Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Correspondence and Papers, 1886-1974, Bulk 1900-1944
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt6k4037tr No online items Finding aid for the Filippo Tommaso Marinetti correspondence and papers, 1886-1974, bulk 1900-1944 Finding aid prepared by Annette Leddy. 850702 1 Descriptive Summary Title: Filippo Tommaso Marinetti correspondence and papers Date (inclusive): 1886-1974 (bulk 1900-1944) Number: 850702 Creator/Collector: Marinetti, Filippo Tommaso, 1876-1944 Physical Description: 8.5 linear feet(16 boxes) Repository: The Getty Research Institute Special Collections 1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100 Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688 (310) 440-7390 Abstract: Writer and founder and leader of the Italian Futurist movement. Correspondence, writings, photographs, and printed matter from Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's papers, documenting the history of the futurist movement from its beginning in the journal Poesia, through World War I, and less comprehensively, through World War II and its aftermath. Request Materials: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record for this collection. Click here for the access policy . Language: Collection material is in English Biographical/Historical Note Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, born in Alexandria in 1876, attended secondary school and university in France, where he began his literary career. After gaining some success as a poet, he founded and edited the journal Poesia (1905), a forum in which the theories of futurism rather quickly evolved. With "Fondazione e Manifesto del Futurismo," published in Le Figaro (1909), Marinetti launched what was arguably the first 20th century avant-garde movement, anticipating many of the issues of Dada and Surrealism. Like other avant-garde movements, futurism took the momentous developments in science and industry as signaling a new historical era, demanding correspondingly innovative art forms and language. Like other avant-garde movements, futurism found a solution in collage, which Marinetti called "parole in libertà" when applied to literary forms. Between 1909 and 1920, the period known as futurism's heroic phase, Marinetti energetically promoted his own work, and that of fellow futurists, through numerous manifestos, speeches, essays, meetings, performances and publications. Following WWI, in which he served, Marinetti became an active member of the fascist party; on April 15, 1919, he and Ferruccio Vecchi led the "battle" of piazza Mercanti against socialists, communists, and anarchists, which was Italian fascism's first decisive victory. In 1929 he was elected to the Academy of Italy. Throughout the 1920s and 30s and until his death in 1944, Marinetti sought to reconcile the theories of futurism with the ideology of state fascism and to serve as impresario for both. Access Open for use by qualified researchers. Publication Rights Contact Library Reproductions and Permissions . Preferred Citation Filippo Tommaso Marinetti correspondence and papers, 1886-1974 (bulk 1900-1944), Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 850702. http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa850702 Acquisition Information Collection assembled from various small collections acquired from 1984 to 1989. Processing History Brent Sverdlov processed the papers and described them in a lengthy catalog record ca. 1990. Annette Leddy rearranged them somewhat and created a finding aid in 2004. Papers of F.T. Marinetti and Benedetta Capa Marinetti, 1902-1965 (bulk 1920-1936) Accession no. 920092.Marinetti student notebooks and other papers, 1891-1936, Accession no. 890122. Separated Material Two parole in libertà were moved into other collections. 850702 2 "Carso=Topaia," Accession no. 870379."Carte Synchronique," Accession no. 850702. Scope and Content of Collection Marinetti correspondence and papers was assembled from various small collections acquired between 1984 and 1989, originally drawn from the Marinetti family archive and the papers of Luigi Scrivo, Marinetti's personal secretary from around 1930. The largest portion of the collection consists of correspondence and submissions directed to Marinetti (Series I and II), first as editor of Poesia and later as the leader of the futurist movement and the publisher of the book press Edizioni futuriste di "Poesia". These letters, together with those from Marinetti (Series III) to an often unnamed correspondent ("Mon ami"), demonstrate how Marinetti stimulated debate about his movement in part by sending queries to a broad range of international literary figures regarding free verse or the futurist manifestos. He also critiques the writing submitted to him according to futurist criteria, warmly praising pieces that meet his