Culinary Object Research, Wolfsonian Institute
Locating and securing access to material constitute the first steps in my research process. Because the ubiquity of mass media often leads its disposal, finding materials can be a challenge. Bibliographic entries, footnotes, and, crucially, acknowledgements in my favorite texts help me to identify sites. Then I connect with archivists, librarians, and curators via phone and email to discuss the project and determine whether the location possesses sufficient materials to warrant a visit. Grant applications follow, and then I’m off to a museum or library. Happily, the sites themselves often provide historical intrigue: collections might be housed in a former ducal palace, such as the Centro Studi Wolfsoniana in Genova or a retrofitted dungeon, as in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.
Museums, Libraries, Archives
The following collections have provided invaluable ephemera, objects, film clips, and documents for my work on the material culture of Fascist Italy and Italian East Africa and the more generally on the history of gender and race through food.
ITALY
Rome
Archivio di Stato
Last visited: November 2015
Materials: government and company records
Archivio Storico Diplomatico
Last visited: December 2015
Materials: government records of women’s health in A.O.I.
Biblioteca Casanatense
Last visited: October 2015
Materials: Court records prosecuting madamismo in A.O.I.
Archivio Storico Istituto Luce Last visited: November 2015 Materials: propagandistic films, newsreels, photographs
Biblioteca Nazionale
Last visited: July 2012
Materials: national and regional periodicals
Biblioteca del Ministero della Salute
Last visited: November 2015
Materials: O.N.M.I. records and periodicals
Biblioteca Storica Nazionale di Agricoltura
Last visited: November 2015
Materials: Agricultural magazines, manuals, and guides
Museo Nazionale delle Paste Alimentari
Last visited: November 2015
Materials: Food production magazines, manuals, and guides
Archivio Storico e Museo Birra Peroni
Last visited: November 2015
Materials: Beer-related material culture and ephemera
Florence and Environs
Archivio dei Diari
Last visited: October 2013
Materials: women’s diaries from Italy and Italian East Africa
Archivio di Stato
Last visited: October 2013
Materials: architectural plans
Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale
Last visited: October 2013
Materials: magazine, almanac, and book publishing records and circulation figures
Milan
Archivio Storico Civico
Last visited: July 2010
Materials: Fascist propaganda (posters, almanacs)
Bologna
Antiquario Strada Maggiore
Last visited: July 2010
Materials: food packaging, decorative objects
Parma
Archivio Barilla
Last visited: June 2010
Materials: calendars, audio and video recordings, advertisements
Biblioteca Gastronomica
Last visited: June 2010
Materials: menus, cooking magazines (La Cucina Italiana), cookbooks
Archivio della Comunicazione
Last visited: July 2010
Materials: artists’ studies for advertisements, advertisements
Modena
Museo della Figurina
Last visited: July 2010
Materials: picture cards, food labels, pocket calendars
Ravenna
Biblioteca di storia contemporanea Alfredo Oriani
Last visited: June 2012
Materials: magazines (Autarchia Alimentare, Bellezza), almanacs
Perugia
Archivio storico Buitoni Perugina
Last visited: July 2010
Materials: food packaging, advertisements, company records
Genoa
Centro Studi Wolfsoniana
Last visited: July 2010
Materials: artists’ studies for advertisements, posters, almanacs
Nervi
Wolfsoniana
Last visited: July 2010
Materials: furniture
UNITED STATES
Cambridge
Harvard Schlesinger Library
Last visited: May 2013
Materials: cookbooks
Harvard Loeb Library
Last visited: July 2013
Materials: architecture journals (Casabella‘s Costruzioni)
Miami
Wolfsonian
Last visited: July 2010
Materials: kitchenware (dishware and appliances), recipe pamphlets, menus
ONLINE ARCHIVES
Ente Nazionale Risi Last visited: December 2013 Materials: call-and-response work songs from the mondine (female rice harvesters)
Libro e Moschetto Last visited: October 2013 Materials: children’s toys, uniforms, office objects (lamps, cardholders)