In the basement of 49 Chase Street Debbie Brown located a decorative frame that held a 'collage' of old photographs pasted somewhat haphazardly and overlapping each other.
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The photographs were assembled and glued to the back of a large portrait of a woman. That photo, itself glued to a backing board, was taken in Newburyport Massachusetts, and we have to assume that it came in the large ornate frame which was reused for the collage. It's unlikely that this woman was family; the picture was probably purchased for the frame.
Unfortunately, most of the photographs were coming loose from the backboard when the collage was retrieved, so their original arrangement has been reproduced from memory and by matching acid/water/glue stains on the photos and on the backboard. The image above lays the photos from the collage out in their original appearance, and the arrangement below spreads them out so that they can be seen 'in order.' The size differences approximate the originals. In three cases there was writing found on the reverse of the photos, and in those cases an image of the reverse is included below the photograph.
The scans are unaltered (or only minimally adjusted for contrast) so the scans reflect the physical state of the photographs. Hover your mouse over each image to get the indentification of the individuals shown (if known) and click on each image to get a full-size view (use your back button to return.)
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All of these appear to be photographs of people close to Josefina Minutillo, ne Vallone. The fellow in the middle of the top row, shown in his Postal uniform, is probably Luigi Vallone father of Josefina Vallone. To the viewer's left at the bottom of the collage is an unknown elderly woman. The photo of this old woman itself looks very old, dating perhaps from the 1850's, which would put the woman in the generation of Nicola and Josefina's grandparents. We know nothing else about her.
In the center of the collage (and the largest single photograph) is a family portrait we now know is the family of Giulio Piacitelli, who was married to Josefina's sister Emilia, probably taken between 1925 and 1932. The child in Giulio's lap is his son Mario, and the shorter of the two boys standing behind is Attilio, father of Maria Piaticelli, who provided definitive identification of this photo, as well as a labeled version showing identifications of everyone in it. There is another photo of Attilio in the collage, to the right of the central group, and I have matched it below with a later photograph of Mario.
| Attilio is on the left, Mario Piacitelli is on the right. | |
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There is also a separate photo to the left of the family group of a little girl standing on a chair, and this is Onorina, the youngest child of the Piaticelli family. Below are Mario and Onorina presented side by side in another photo from Maria Piacitelli:
Another important figure in the Piacitelli family is at the lower left of the photo, little Ida, who grew up to be Sister Evelina, and was very close to Josefina.
The other photos are identified as representing more recent generations of both families. Two of the Vallone sons, Josefina's brothers Peter and Angelo, are on the viewer's right. The new Vallone son-in-law Liberato DiPaolo and his wife Caterina in a formal wedding photograph are to the left of Luigi Vallone, and their first two sons, the latest generation represented, are seen in sailor suits at the lower right. The American branch of the Minutillos, including a middle-aged Nicola with Josephine and various photos of their children, fills the rest of the collage.
The formal standing portrait of Nicola and Josefina has the look of the late 1920's or early 1930's, probably after the birth of their youngest daughter Ellen but before the death of Yolanda in 1937. That would place them in their early middle age, perhaps in the 40's.
The children of Nicola and Josefina are in several photographs. Frank and Yolanda Minutillo, the eldest children, are shown together twice, once as fairly young chldren on the left and once as developing teenagers at the upper right. The younger children of Nicola and Josefina are also well-represented. The photo of young Ellen Minutillo standing on a chair must have been taken a couple of years before the double portrait of Ellen and her older sister Inez.
The writing on the back of Ellen's "baby portrait" appears to be a note
from Josefina to her mother-in-law, since it is signed "sua nuora" (your
daughter-in law) Guiseppina. Since Ellen was born in 1920, this
suggests that Clavia Mutarelli Minutillo was still alive as late as
1921-22.
| Ellen and Ellen | |
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The 'collage' contained a significant grouping of important Vallone family photographs emphasising the Vallone-Piacitelli connection, and when it was assembled it probably represented about 75 years of family history through 1930.
In case you were wondering, this is the lady on the back of the collage.
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