Cataloging Cavagna! The man behind the collection

Count Cavagna in 1908
Count Cavagna in 1908, from In memoria del conte Antonio Cavagna Sangiuliani di Gualdana nel primo anniversario della sua morte, 5 aprile 1913 (Pavia: Caio Rossetti, 1914). Q. Cavagna 50262

To celebrate the recent grant awarded to the Rare Book & Manuscript Library by the Council on Library and Information Resources, we are offering a little background on the man behind the collection, Count Antonio Sangiuliani di Cavagna. In the weeks to come, the Cavagna catalogers will be showcasing a “Cavagna of the Week” every Thursday, so stay tuned to discover all of the facets of the collection and the interesting works we uncover.

Cavagna was born on August 15, 1843 in Alessandria, a city in Piedmont, the son of Don Giovanni Battista Cavagna, conte di Gualdana and his wife Ida Fenini. At the age of 10 he was adopted as heir by his cousin Antonio Sangiuliani, conte di Balbiano. His full name thus is Antonio Sangiuliani di Cavagna, conte di Gualdana. He studied law at the Universities of Bologna, Pavia, and Rome, receiving a laurea in legge in from the latter in 1871. His legal studies were interrupted in 1866 by military service in the Austrian war. Serving as a local elected official and managing his extensive agricultural holdings, he also published 161 works on historical, art-historical, socio-economic, and governmental topics. He married twice: to Beatrice De Vecchi (1867) and to Maria Gramignola (1885), with whom he had 4 daughters.

Count Cavagna in 1866
Count Cavagna in the military uniform of the Reggimento “Lancieri di Aosta”, 1866

Cavagna’s library originated from the inheritance of both his father’s and cousin’s archives. His own collecting of books, pamphlets (including publications in honor of weddings), broadsides, ephemera, maps, and manuscripts reflected his historical and legal interests. His acquisition of works on farming, bonifica (land improvement), charities, and social welfare arose from his responsibilities as an agricultural landowner and his social position; government documents reflected his roles as an elected official of Voghera and Bereguardo and as provincial councilor of Pavia. His private enjoyment of theater–he became a member of the Accademia dei Filodrammatici of Milan at the age of 13–and interests in the medicinal value of mineral waters are also reflected in his library.

The first leg of the journey for Cavagna's Collection, from Bereguardo, Italy to the University of Illinois
The first leg of the journey for Cavagna’s Collection, from Bereguardo, Italy to the University of Illinois in 1921

Dying without direct male heirs in 1913, his collection was offered for sale by his sons-in-law. Negotiations with the University of Illinois were interrupted by WWI; the sale was completed in 1921 and shipped to Urbana the same year. The University purchased both Cavagna’s private library and most of his family archive. Manuscripts in the archive relating to the history of the city of Pavia were exempt from the sale and remained in the city of Pavia. RT

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2 thoughts on “Cataloging Cavagna! The man behind the collection

  1. I am most interested in your progress on cataloging this collection. My husband grew up in Alessandria and his family still lives there, so we are acquainted with the area. Thanks for making the effort, and I will be watching this blog. Will you be putting some kind of link up to view the digitized collection? Grazie mille! Amy

    1. Thanks for your interest, Amy! You can find all of our cataloged Cavagna books (over 10,000 so far!) in our online catalog using the search string “Cavagna Collection”. We are digitizing the collection as we go, which you can access online for free via HathiTrust (http://www.hathitrust.org/ ) also using the search string “Cavagna Collection”. Perhaps you and your husband’s family can be our Cavagna Collection ambassadors in Alessandria!

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