35 



Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences 



A small but interesting war exhibit, of articles made by 

 wounded Italian soldiers in the American Hospital at Florence, 

 Italy, has recently been installed in two cases in the Arts and 

 Archeology room on the main floor of the Museum. 



This hospital, which is under the charge of the American 

 Committee for War Relief in Florence, was started in 1915 as a 

 convalescent home of 50 beds. It is now a war hospital of 100 

 beds and is located in the Villa Modigliani, which was placed at 

 the disposal of the Committee by its owner for the duration of 

 the war. 



The articles exhibited are loaned by Miss Annie D. Hanks, 

 of New York City, who has been acting as a volunteer aid in the 

 hospital since June 1916. 



Among the objects shown are bags netted by a totally 

 blinded soldier ; carved wooden boxes made by one of the Italian 

 Alpini ; a box and baskets of straw and of some species of fibre — 

 one of the latter material being curiously decorated with bunchy 

 bows of gay colored cotton stuff, in a manner which suggests the 

 American Indian rather than the native of Italy. Many of the 

 articles, however, show distinctly the artistic spirit of the nation. 

 This is especially noticeable in two round boxes on which are 

 applied tiny designs cut from straw, after the manner of early 

 seventeenth century Florentine work. Lastly there are some 

 quaint little wooden toy figures, of much interest to our children 

 visitors. 



Besides the work done by the soldiers there are on view 

 two posters designed to advertise the Italian National Loan ; a 

 pack of playing cards — the facecards of which were designed by 

 a well-known Italian cartoonist; and two khaki handkerchiefs 

 showing a map of Italy, the various weapons used by the army, 

 and other information intended to be of especial use to the young 

 recruit. a. l. p. 



Since the last list of accessions to the Museum and library 

 were published in the Bulletin, additions have been received 

 from the following persons : Dr. Preston H. Bailhache, Mrs. 

 Frank Bowden, Dr. N. L. Britton, Miss S. Gertrude Clark, Howard 

 H. Cleaves, Miss Mary Wood Daley, Miss Bessie E. Davis, Wm. 

 T. Davis, Harold K. Decker, Stafford C. Edwards, L. W. Freeman, 

 Frederick Hildebrandt, Dr. Arthur Hollick, Harrison F. Lewis, John 

 E. Manzel, A. A. Michell, Herman Rossback, Alanson B. Skinner, 

 Charles Young. 



