The chain letters of Saint Anthony were and still are part of common belief. According to this ritual, the receiver must answer the letter or suffer pain and bad luck.
From her hometown of Montelongo, Italy, Lucia Biscelgia pens a sympathy letter to her future brother-in-law Gennaro (James) Lariccia in the US. He has just lost his beloved young wife Carmela Gialdini in childbirth on April 29.
The letter is supposedly an eyewitness account of a centurion who witnessed the Crucifixion. The letter was supposed to confer health and good luck to women in childbirth.