BOSCO JOHN: (1815-1888) Don Bosco. Italian Roman Catholic Priest, Educator and Writer. He developed teaching methods based on love rather than punishment, a method known as the Salesian Preventive System. Founder of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Canonized as a saint in 1934. An excellent and rare lengthy A.L.S., `Obbl.[igatissi]mo servitor Sac.[erdote] Bosco Gio.[vanni]´, two pages, 4to, Torino, 29th June 1866, to Countess Callori, in Italian. The letter bears to the upper left corner a Bath blind embossed seal. Saint John Bosco states in part `Al giorno 22 di questo mese partiva da Mirabello per andare a Casale, ma giunto alla stazione ho trovato le corse sospese, e dopo quindici ore di aspetto in Alessandria potei in fine giungere a Torino. Per questo motive non ho potuto andare a riverire Lei e la sua familia come desiderava a parlare de´nostri affari´ (Translation: `On the 22nd of this month I left Mirabello to go to Casale, but when I reached the station I found the transport suspended, and after waiting fifteen hours in Alessandria I was finally able to reach Turin. For this reason, I was unable to go and greet you and your family as I wished and to talk about our business´) Bosco further refers to his debt with the count and asks few questions to the Countess, saying `Ora le diro che dopo domani scade il mio debito verso il sig. Conte ed io debbo procurare di pagare il debito per acquistarmi crédito. Quando Ella era in casa Collegno mi disse che in questa época avrebbe fatto una oblazione per la Chiesa o per l´altare di S. Giuseppe, ma non fisso precisamente la somma. Abbia dunque la bontá di dirmi: 1) Se la sua carita comporta che faccia oblazioni in questo momento per noi e quali. 2) Dove dovrei indirizzare il danaro pel sig. Conte. 3) Se il sig. Conte per avventura ha pagamenti che possa fare con biglietti, oppure, siccome e cosa ragionevole, debbo cangiare i biglietti in napoleoni secondo che ho ricevuto…´ (Translation: `Now I will tell you that after tomorrow my debtlimit date with the Count expires and I must try to pay the debt to buy credit. When you were in the Collegno house you told me at that time that you would have made an oblation for the Church or for the altar of St. Joseph, but did not exactly fix the sum. Therefore, have the kindness to tell me: 1) If your charity would include that you make oblations for us at this moment and which ones? 2) Where should I pay the money for the Count? 3) If the Count by any chance has payments that he can make with notes, or, as it seems reasonable, I must change the bank notes into napoleons according to what I have received…´) Small overall minor age wear and creasing, otherwise G

 

Countess Carlota Calori di Vignale (1827-1911) one of the most important financial benefactors of Bosco´s projects. Bosco considered Countess Callori as his second-mother.