In 1908, a papal nuncio in Washington took action that led to denial of entry of L’Asino into the U.S., on the grounds that it contained pornographic material, at the same time that police raided Vanni’s and arrested the owner.
Note that this U.S.-based L'Asino still contains Rata Langa’s vivid cartoons and caricatures in an issue denominated "Anno II", presumably of the new series (note four years earlier, in Rome, L'Asino was up to Anno XIV). This issue came out soon after the papal nuncio of 1908 shut down importation of issues from Rome, and start of a new series in the U.S.
This New York-based L’Asino appears still largely to have been composed in Italy - where I believe it continued to appear - even after printing (and the nominally publishing) of issues destined for the U.S. market shifted to the U.S. But the advertisers were New York and other U.S. businesses, rather than the Roman businesses of the original publication in Rome.
So, for example, this issue contains an advertisement for Nicoletti Bros. publishers of New York, several of whose publications are in the Collection, as well as an English-Italian dictionary (Il Millhouse, which refers to the 1600-page, two-volume New English and Italian Dictionary, a popular Italian-English dictionary compiled by John Millhouse and originally published in New York in 1849 by D. Appleton & Co. See another, later work of Millhouse in the collection, also published by Appleton).
It is somewhat amusing that this issue of L'Asino also contains an ad of A. De Martino at his own “Complete Bookstore,” two years prior to the first imprint of the company he would later be a director of, the Società Libraria Italiana produced on Mulberry Street. Not too many years later, De Martino showed his pro-Fascist Party leanings - see, e.g., the discussion of the preface of John Hus the Veracious, the rare English-language publication of the Società Libraria Italiana. That political position would have made advertising in the anarchist L’Asino unthinkable.
It was not until 1925 that publication of L'Asino was permanently closed down, the Fascist Party succeeding then in doing what the Church had been unable to do in 1908.
A final, sad note: Vanni's closed in or about 2015, when the second of the two Ragusa sisters died. A friend and colleague of mine at the Grolier Club who had befriended the two sisters when they were alive attempted to buy the stock of the store. He was aware of the importance of L'Asino, and believed that years of unsold issues of both the New York and Roman editions were gathering dust at the shop. He was unable to get the attention of the estate's executors and suspects that the remaining stock of L'Asino (and other publications) were probably discarded.
L'Asino: è il popolo, utile, paziente e bastonato [The Donkey: is, [like] the people, useful, patient and beaten], Anno 2, No. 48. New York: Asino Publishing Co., 28 November 1909.
This 1909 issue is the only issue of L'Asino in the collection that was actually published in (as opposed to being distributed in) New York.
To see the difference between the two: note "New York" and the date of publication in small type above the masthead on the cover or first page, as well as "Edizione d'America" to the right of that. Note also the periodical states (in both types) below the masthead in virtually the same language "Entered at the Post Office at New York as Second Class mail matter," but - unlike the Rome-published issues - gives "subscription rates" in U.S. dollars (as well as the annual subscription rate for Canada). Unlike the Rome-based publication, however, it states "Published weekly by the ASINO PUBLISHING CO. | direzione ed amministrazione | 548 West Broadway . . . New York."
Note that this is the same address as Vanni's book store that had been the U.S. distributor of L'Asino for years, as is evident from a review of the Rome-based issues that make up all but one of the issues in the collection.
As discussed in the general entry on this periodical, started in Rome by Guido Podrecca (who about 25 years later turned to fascism) and Gabriele Galantara (1865–1937, who under the nom d’artiste, Rata Langa, was the principal cartoonist of the magazine), L’Asino was best known for its virulent anti-clerical expression and colorful political illustrations.
Claiming a circulation of about 100,000, the magazine won international admiration in the early 20th century.
It was widely distributed among Italians in the United States by Vanni, then of 548 West Broadway in Manhattan, and which only in the last few years shut down its West 12th Street operation following the death of the last of the two Ragusa sisters who ran it.
Not surprisingly, given its popularity, the magazine earned the hatred of the Church, as the observation of one priest visiting an Italian community in Ybor City, Florida in 1905, suggests. He informed his superiors that Italians there were largely indifferent to religion, as “every week about 70 copies of the most infidel, anarchical and lascivious paper published in Italy are distributed among them.”
In 1908, a papal nuncio in Washington took action that led to denial of entry of L’Asino into the U.S., on the grounds that it contained pornographic material, at the same time that police raided Vanni’s and arrested the owner.
