Estella Canziani & the Folklore Society

Chris Wingfield
Researcher 'The Other Within' project

Estella Canziani joined the Folklore Society (FLS) in 1910. In 1911 she presented the FLS with a copy of her book Costumes, Traditions, and Songs of Savoy as well as 'a pipe with a bowl carved in the shape of a man's head and a long cherrywood stem, brought by her from Savoy'. At the AGM on February 12th 1912, Estella Canziani exhibited and presented to the society three objects:

• A Piedmontese peasant wood-pipe
  
• Charduse, a thistle....cut and fastened on the doors of the peasants' houses and stables to keep witches away.
  
• Bread made by peasants of Cesana, Piedmont
  

Despite Canziani's claim in her 1939 book Round Palace Green (1) that she found herself on the Council of the society when her book on Savoy came out, FLS minutes suggest that it was only on February 15th 1922 that Canziani was elected to serve on the Council of the society. This was the same year in which Henry Balfour, Curator of the Pitt Rivers Museum, was elected president, and this fact is recorded in Canziani's account.

Canziani continued to serve on the Council every year until her death, 42 years later. Canziani was joined on the council in 1944 by Beatrice Blackwood of the Pitt Rivers Museum, having been involved in some of the meetings of the FLS held in Oxford during the war.

Notes
(1) p.190

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