Helping Preserve Another Great Collection (Part 1)

Button with ribbon welcoming General Armando Diaz
(1861-1928) to the United States in 1921

Recently charged with the task of archiving part of a private collection of Italian American ephemera, I was blown away by the sheer size of the hoard. Currently cataloging old society ribbons, buttons, and medals, I never realized how many Italian American mutual aid and fraternal societies there once were in these United States.

Button with so-called "Labor
martyrs," Sacco and Vanzetti

Also, when handling the objects, one cannot help but notice how far superior the workmanship and overall quality of the materials used to manufacture them are in comparison to the more modern ones. Yet another sobering reminder of the false promises of progress and globalism, it would cost a fortune to recreate these simple objects today.

Exceeding the discoveries we made at a previous job in 2022 [See Startling Discoveries Part 1 and Part 2], I’m sharing, with the owner’s permission, several pieces I believe our readers will find interesting.

~ Giovanni di Napoli, June 13th, Feast of Sant’Antonio di Padova

(L) Obverse of Christopher Columbus medal, 1892. (R) Reverse depicting the great navigator's landing in the New World

(L) Button with tricolor ribbons and dangling metal airplane welcoming
General Italo Balbo to the United States in 1933. (R) Undated
"St. Antonio Sodality" ribbon from Bryan, Texas.

(L) Obverse depicting Sant'Antonio. (R) Reverse depicting reliquary

(L) Società M.S. Vincenzo Bellini, St. Louis, Missouri. (R) Christopher
Columbus medal celebrating the plans to build a memorial in honor of
the great navigator in St. Paul, Minnesota, on 12 October 1931

(L) Medal, dated 13 June 1936, XIV (year 14 of the Fascist era), celebrating
the "Sagra della Riconoscenza" (festival of gratitude) at the artistic complex
of the Italian Consul General at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
(R) Order of Italian Sons and Daughters of America medal with a
shielded warrior holding a torch on top of a fasces

(L) Società di M.S. Maria SS. di Montevergine, Ballston Spa, New York. (R) Società di M.S. Maria SS. di Montevergine, New Brighton, Staten Island

Società Poeta D'Annunzio founded by the Fraielli Falconese, Chicago

(Above & below) Crowned medals with the coat-of-arms of the
House ofSavoy once adorned numerous society ribbons

 Crowned medals with the coat-of-arms of the House
of Savoy once adorned numerous society ribbons

(L) Società di M.S. Vittorio Emanuele III, Canaan, Connecticut.
(R) Garibaldi League, Atlantic City, New Jersey