St. Michael’s College welcomed Luca Zelioli, Consul General of Italy in Toronto, and Franco Misuraca, a delegate of the Comitato Tricolore per gli Italiani all’Estero to our campus this week to present a special gift to the university.
The Comitato Tricolore donated a rare book to the Kelly Library’s Special Collections: Ricordi di un viaggio scientifico nell’America Settentrionale, an 1863 travel diary in North America, published in 1867 by the historic Giuseppe Vitali press in Bologna. The author is Giovanni Cappellini, a Professor of Geology at the University of Bologna.
Illustrated with 13 in-text figures and 4 full-page plates, Cappellini’s account of his 1863 scientific journey to North America includes geological surveys at Pulpit Rock, the Acton Mine, Point Levi, Montmorency, Nebraska, and Cincinnati, as well as visits to Washington, D.C., the White House, and Niagara Falls.
“This gift marks the first print copy of this important volume to the University of Toronto Library collections. We look forward to making it available to faculty and students across the wider University of Toronto and in particular to students within St. Mike’s Book & Media Studies program, where the book’s special binding and illustrations offer opportunity to learn more about the book-as-object. This item is a welcome addition to our rare book collection and we look forward to seeing it used,” says James Roussain, William D. Sharpe Chief Librarian and Director of Special Collections.
Pictured in the photos are President David Sylvester; Luca Zelioli, Consul General of Italy in Toronto; Franco Misuraca, Delegate of the Comitato Tricolore per gli Italiani all’Estero; James Roussain, William D. Sharpe Chief Librarian and Director of Special Collections; Lisa Gleva, Executive Director, Advancement; Paolo Granata, Associate Professor in the Book & Media Studies Program.