Collection consists almost entirely of letters written to Jenny Dufau by an Italian lover named Gaetano Ricciulli from September 1915, to April 1917, while Dufau was performing with the Chicago Grand Opera Company.

Most of these letters concern his family or hers, the events of his daily life, the fact of their separation due to the war, and his many moods. Ricciulli apparently was an active service army officer on disability leave at the time of these letters. He writes a few lines every evening, occasionally quoting her return letters which were written in French, though his are entirely in Italian. There are a few bits of information about Dufau’s career, for instance, that she was taking advantage of the steady work in the United States in order that she could contribute to the support of her father and sister in Europe.

The principle historical interest of the letters lies in the many passing references to the war, especially to its disruption of civilian life in Italy, and to a lesser degree in France and Switzerland. There are repeated references to censorship, and the development of censorship is traceable by evidence on the envelopes. For a brief time after the start of censorship his letters become more circumspect, but they return to the passionate tone of the earlier ones fairly quickly. One letter speculates on the possibility that America may enter the war on the side of the Italian-French-English alliance. Except in a very general way, there is no information here on the progress of the war itself or of civilian morale, as these topics undoubtedly would have been censored.

Besides these love letters, there are several letters between Dufau and the French Consul at New York which make it clear that she wished to return to Europe in early 1916 to see her father in Lausanne, and to perform in London and Milan. Also, a note from a New York opera company and three photographs of a singer and a conductor.