Note that this U.S.-based L'Asino still contains Rata Langa’s vivid cartoons and caricatures in an issue denominated "Anno II", presumably of the new series (note four years earlier, in Rome, L'Asino was up to Anno XIV). This issue came out soon after the papal nuncio of 1908 shut down importation of issues from Rome, and start of a new series in the U.S.
This New York-based L’Asino appears still largely to have been composed in Italy - where I believe it continued to appear - even after printing (and the nominally publishing) of issues destined for the U.S. market shifted to the U.S. But the advertisers were New York and other U.S. businesses, rather than the Roman businesses of the original publication in Rome.
So, for example, this issue contains an advertisement for Nicoletti Bros. publishers of New York, several of whose publications are in the Collection, as well as an English-Italian dictionary (Il Millhouse, which refers to the 1600-page, two-volume New English and Italian Dictionary, a popular Italian-English dictionary compiled by John Millhouse and originally published in New York in 1849 by D. Appleton & Co. See another, later work of Millhouse in the collection, also published by Appleton).
It is somewhat amusing that this issue of L'Asino also contains an ad of A. De Martino at his own “Complete Bookstore,” two years prior to the first imprint of the company he would later be a director of, the Società Libraria Italiana produced on Mulberry Street. Not too many years later, De Martino showed his pro-Fascist Party leanings - see, e.g., the discussion of the preface of John Hus the Veracious, the rare English-language publication of the Società Libraria Italiana. That political position would have made advertising in the anarchist L’Asino unthinkable.
It was not until 1925 that publication of L'Asino was permanently closed down, the Fascist Party succeeding then in doing what the Church had been unable to do in 1908.
A final, sad note: Vanni's closed in or about 2015, when the second of the two Ragusa sisters died. A friend and colleague of mine at the Grolier Club who had befriended the two sisters when they were alive attempted to buy the stock of the store. He was aware of the importance of L'Asino, and believed that years of unsold issues of both the New York and Roman editions were gathering dust at the shop. He was unable to get the attention of the estate's executors and suspects that the remaining stock of L'Asino (and other publications) were probably discarded.
Italian imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 2 - 8 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 3 - 15 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 6 - 5 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 7 - 12 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 8 - 19 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 11 - 12 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 12 - 19 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 14 - 2 Aprile [April] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 18 - 30 Aprile [April] 1905
L'Asino [main entry]
Italian imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 2 - 8 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 3 - 15 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 6 - 5 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 7 - 12 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 8 - 19 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 11 - 12 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 12 - 19 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 14 - 2 Aprile [April] 1905
American imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 2, No. 48 - 28 November 1909
L'Asino: è il popolo, utile, paziente e bastonato [The Donkey: is, [like] the people, useful, patient and beaten], Anno 14, No. 14. Roma, 2 Aprile [April] 1905.
Italian imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 2 - 8 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 3 - 15 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 6 - 5 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 7 - 12 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 8 - 19 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 11 - 12 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 12 - 19 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 18 - 30 Aprile [April] 1905
U.S. imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 2, No. 48 - 28 November 1909
L'Asino [main entry]
L'Asino: è il popolo, utile, paziente e bastonato [The Donkey: is, [like] the people, useful, patient and beaten], Anno 14, No. 12. Roma, 19 Marzo [March] 1905.
Italian imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 2 - 8 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 3 - 15 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 6 - 5 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 7 - 12 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 8 - 19 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 11 - 12 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 14 - 2 Aprile [April] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 18 - 30 Aprile [April] 1905
U.S. imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 2, No. 48 - 28 November 1909
L'Asino [main entry]
Italian imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 2 - 8 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 3 - 15 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 6 - 5 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 7 - 12 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 8 - 19 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 12 - 19 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 14 - 2 Aprile [April] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 18 - 30 Aprile [April] 1905
U.S. imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 2, No. 48 - 28 November 1909
L'Asino [main entry]
Italian imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 2 - 8 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 3 - 15 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 6 - 5 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 7 - 12 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 11 - 12 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 12 - 19 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 14 - 2 Aprile [April] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 18 - 30 Aprile [April] 1905
U.S. imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 2, No. 48 - 28 November 1909
L'Asino [main entry]
L'Asino: è il popolo, utile, paziente e bastonato [The Donkey: is, [like] the people, useful, patient and beaten], Anno 14, No. 7. Roma, 12 Febbraio [February] 1905.
