Italy, Fascist State. An Artillery Officer's Photo Album, c.1940

Front cover of the album has a shield framed by an ornate border, all of which is embossed, the first white paper insert with a four-colour printed page pasted in place, entitled "L'ECO di Bonaria" and illustrating a caricature of the Italian island of Sardinia, fronted by the crowned Virgin Mary and Child, with a coat-of-arms below, the island featuring the Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria in Cagliari, along with various peoples in native dress, trains and boats. The first page features a large sepia-toned photo of a group of ten soldiers surrounding an artillery piece. The album contains many photos of soldiers in the field, taking target practice, in town, beside a harbour, on a train and in relaxation mode, two of which are taken in Rome with the Roman Coliseum clearly visible. There are two studio portraits photos signed in black ink "Silvio Halb", the owner of the album, one of which is dated November 10, 1940, the other with the embossed stamp of the Minister of War for Railways, while another photo is studio emboss stamped "FLEYTAS BRESCIA". There are three shots of a memorial monument in a cemetery, named to Giuseppe Halb (June 24, 1905 to November 18, 1941) with his photo on the mounment, who died during the war at the age of 36. Other photos include multiple shots of women and family members, some of which are studio portraits, singles and groups. Two photos feature portraits of a woman near the back of the album and are Croatian studio marked "Josip Pogačnik Ljubljana", while another photo is studio marked on the front, addressed to Silvio Halb and signed by "M. Meneghetti" in blue ink and stamped "LUXARDO - ROMA Via Tritone, 197" on the reverse. The album contains 125 black and white photographs, with matte or gloss finishes, held in place via photo corners, eight black photo pages with the photos appearing on both sides of each page, white paper inserts between the pages, the album cover in leather, with the two panels forming the cover incorporating a series of holes along the outer edges and stitched together, the reverse bound by a brown cord fed through two drilled holes with reinforcing eyelets, measuring 220 mm x 310 mm x 18 mm, some of the photos have curled with age, a few are loose, near extremely fine.