NEW YORK ITALIANS
ON THE DEATH OF VICTOR EMMANUEL II
[VITTORIO EMANUELE II.]
Alla gloriosa memoria di Vittoria Emanuele primo re d’Italia, gli Italiani residenti in New York convenuti in publica assemblea offrivano in omaggio di lutto e di riconoscenza il XIV di gennaio MDCCCLXXVIII.
New York, Tipografia della scuola italiana, 1878.
4to, pp. [2 (blank)], 76, [2 (blank)]; title and text within black ruled border; a very good copy in publisher’s purple cloth over black-ruled bevelled boards with the arms of Vittorio Emanuele blocked in gilt to lower board and ‘In Memoriam’ in gilt to upper, spine lettered in gilt, dark brown endpapers; spine slightly sunned; preliminary blank inscribed ‘A Carlo ed Andrea / Ricordo di affetto sincero / V. Botta / New York / Aprile 1878'.
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Alla gloriosa memoria di Vittoria Emanuele primo re d’Italia, gli Italiani residenti in New York convenuti in publica assemblea offrivano in omaggio di lutto e di riconoscenza il XIV di gennaio MDCCCLXXVIII.
First edition of this work recording a memorial meeting held by the Italian community of New York following the death of Vittorio Emanuele II, first king of Italy, inscribed by Vincenzo Botta (1818–1894), the Italian educator and philosopher who chaired the meeting.
The meeting was held at the Italian school in New York, at 156 Leonard Street, on the evening of 14 January, 1878, and was recorded in the New York Tribune the following day: ‘The hall … was crowded to its utmost capacity … and often repeated and loud cheers burst forth whenever [Vittorio Emanuele’s] name was mentioned or when any allusion was made to his unification of Italy … Professor Botta spoke for half an hour, giving a very eloquent review of Victor Emanuel’s life, character and services … some passages of his speech were highly poetic, and seemed to charm the ears of the audience equally by their sentiment and the musical cadence of the sentences’.
After a brief political career, Botta settled in the United States in 1853 on the second of his tours to study education abroad, accepting the chair of Italian language and literature at the University of the City of New York (now New York University). Over the following four decades he was established as a leading figure of the Risorgimento in America, maintaining a correspondence with L’Opinione in Italy and writing addresses and articles in the States, including his laudatory discourses on Cavour, Garibaldi, and (here) Vittorio Emanuele II.
Botta’s contributions are accompanied by addresses from the Italian Consul General to the United States Ferdinand de Luca (1828–1889), and from the American diplomat and poet Bayard Taylor (1825–1878), who spoke in Italian ‘come figlio dell’America ed amico d’Italia’ (p. 63). Included is Taylor’s poem The Obsequies in Rome, published in the New York Tribune on 17 January, the day of Vittorio Emanuele’s funeral.
We find no copies in the UK.
