Special Collections Department

The Futurism Collection

1909 - 1969

Manuscript Collection Number: 220 Accessioned: 1987 Extent: 26 items Content: Notes, clippings, manuscripts, typescripts Access: The collection is open for research. Processed: April 1991, by W. Van Wyck

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Special Collections, University of Delaware Library Newark, Delaware 19717-5267 (302) 831-2229

Table of Contents

Historical Note Scope and Contents Note Contents List

Historical Note

Futurism, a twentieth-century movement founded by the Italian writer Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944), embraced literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, and music. The Futurist movement was known for its manifestos which provided practical information about the implementation of futurist principles. The first Futurist Manifesto was written by Marinetti and published in Le Figaro in 1909. Marinetti called for a new art form that would reflect contemporary living conditions and break with the aesthetic traditions of the nineteenth century. Futurist artists attempted to apply Marinetti's principles by glorifying speed and movement in their works.

In 1939, writers Luigi Scrivo and P. Bellanova began compiling notes, clippings, and drafts of chapters for a proposed definitive history of the Futurist Movement. The proposed book, entitled "Volgarizzazione del Futurismo," was never completed. Some of the material collected by Scrivo and Bellanova appears in a similar work, "Sintesi del Futurismo: Storia E Documenti," published by Scrivo in 1968.

Source:

Scrivo, Luigi, comp. Sintesi del futurismo. Storia e documenti. Roma, M. Bulzoni, 1968

Scope and Content Note

The Futurism Collection spanning 1909 to 1969 consists of notes, clippings, and essays compiled by Luigi Scrivo and P. Bellanova for their proposed history of Futurism, "Volgarizzazione del Futurismo." The bulk of the material in this collection is written in Italian. Included are five different plans for the work; the manuscripts of approximately eight essays; five collections of statements from Mussolini, Ezra Pound, and others; numerous clippings; tear sheets from "Il Libro Italiano;" and an annotated Marinetti bibliography. It appears that Marinetti was somehow involved in the work, as his autograph notes appear on a few of the manuscripts.

Contents List

Box -- Folder -- Contents

F1- Five different versions of text giving the plan of the 5 proposed book, including an introduction and a manuscript note, [n.d.] Ts and AMs, 5 items, 28 pp (29 leaves) This material explains that the proposed book was planned as a riposte to the Fascist charges that Futurism was an invention of "cosmopolitan Jews."

F6 L'estetico della macchina, [n.d.] AMs, 3 pp (4 leaves)

F7 Goliardismo Futurista, [n.d.] AMs, Ts, mimeograph, printed collage, 11 pp. (11 leaves) This chapter provides a history of Futurism's appeal to youth (with emphasis on the years 1921 and 1938). Showing every sign of being assembled according to Marinetti's instructions, this collage text contains the very rare 1938 document "Agli studenti d'Italia e del Mondo."

F8 Futurismo Politico, [n.d.] Ts and printed collage, 16 pp (16 leaves) This chapter deals with Futurism's role in the growth of Fascism.

F9 Arti Plastiche, [n.d.] AMs, Ts, printed collage, 41 pp (41 leaves)

F10 Arti Minori, [n.d.] 2 items, 5 pp (5 leaves) with press clipping of Marinetti's manifesto "Ceramica e Aeroceramica" [1938]. "Arti Minori" is a second draft of "Arti Plastiche."

F11- Five collections of statements entitled "L'Opinion mondiale 15 su Marinetti e sul Futurismo." [n.d.] Ts, 5 items, 58 pp (58 leaves) One of these collections includes an autograph heading written by Marinetti. These collections of statements appeared as appendices to many publications of the 1930s Futurists, with phrases from Musolini, Ezra Pound, Paul Fort, and others.

F16 Manifesto Futurista della Aeromusica, [n.d.] Ts, 5 pp (5 leaves) with "Fondazione del Futurismo" [n.d.] Ts and printed collage, 4 pp (4 leaves) and "Il Tattilismo" [n.d.] Ts, 2 pp (2 leaves)

F17 Unidentified typescript on Futurism [n.d.] Ts, 2 pp (2 leaves) F18 Manifeste du Futurisme, Feb 20, 1909. 4 pp (1 leaf) Futurist Manifesto written by F.T. Marinetti

F19 Tear sheets from "Il Libro Italiano," [c. 1915] 12 pp (6 leaves) These pages provide the key to the pseudonyms used by many Futurists in the early issues of "Lacerba."

F20 Annotated Marinetti bibliography [1935] AMs, 1 p (1 leaf) Note on Marinetti written by Scrivo

F21 Nel 50° Anniversario del Futurismo.../A 60 Anni il Futurismo..., 1959, 1969 Articles written by Scrivo on the occasion of the fiftieth and sixtieth anniversaries of the movement's founding Ts, 2 items, 9 pp (9 leaves)