This collection is made up of correspondence and other materials related to Luigi Palma di Cesnola. The first item is a letter of introduction for Hiram Hitchcock of New York City, who later became one of Cesnola's correspondents (October 30, 1866). Cesnola later wrote to Hitchcock about his discovery of a letter by Mehmet Arif (March 6, 1887), the end of the Spanish-American War and its implications for construction of a Nicaraguan canal (August 13, 1898), and his work at the Metropolitan Museum of New York (Ibid.). Several letters concern Cesnola's visit to Italy during the summer of 1900; he discussed his activities, which included honorary banquets, and other aspects of his trip, such as the assassination of King Umberto I (August 15, 1900).
Additional items include a newspaper clipping regarding Cesnola's audience with King Umberto prior to the king's death, an autographed photograph of Cesnola inscribed to Hitchcock, and a catalog advertising the sale of manuscripts related to Cesnola's imprisonment at Libby Prison during the Civil War (1923).
Luigi Palma di Cesnola was born near Turin, Italy, on July 29, 1832. He served in the Sardinian Army during the Austrian and Crimean Wars before immigrating to the United States in 1860. Cesnola became a colonel in the 4th New York Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War and was imprisoned by Confederate troops after being captured during the Battle of Aldie in 1863. After the war, Cesnola lived in Cyprus, where he was United States consul, and in New York City, where he was the first director of the Metropolitan Museum of New York. He died on November 21, 1904.