Italian imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 2 - 8 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 3 - 15 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 6 - 5 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 8 - 19 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 11 - 12 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 12 - 19 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 14 - 2 Aprile [April] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 18 - 30 Aprile [April] 1905
U.S. imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 2, No. 48 - 28 November 1909
L'Asino [main entry]
L'Asino: è il popolo, utile, paziente e bastonato [The Donkey: is, [like] the people, useful, patient and beaten], Anno 14, No. 6. Roma, 5 Febbraio [February] 1905.
Italian imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 2 - 8 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 3 - 15 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14 No. 7 - 12 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 8 - 19 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 11 - 12 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 12 - 19 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 14 - 2 Aprile [April] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 18 - 30 Aprile [April] 1905
U.S. imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 2, No. 48 - 28 November 1909
L'Asino [main entry]
Italian imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 2 - 8 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 6 - 5 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 7 - 12 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14 No. 8 - 19 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 11 - 12 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 12 - 19 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 14 - 2 Aprile [April] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 18 - 30 Aprile [April] 1905
U.S. imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 2, No. 48 - 28 November 1909
L'Asino [main entry]
Italian imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 3 - 15 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 6 - 5 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 7 - 12 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 8 - 19 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 11 - 12 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 12 - 19 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 14 - 2 Aprile [April] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 18 - 30 Aprile [April] 1905
U.S. imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 2, No. 48 - 28 November 1909
L'Asino [main entry]
There are nine issues of the Italian imprint of this important illustrated review (1892–1925) in the collection, all in Year 14 of its publication in Italy, in 1905.
The motto of the newspaper, carried on the masthead, L’Asino è il popolo, utile, paziente e bastonato, reflect the magazine’s premise that like the donkey, “the people [are] hardworking, patient and mistreated.”
The Italian imprints are in the collection because they were so widely distributed in the U.S. among the Italians here by an Italian bookstore that only recently finally closed down, in the West Village, S. F. Vanni, then of 548 West Broadway in Manhattan.
You can see this on the cover of all the Rome-published issues in the collection: in addition to noting (above the L'ASINO masthead) that it was published in Rome, along with the date and number (and year) of the issue, below the masthead is the following: "Entered at the Post Office at New-York as second-class matter" and "Deposito dell'ASINO per gli Stati Uniti d'America presso S.F Vanni 548 Broadway New York," this latter description meaning "Warehousing [for distribution] of L'Asino for the U.S. at S.F. Vanni [address]."
For the full story on the similarities and differences of the New York-based publication of L'Asino, please see the entry for Anno II, no. 48, dated 28 November 1909.
Started in Rome by Guido Podrecca (who about 25 years later turned to fascism) and Gabriele Galantara (1865–1937, who under the nom d’artiste, Rata Langa, was the principal cartoonist of the magazine), L’Asino (The Donkey) was best known for its virulent anti-clerical expression and colorful political illustrations.
Claiming a circulation of about 100,000, the magazine won international admiration in the early 20th century.
Not surprisingly, given its popularity, the magazine earned the hatred of the Church, as the observation of one priest visiting an Italian community in Ybor City, Florida in 1905, suggests. He informed his superiors that Italians there were largely indifferent to religion, as “every week about 70 copies of the most infidel, anarchical and lascivious paper published in Italy are distributed among them,” nothing but L'Asino fitting that description!
In 1908, a papal nuncio in Washington took action that led to denial of entry of L’Asino as published in Italy into the U.S., on the grounds that it contained pornographic material, at the same time that police raided Vanni’s and arrested the owner.
L’Asino was still largely composed in Italy even after publication in the U.S. began. The Fascist Party permanently closed L'Asino down in 1925 - something that the Church had been unable to do years before.
The collection includes:
Italian imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 2 - 8 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 3 - 15 Gennaio [January] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 6 - 5 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 7 - 12 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 8 - 19 Febbraio [February] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 11 - 12 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 12 - 19 Marzo [March] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 14 - 2 Aprile [April] 1905
L'Asino, Anno 14, No. 18 - 30 Aprile [April] 1905
U.S. imprint:
L'Asino, Anno 2, No. 48 - 28 November 1909
There are nine issues of the Italian imprint of this important illustrated review (1892–1925) in the collection, all in Year 14 of its publication in Italy, in 1905.
The motto of the newspaper, carried on the masthead, L’Asino è il popolo, utile, paziente e bastonato, reflect the magazine’s premise that like the donkey, “the people [are] hardworking, patient and mistreated.”
