrounded her and tended to her needs while help was rounded. Hysterical, the woman ranted that she had jumped to escape St. Germain, who had bitten her neck. She screamed and sobbed out her story, claiming she was only able to escape when her assailant was briefly distracted by a rather loud knocking on his door.

The woman was taken to the hospital as soon as possible, and the police, suspecting that she had become delusional, told the very well-known, affluent, and respected St. Germain not to bother coming in for questioning at this late hour, but rather to please visit the police station in the morning to go over the accounts of the evening. The police were confident that there was a reasonable explanation for what had transpired.
The next morning, St. Germain never appeared at the police station. In fact, to everyone’s chagrin, he had completely vanished overnight, leaving the majority of his belongings behind.

Legend suggests that upon breaking into his house, the police were cautious and in great anticipation of what they might encounter. On the second floor of the house they discovered a series of open but corked wine bottles. Upon closer investigation, they discovered the large collection of bottles were filled with a terrifying mixture of wine along with large quantities of human blood.

Jacque St. Germain was never seen again. He disappeared just as mysteriously as he had arrived. As one can only imagine, his contemporaries were shocked at this scandal, feeling both betrayed and fooled, and probably a little disappointed that the fun had come to an end.

According to Michael Murphy's book Fear Dat New Orleans, there are ongoing sightings of "Vampire Jack" in New Orleans. In 1933, the NOLA police were called to Royal Street where for two consecutive nights women were found with their throats torn out and they were drained of blood.  A witness claims to have seen the man scale a 12-foot tall wall effortlessly to make his escape.

If you care to listen to a podcast on Jacques Saint Germain, you can listen to: Campfire Files, Episode 12. Real-Life Vampire, Jacques St. Germain  (time 51:08)  I'm not super impressed with this podcast, but whatever...it's entertaining.

If you're interested in obscure French books, you can find a handful of books written by Jacques Saint Germain from the 1960s and 1970s.  You can find stuff on Abebooks.com and Amazon.com

 Could there be ties between this author, the Jacques St.Germain from New Orleans, and the Count?

I have some of these books ordered, so expect a part 2.  I have not been able to come across any photos, drawings, or paintings of Jacques/Jacque Saint-Germain/St. Germain.  Perhaps there is something in the books I have coming.  There are handwriting samples that we will be able to compare.

I find it very curious that Jacques Saint Germain's books topics are spot on with the Count's knowledge base.  The only thing that could make it more perfect would be a book on textile manufacturing in the 18th century.

I will see what I can dig up.  If you come across anything, please send me an email!

Research Update

I typically do my research on Saturday mornings at a local cafe called Venue.  I'm there almost every weekend and it's become a weekend ritual.  I love it - no dogs, no one to bother me, nothing except the research.  It's surprising how much you can get done in an hour and with two dry cappuccinos.  One thing that I am adamant on during these morning research sessions is the lack of screens, with the exception of my phone.

What's on my playlist in the photo?  Sisters of Mercy's album "Floodland".  It's one of my favorites.

As you can see in the photo, the book I'm going through (for the hundredth time) is:
Overton Fuller, Jean. The Comte de Saint-Germain. Last Scion of the House of Rakoczy. East-West Publications; London, 1988.

What kind of information am I looking for?  

• Tendrils.  Little things that don't have much information listed, but might be an interesting path to follow.  Examples: particular jewels, mentions of communications between people, art, music, etc.  At this point, no one has uncovered any of the Count's artwork, that I know of, but it is frequently mentioned.  That's a tendril.  
• Places of Interest.  If I'm going to plan a trip to Europe to do research, I need to make notations about places of interest.  This could be places where the Count lived, places of historical value towards my research, places that hold artifacts, etc.
• Names & People Known.  I always make note of names the Count used and people the Count knew.  Sometimes the best way to know someone is to see who they associate with.

My bibliography - I feel like I need to say this due to a lot of the emails that I get.  If there is something listed in my bibliography, I have it (either physically or digitally) and have read it - the exception being all the music.  Chances are I have gone through it a number of times.  I am always looking for new reference material, especially primary sources.

I love getting a response from people and would like to give a shout out to Tom Slemen (who mentioned some new info, but hasn't shared yet - twitter) and Scott Vincent (who produced
Comte de St. Germain: Musique Raisonnée).  Check out their stuff!

Simon Wolff Brandes Art

It is said that the Count might have been, or might have used the name, Simon Wolff Brandes.  This is a watercolor piece sent to Frederick I as a congrats for his coronation from 1701.  Currently, no one has recovered any of the Count's artworks.

Congratulatory address of the Berlin Protected Jew Simon Wolff Brandes on the occasion of the coronation of Frederick I.

Police Sketch App

I've been playing around with a police sketch app called PortraitPad.  Using the portraits of the Count as a guide, I've been trying to get a mock-up of what he might look like without the powdered wig.  I tried a bunch of different hairstyles that look fairly conservative.  I don't think I found the right eyebrows.

What do you like?  What do you dislike?

If you want to use PortraitPad to give this a try, you can send me your best results!  Here is my EMAIL.  Be sure to check out the GALLERY for historic portraits of the Count.

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Zanoni

I have a new section in the bibliography for odd books.  These are books that aren't primary sources, but we might be able to gather a little about the Count from them.

I really just created the section for a book called Zanoni.

Bulwer-Lytton, Edward.  Zanoni.  Saunders & Oatley; London, 1842.  2008 reprint.

I bought a physical copy from Forgotten Books, but you can read a free copy from Project Gutenberg.

Here is the blurb about the book from wikipedia:

"Zanoni, a timeless Rosicrucian brother, cannot fall in love without losing his power of immortality; but he does fall in love with Viola Pisani, a promising young opera singer from Naples, the daughter of Pisani, a misunderstood Italian violinist. An English gentleman named Glyndon loves Viola as well, but is indecisive about proposing marriage, and then renounces his love to pursue occult study. The story develops in the days of the French Revolution in 1789. Zanoni has lived since the Chaldean civilisation. His master Mejnor warns him against a love affair but Zanoni does not heed. He finally marries Viola and they have a child. As Zanoni experiences an increase in humanity, he begins to lose his gift of immortality. He finally dies in the guillotine during the French Revolution."

Rumor is Bulwer-Lytton based Zanoni on the Count!  That is why I now own this book.  I haven't read it yet.  I have so much to get through, but I will read this book soon.

It would be cool to have a book discussion on this book.  If you're interested, let me know.  It'll be like a book club.  I'll probably start reading in February.  Just leave me a comment below or find me on facebook. My facebook.

I would also like to have some group discussions on The Most Holy Saint Trinosophie.