World War I, 1912-1941

Extent:

595 items

Scope and content:

This series consists of 595 items. Formats include pamphlets, newspapers, clippings, and one photograph album. There are many illustrations, mostly photographic. There are also many maps, some in color. One pamphlet is a collection of reproductions of the Dutch Louis Raemaekers' black and white propaganda sketches of atrocities and battles of World War I.

Several literary genres may be found in this sub-collection, including poetry, narrative, diaries, and published letters.

Because of Mazzoni's role as Senator of Italy and participant in World War I action in the Alps, there are a great many interesting items in this group. A large number are official government documents, most of them printed in Italy, England, or France. Many of the items are wartime propaganda, including some early pieces which were published with portions of text censored by the Austrians, after which an unknown person filled in the missing text in pen. Guido Mazzoni fortunately preserved these pieces for later generations to study.

The photograph album is quite unusual and was probably acquired by Mazzoni while he served in the Italian Army near Trento; it is one person's intimate account of the Austrian invasion of the Trento region and the Austrian's defeat one year later (1917-1918). It is written in highly sophisticated, poetic narrative which imitates Carducci's "barbaric meter," and is illustrated with about two dozen intimate wartime photographs.

Any item concerned with World War I is included in this category, even if its imprint date falls outside the dates in the subject heading. Thus there are some pamphlets printed after 1918 whose subject is directly related to the outcome of the war, such as the apportionment of territories north and east of Italy.

Individuals associated with this broad heading include: Ettore Levi, Armando Diaz, Sem Benelli, Camillo Pariset, Giovanni De Caesaris, Leone Wollemborg, Louis Raemaekers, Alberto Lumbroso, and Silvio Crespi.

For related materials that are not linked directly to the war, see the other categories "History," "Italy -- History," and "Italy -- Politics and Government."

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