The Italian imprints are in the collection because they were so widely distributed in the U.S. among the Italians here by an Italian bookstore that only recently finally closed down, in the West Village, S. F. Vanni, then of 548 West Broadway in Manhattan.
You can see this on the cover of all the Rome-published issues in the collection: in addition to noting (above the L'ASINO masthead) that it was published in Rome, along with the date and number (and year) of the issue, below the masthead is the following: "Entered at the Post Office at New-York as second-class matter" and "Deposito dell'ASINO per gli Stati Uniti d'America presso S.F Vanni 548 Broadway New York," this latter description meaning "Warehousing [for distribution] of L'Asino for the U.S. at S.F. Vanni [address]."
For the full story on the similarities and differences of the New York-based publication of L'Asino, please see the entry for Anno II, no. 48, dated 28 November 1909.
Started in Rome by Guido Podrecca (who about 25 years later turned to fascism) and Gabriele Galantara (1865–1937, who under the nom d’artiste, Rata Langa, was the principal cartoonist of the magazine), L’Asino (The Donkey) was best known for its virulent anti-clerical expression and colorful political illustrations.
Claiming a circulation of about 100,000, the magazine won international admiration in the early 20th century.
Not surprisingly, given its popularity, the magazine earned the hatred of the Church, as the observation of one priest visiting an Italian community in Ybor City, Florida in 1905, suggests. He informed his superiors that Italians there were largely indifferent to religion, as “every week about 70 copies of the most infidel, anarchical and lascivious paper published in Italy are distributed among them,” nothing but L'Asino fitting that description!
In 1908, a papal nuncio in Washington took action that led to denial of entry of L’Asino as published in Italy into the U.S., on the grounds that it contained pornographic material, at the same time that police raided Vanni’s and arrested the owner.
L’Asino was still largely composed in Italy even after publication in the U.S. began. The Fascist Party permanently closed L'Asino down in 1925 - something that the Church had been unable to do years before.
The unscrupulousness of priests is apparent from that most sacred of first rites, baptism, which Zocchi calls “the first act of the comedy” that is religion (23). “The mother feels the joy of a new life entering the earth, full of joy, hopes, worries and aspirations. But the priest doesn’t think this way; he keeps watch. He has no scruples. He’s the friend of the parents and the spiritual confessor of the mother, sometimes also the physical one. [The father is proud, he thinks he knows the score]. . . . But the priest is cunning. He works in the shadows. Just like the Jesuits” (23).
In providing a preface for this polemic, Giovannitti might have felt some ambivalence in implicitly blessing this scathing attack on the clergy, of which he was one (albeit a Protestant minister, not a Catholic priest).
Unlike the case with Tresca and most of the other radicals, Giovannitti’s political beliefs did not include overt anti-clericalism or a rejection of Christian principles; indeed, some of his poetry reflects religious overtones.
While the publisher is not listed, as such, the recto of the final leaf displays an advertisement for Il Proletario, published by the Federazione Socialista Italiana in New York. So it is possible, i fnot likely, that the federation also published this pamphlet, with its preface by Arturo Giovannitti.
Pulvio Zocchi (b. San Giovanni Valdarno 1878) and Filippo Corridoni were leaders of major worker struggles in 1912–13 in Italy led by the Unione Italiana Sindacale (1912–1925). Vividly anti-clerical, this polemic contains almost ghoulish portraits of predatory priests, whose mellifluous and caressing voices hide their slipperiness and evil designs.
The unscrupulousness of priests is apparent from that most sacred of first rites, baptism, which Zocchi calls “the first act of the comedy” that is religion (23). “The mother feels the joy of a new life entering the earth, full of joy, hopes, worries and aspirations. But the priest doesn’t think this way; he keeps watch. He has no scruples. He’s the friend of the parents and the spiritual confessor of the mother, sometimes also the physical one. [The father is proud, he thinks he knows the score]. . . . But the priest is cunning. He works in the shadows. Just like the Jesuits” (23).
In providing a preface for this polemic, Giovannitti might have felt some ambivalence in implicitly blessing this scathing attack on the clergy, of which he was one (albeit a Protestant minister, not a Catholic priest).
Unlike the case with Tresca and most of the other radicals, Giovannitti’s political beliefs did not include overt anti-clericalism or a rejection of Christian principles; indeed, some of his poetry reflects religious overtones.