Images(4)

Brooch

Object number2021.177.5

Datec. 1962

OriginItaly

MediumMetal; Shell(?)

Credit LineGift of Cathie Ellen Donohoe

DescriptionCameo brooch pin. Oval bronze-colored metal mount with decorative frame. Shell(?) cameo is convex and has light pink background with white carved bust portrait of a woman facing to the viewer's left. Metal mount is open on the back and has a horizontal locking pinback across center and an integral ring at top center.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth: 0.938 x 0.75 x 0.563 in. (2.4 x 1.9 x 1.4 cm)
MarksMount's reverse has engraved number at bottom center: "800".
Historical NotesSam Campoli was sent to Terni, Italy in the early 1960s to teach the process of manufacturing stainless steel. This is where he purchased this cameo as a present for his wife Florence Minkus Campoli. Sam Campoli was one of eleven children born to Giovanni “Jon” and Maria Campoli (originally spelled Camipoli), who immigrated from Reggio Emilia in the region of Emilia-Romagna to Buena Vista, Pennsylvania. He was the first-American born child in the family. The Campoli’s lived in a company town (otherwise known as a coal patch) and they shared housing with another Northern Italian family. They moved to Blythedale, Pennsylvania, in the late 1920s. Sam Campoli’s first job at U.S. Steel was as a laborer at Duquesne Works in the early 1930s; by late 1959, he was in management in the electric furnace department making stainless steel. The family was pro-union and, when there was a strike in 1960, Campoli had to cross the picket line because he was management. Lots of members of the Campoli family worked for U.S. Steel, including two brothers - Geano Campoli, Delmar Campoli, and brother-in-law, Caesar Soliani, who died in a tragic accident (the company paid a nominal sum to the family). Sam Campoli was sent to Terni, Italy in the mid-1960s to teach the process of manufacturing stainless steel. He never missed a day of work, retiring after 42 years as General Turn Foreman. Donor Cathie Donohoe is Sam Campoli's daughter.

Previous owner Florence Minkus Campoli

Related institution United States Steel Corporation

Related person Sam Campoli

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