Diary and Scrapbook of Dr. Thomas W. Huntington, Compiled as a Member of the Special Red Cross Commission to Italy, 1917 by [WW1 - RED CROSS] HUNTINGTON, Thomas W (Dr.)

[San Francisco: 1917 et seq]. The Special Commission to Italy was one of four such expeditions undertaken by Red Cross officials to war-ravaged nations on the Continent in the final years of the Great War; the purpose was to investigate conditions and to recommend ways in which the Red Cross could best address the suffering of the military and civilian populations. The Italian Commission took place at a particularly grisly interval in the Italian campaign, beginning with the arrival of Austro/German reinforcements on the Italian front and ending a few weeks after the horrific Battle of Caporetto in which thousands of Italian troops succumbed to poison gas attacks and German stormtroopers. The current archive, assembled by the eminent San Francisco surgeon Thomas W. Huntington (a Commission member, at this time also President of the American Surgical Association), provides a harrowing picture of conditions on the Italian Front in both word and picture. Huntington's diary offers a graphic first-hand record of hospital and battlefield conditions, including lively descriptions of battle: "...at 9:30 p.m. started for San Florino for a night view of an artillery duel; it was a wild ride...road tortuous, full of sharp curves...witnessed at a distance of less than two miles, a tremendously impressive sight...the roar of cannons was continuous, several explosions every minute; now and then star shells from one or other side would light up a large area...by the search lights we plainly saw theItalian shells burst on the side and summit of San Gabriel..." as well as extensive clinical notes and anecdotes regarding hospital visits: "...Villa Frasinetto, a hospital for the care of hopelessly mutilated; ...ten patients, seven are blind, one blind with no hands and deaf, one blind with no hands, one blind with one hand, one with one eye and one leg gone...this is a most delightful place..." as well as observations of civilian life: "...Messina. At present the natives eat no meat. Eat onions and other local vegitables [sic]." Dr. Huntington is not above indulging in the occasional bit of editorializing: "I don't care for the Italian dietary. They have the best there is in the land, but it is too smelly for my palate. Even their wines are simply unspeakable." The presentation album is likely one of several prepared as gifts for Commission members by their Italian hosts. The bulk of the album is comprised of professional photographs, including group and individual portraits of the Commission members and their Italian counterparts. These include about a dozen photographs taken at the front, including several scenes showing battles in action. Other photographs, some clearly amateur snapshots, capture hospital facilities, nurses and other medical staff, patients, and portraits of Italian dignitaries. The album also includes about twenty ephemeral items collected by Huntington on his trip, including menus, itineraries, and scenic postcards. A few items are inscribed, illegibly, to Huntington. To our knowledge, Huntington's diary has never been published, nor do we find other examples of the diary or the album in institutional collections. Provenance: By auction, from the library of a prominent collector of Red Cross memorabilia. Small archive of materials relating to the 1917 Red Cross Commission to Italy, including: (1) Original embossed leather presentation album of 26 leaves, 11" x 14", containing 79 original photographs plus approximately 20 additional pieces of ephemera; (2) Contemporary transcript (77pp) of Huntington's diary, kept during the tour, dated July 20, 1917 - Oct 31, 1917, carbon copy on yellow paper including cover letter of transmittal to a Dr. Ochsner; (3) Carbon transcripts of two lengthy letters from Huntington to his wife, dated July, 1917, describing preparations for his trip to Italy. Album slightly rubbed at joints, lacking several leaves at rear; carbons with occasional chips and tears; cover-letter torn nearly in half horizontally but all photographs well preserved and diary apparently complete; Very Good.