As this virtual exhibit, its actual counterpart, and accompanying printed catalog can only suggest, the Fry Collection affords rich possibilities for research, and we owe much to Jack Fry, professor emeritus of physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, for his care in assembling the collection and his generosity in giving it to the Department of Special Collections. The Fry Collection itself contains hundreds of printed items, ranging from single broadsides to large volumes, along with several linear feet of archival material; most items date from the period 1922-1945. Once processing is complete, the full collection will be open to researchers.

Professor Fry's enthusiasm for the research potential of the collection is infectious, and we are happy for the opportunity to share with a larger audience his comments on the items selected for display. John Tedeschi, curator emeritus of special collections at Madison, has given graciously of his time and expertise in the processes of selection and annotation; he and Anne C. Tedeschi have kindly lent additional material for exhibit. Stanley Payne, professor of history at Madison, has contributed a brief essay setting the collection, and Italian Fascism, in context. The result of their work illuminates numerous aspects of Italian Fascism and calls special attention to areas meriting further scholarly investigation.

A complicated project such as this relies as well on the knowledge and cooperation of many others. Special thanks are due to John Tortorice of the General Library System external relations office for organizing the collection, selecting images, and keeping exhibit and catalog plans on track, and to Georgen Gilliam, Kelley Osborne, Barb Richards, and Lisa Beth Robinson for their work in preparing finding aids and installing the exhibit in Special Collections. Don Johnson of the GLS editorial office has patiently overseen the whole "publication" process with its multiple components and technologies; Nancy Rinehart of UW Publications designed the printed catalog and poster; Steven Dast and Jennifer Iserman in the GLS Digital Production Facility converted Nancy's designs to HTML and achieved the faithful, crisp images of originals in the collection; Charles Dean of Library Automation ran final production tests of the Web site. We are grateful for all their hard work.

Robin E. Rider
Curator of Special Collections

Note: In the descriptions that follow, "Partito Nazionale Fascista" is abbreviated as "P.N.F."; "no date" as "n.d." Dates of the Era Fascista have been converted as necessary. Some browsers may not display accents in Italian phrases.

Home page image: Cover, Rivista della R. Università degli Studi "Benito Mussolini" (Bari, December 1934). (see Education)