SML 149
5 colonial postcards of Madagascar showing local habits and types. B
Price: $100.00
Somaliland/Djibouti
SML 148
4 colonial postcards of Djibouti, showing mosques, swings and a water carrier.B
Price: $120.00
SML 147
Government photo of the inauguration of the Casa Littoria at Mogadishu on April 21. B
Price: $70.00
SML 144
SML 143
Coffee tin by Frank Caffe of Milan, showing Italian Somali images. 10.5x10.5x10cm. Rare in this condition. SOLD
Price: $200.00
SML 141International certificate of vaccination issued in Somalia in 1954 when Italy was responsible for the administration of the country (Amminisstrazione Fiduciaria Italiana Della Somalia). SOLD
Price: $50.00
NOTE: In November 1949, the United Nations finally opted to grant Italy trusteeship of Italian Somaliland, but only under close supervision and on the condition that Somalia achieve independence within ten years. During the 1950s, with UN funds pouring in and the presence of experienced Italian administrators who had come to see the region as their home, infrastructural and educational development blossomed in the region. School enrollment during this period was free. The decade passed relatively without incident, and was marked by positive growth in virtually all aspects of local life. According to the U.S. Library of Congress "Trusteeship and Protectorate: The Road to Independence of Somalia": “The conditional return of Italian administration to southern Somalia gave the new trust territory several unique advantages compared with other African colonies. To the extent that Italy held the territory by UN mandate, the trusteeship provisions gave the Somalis the opportunity to gain experience in political education and self-government. These were advantages that British Somaliland, which was to be incorporated into the new Somali state, did not have. Although in the 1950s British colonial officials attempted, through various development efforts, to make up for past neglect, the protectorate stagnated. The disparity between the two territories in economic development and political experience would cause serious difficulties when it came time to integrate the two parts”.
SML 140
SML 140
68 postcards of Italian Somaliland by the Missione Francescana di Mogadiscio. B
Price: $1550.00
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SML 139
Complete 3 series of Mogadishu by Italian photographer A. Parodi. 100 photo snaps. B
Price: $500.00
SML 138
Complete set of 12 artistic postcards of Somali from the Propaganda arm of the Ministero Colonie. Artwork Ajmone Lidio, 1926. B
Price: $300.00
SML 135Rare collection of 34 photos of the 1938 Mogadishu grand prix. B
Price: $700.00
NOTE from Italiacoloniale.com: In 1938 a car race took place on the streets of Mogadishu, which had great echo also in Italy. The competition was emphasized by the most important sports magazine of the time “Il Littoriale”. The governor Francesco Saverio Caroselli was the first who start the “Circuit of Mogadishu”. The car race was taken by many thousands of people and started in “Corso Vittorio Emanuele” (current “Viale Somalia”) of the Somali capital, where the main stands were. On the streets of Mogadishu there were many Somalis who enjoyed themselves with enthusiasm to follow first a car race in their country. The car race was similar (though minor) to those made in other Italian colonies: the Asmara Circuit in Italian Eritrea and the Tripoli Grand Prix of the world in Italian Libia. The “Circuit of Mogadishu” was repeated in 1939, but the 1940 edition was not performed due to the beginning of the Second World War. The Littoriale wrote: The race was conducted without incident and recorded the following results: Battle on “Alfa Romeo 1750” was the winner for the Sport category at 111 km / h, while Lombardi won the “1500cc” category and Ciccotti won the Tourism Category on “Lancia Di Lambda”. The most important category was dominated by the Alfa Romeo 1750, a racing car built under the supervision of Enzo Ferrari who won in many other circuits (such as the Christmas circuit of Asmara in 1938). According to Gianluca Gabrielli there were 7 stands (2 stands for the native population) and the magazine “Corriere della Somalia” reported that in 1938 more than 10,000 spectators enjoyed the two series of races (cars and motorcycles).
SML 135The car races were also promoted by the Italian government to increase the image of Italy (within the colonial populations and in the world) as a technologically advanced country with a cutting-edge mechanical industry. Indeed, in 1938 Mogadishu was the second manufacturing city – after Asmara – in the AOI Africa Orientale Italiana. The Mogadiscio-Genale-Villabruzzi triangle was the most developed area of the Italian colony, with one of the largest concentrations of vehicles (per inhabitant) in all of Africa: almost 3,000 vehicles in 1939. After World War II the “Mogadiscio Circuit” was only realized with motorbike races and was called “Grand Premio Motociclistico della Somalia” (Moto GP of Somalia). It was celebrated from 1950 until 1954, when the Italian government obtained the “Somalia Trusteeship” from the UN know as A.F.I.S. Amministrazione Fiduciaria Italiana Somalia, the race was held on the coastal roads of Mogadiscio, near the port and on the “Lungomare Corni”, and it was long several miles. The captain (later General of the Army Corps), Attilio Di Nunzio won the 500cc category from 1950 to 1952 with his self-taught Guzzi. Those competitions found prominence in Italian sports magazines including the “Corriere delle Sport”, “Sport illustrated” and in magazines specialized in motorcycling. Di Nunzio won the race of the 500cc category, on a 2-kilometer track to be covered for 30 laps. He prevailed, single military, on a group of civilians all registered in the Motoclub of Mogadiscio.
“The boldness of the civil competitions – wrote a chronicler of the time – suffered a whammy because the overall winner was a soldier.” The bike had built him using pieces of Guzzi, Norton, BSA collected here and there in Mogadishu.
SML 133
Complete set of 20 colonial postcards of Djibouti. B
Price: $400.00