idiosyncratic standards. His correspondents, in turn, praise or critique Marinetti's writing; of particular interest are conflicted responses to the first futurist manifesto in 1909. Letters from fellow futurists, such as Carlo Carrà, Umberto Boccioni, Francesco Cangiullo, and Fortunato Depero reveal wranglings internal to the movement, as well as the zeal with which they pursued their shared aims. After the First World War, letters are concerned with politics, and during the fascist years, many regard requests for government funding for individual futurist artists. Finally, following Marinetti's death, letters directed to Benedetta or Scrivo pertain to preservation of the futurist legacy, despite the stain of fascism, through retrospective exhibitions, anthologies, and conferences. Writings by Marinetti (Series IV) include a few manuscripts from futurism's first phase, such as a handwritten theatrical synthesis "Donna + Amici = Frente" and three handwritten parole, but most of the writings date from after 1930. These include many prefaces to the books of fellow futurists, lectures and essays on aeropainting, and clippings from Autori e Scrittori. Circulars from Agenzia Letteraria Artistica (Series VII) contain manifestos and declarations in a newsletter format. Biographies (Series V), either drawn from newspaper articles, reference books, or manuscripts, present official and personal accounts of Marinetti's life; photographs (Series VI) offer a complementary visual summary. Letters to Alberto Cappa (Series VIII), Benedetta's brother, consist largely of letters from Benedetta about her mother or brother's health, with some details about her travels with Marinetti. Arrangement note The papers are arranged in eight series: Series I. Letters and submissions to Marinetti and others, 1900-1974; Series II. Unsigned or undated letters and submissions, ca. 1910 - ca. 1970; Series III. Letters from Marinetti, ca. 1905-1944; Series IV. Writings by Marinetti, 1896-1949; Series V. Biographies, 1927-1968; Series VI. Photographs, 1886-1972; Series VII. Agenzia Letteraria Artistica (A.L.A.): Circulars, 1934-1939; Series VIII. Letters to Alberto Cappa, 1923-1931. Subjects - Names D'Annunzio, Gabriele, 1863-1938 Marinetti, Filippo Tommaso, 1876-1944 Subjects - Topics Architecture, Modern Experimental theater Fascism--Italy Futurism--Art Italian poetry--20th century Literature, Experimental Subjects - Places Italy--Politics and government Subjects - Titles Autori e Scrittori Lacerba Poesia Genres and Forms of Material Photographic prints Photographs, Original Contributors Acquaviva, Giovanni Bertozzi, Renzo. Bois, Jules, 1871-1943 850702 3 Bragalia, Anton Giulio, 1890-1960 Buzzi, Paolo, d. 1956 Cangiullo, Francesco, 1888-1977 Cappa, Alberto Carrieri, Raffaele, 1905- Carrà, Carlo, 1881-1966 D'Albisola, Tullio, 1889- Darío, Rubén, 1867-1916 Depero, Fortunato, 1892-1960 Di Bosso, Renato, 1905-1982 Diaghilev, Serge, 1872-1929 Dottori, Gerardo, 1884-1977 Eckhoud, Georges Edizioni futuriste di Poesia Farfa, 1879-1964 Goretti, Maria Sara Govoni, Corrado, 1884-1965 Guggenheim, Peggy, 1898-1979 Larionov, Mikhail Fedorovich, 1881-1964 Maeterlinck, Maurice, 1862-1949 Marchi, Virgilio, 1895-1960 Marinetti Cappa, Benedetta, 1897-1977 Masefield, John, 1878-1967 Masnata, Pino Mauclair, Camille, 1872-1945 Merrill, Stuart, 1863-1915 Mockel, Albert, 1866-1945 Negri , Ada, 1870-1945 Orazi, Vittorio Pelacani, A.M. Prampolini, Enrico, 1894-1956 Prezzolini, Luigi, 1885-1947 Romains, Jules, 1885-1972 Russolo, Luigi Saint-Pol-Roux, 1861-1940 Scrivo, Luigi Scurto, Ignazio, 1912-1954 Soffici, Ardengo, 1879-1964 Tato, 1896-1974 Verga, Giovanni, 1840-1922 Winston, Harry Lewis Yeats, W. B. (William Butler), 1865-1939 850702 4 Series I.Letters and submissions to Marinetti and others, 1900-1974 Series I. Letters and submissions to Marinetti and others, 1900-1974 Physical Description: 4.0 linear feet6 boxes Scope and Content Note This series contains letters received by Marinetti and, after his death, by Benedetta Marinetti and Luigi Scrivo. Many letters, directed to Marinetti as the editor of Poesia, enclose submissions, and often refer to the debates internal to futurist publications of the World War I era. Later correspondence is concerned with procuring funds or exhibition opportunities from the centralized cultural bureaucracy of the Fascist government. After the war and Marinetti's death, materials reflect the futurists' determination to preserve their artistic legacy through retrospective exhibitions, publications, and the establishment of a futurist museum. Box 1, Folder 1-25 Letters and submissions, 1900-1913 Scope and Content Note Letters from fellow writers, editors, and futurists, sometimes accompanying submissions or referring to submissions to Poesia. After 1909, some correspondents are writing in response to Marinetti's first Futurist manifesto;