Extensive archive group relating to an Italian woman affiliated with the Fascio Femminile, the women’s branch of Benito Mussolini’s National Fascist Party (PNF), prior to immigrating to the United States before the outbreak of the Second World War. While not a military unit in the traditional sense, the Fascio Femminile formed an important component of the broader Fascist political structure in Italy during the 1920s–1940s, organizing patriotic programs, wartime support activities, youth education, public rallies, charitable campaigns, and civic mobilization in support of the regime. Original identified material from the organization survives far less frequently than conventional military relics and is increasingly collected alongside Italian WWII militaria, Blackshirt artifacts, and Axis political ephemera for the historical insight it provides into civilian and paramilitary culture under Fascist Italy.

The archive centers around a Fascio Femminile membership booklet, numbered 319700, issued in Bolzano and dated 24 May 1934, retaining its original portrait photograph, official stamps, signatures, and striking cover artwork featuring stylized “PNF” imagery and a helmeted figure. Also included is a black wool side cap with metallic fascio emblem and tassel trim associated with Italian political organizations of the period, together with a period fighting knife retaining a blade marked “GIL” on the ricasso, perhaps relating to the Gioventù Italiana del Littorio (GIL), the Fascist youth organization established in Italy during the Mussolini era. The knife retains its steel guard, wood grip scales, and metal scabbard with leather retention strap.

Further included is a United States Department of Labor immigrant identification card issued to Angela Rossaria Coronato, admitted through New York on May 4, 1939 aboard the Vulcania, preserving its attached identification photograph and official admission markings. The archive is accompanied by a substantial grouping of vernacular family photographs documenting life both before and after immigration, including identified or associated travels to Big Trees, Catalina Island, and Asti, California. The photographs depict family gatherings, leisure activities, portraits, and daily life spanning the late 1930s into the postwar period, creating a compelling personal narrative tracing the transition from Fascist-era Italy to immigrant life in America.

As a complete named grouping combining political identification documents, associated regalia, edged weaponry, immigration papers, and family photographs, the archive represents an unusually personal and historically layered survival from the WWII era.

Dimensions: Membership booklet approximately 4.25 x 3 in.; immigrant identification card approximately 3 x 5 in.; knife approximately 11.5 in. overall with 6.75 in. blade; photographs various sizes.

Pickup & Shipping: Free pickup in Gardnerville, NV. FedEx shipping within the continental U.S.: $50 + 1.5% insurance (unless waived in writing). Combined shipping available.

Overall good condition with expected age-related wear throughout. Documents retain legible writing, photographs, and official stamps with scattered creasing and toning. Side cap exhibits moth tracking and wear to the tassel trim. Knife shows oxidation, finish loss, and handling wear. Photographs display varying degrees of edge wear, curling, and handling marks consistent with age and family use.