Photos and Postcards

MPH 294

Photo collection of the wife of an Italian officer who was based in Libya from 1929-1931. An independent woman she is seen fraternizing with a Bedouin woman, who poses for her and her children. She rides a camel and visits a museum and visits both Tripoli and Bengazi. There is photo of her grown up daughter attending a Pre-Colonial camp in 1938. Some larger photos of Cufra and surrounding area. 14 photos in all, including one of her husband in uniform.

Price: $150.00

MPH 292

Complete set of 12 colonial postcards of Misurata.

Price: $300.00

MPH 291

Photo album Raffinerie de Petrol de Tripoli. It shows Total Energies first investment in Libyan oil refining immediately following the Libyan Petroleum Law of 1955, which authorized the drilling of oil wells. As of 2010 Franch remains Libya’s largest oil export market. 70 photos, no captions.

Price: $800.00

MPH 290

1938 press photo of Libya Governo Italo Balbo in Egypt. Caption on reverse.

Price: $30.00

MPH 289

Official photo album commemorating Mussolini’s visit to Libya from March 12-21, 1937, where he opened a new military highway running the entire length of the colony (the Via Balbia). Shown are him touring certain infrastructure, attending a concert at Sabratha, touring Leptis Magne, Homs, touring Castel Benito Airport, and returning home. 50 photos in all.

Price: $1300.00

Note from Wikipedia: During this trip, for propaganda reasons he had himself declared Protector of Islam and was presented with a symbolic sword. Mussolini's publicized encouragement of the Arab nationalist movement suited his wider policies of confronting Britain and France. He also sought to fully colonize Libya, introducing 30,000 more Italian colonists, which brought their numbers to more than 100,000. These colonists were shipped primarily to Sahel al-Jefara in Tripolitania and the Jebel Akhdar in Cyrenaica, and given land from which the indigenous inhabitants had been partially removed during the colonial war in the 1920s. .

MPH 288

Photo archive belonging to Bishop Bernardino Vitalle Bigi. Almost of the photos date from his time in Libya as Apostolic Vicar of Cirenaica. Photos of him with Governors De Bono and Balbo. 100 photos in all, including his burial in Mogadishu.

Price: $2000.00

From catholic sources on the net: Bernardino Vitale Bigi was born at Ficulla, Italy, November 14, 1884; ordained Priest with the Order of Friars Minor on June 13, 1908. With the creation of the Apostolic Vicariate of Cyrenaica from territories ceded from the Apostolic Vicariate of Tripolitana by Pope Pius XI, Bernardino Vitale Bigi was appointed Titular Bishop of Anthedon and Apostolic Vicar of Cirenaica on 27 January 1927. He was ordained episcopalian on 8 May 1927 by the Apostolic Vicar of Libya , Giacinto Tonizza, OFM; co-consecrators were the Bishop of Gozo , Michael Gonzi , and the Apostolic Vicar of Egypt , Igino Nuti, OFM. Bishop Bernardino Vitale Bigi remained in office as Apostolic Vicar of Cirenaica until his death on April 19, 1930. From March 1930 until his death, he was also Apostolic Administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Mogadishu , in whose cathedral he was initially buried. His remains were later transferred to the church of Sant'Antonio di Padova in Milan.

MPH 287