Every day Sophie Dupre presents two items from her large stock of signed photographs, autograph letters, autographs for sale, royal memoralbilia and antiquarian manuscripts.
The photographs are presented with the catalogue descriptions.
On this day... see what happened on your special day
April 28
On This Day
On this day in 1947 Thor Heyerdahl set sail from Peru to Polynesia on his raft the "Kon-Tiki". The expedition was designed to demonstrate that ancient people could have made long sea voyages, creating contacts between separate cultures.
In 1945 Benito Mussolini, Fascist dictator of Italy was shot by communist partisans and died at the age of 61. He and his mistress Clara Petacci were stopped by communist partisans Valerio and Bellini and identified by the Political Commissar of the partisans' 52nd Garibaldi Brigade, Urbano Lazzaro near the village of Dongo (Lake Como), as they headed for Switzerland to board a plane to escape to Spain.
HEYERDAHL (Thor, 1914-2002, Norwegian Explorer)
Coloured Postcard Photograph signed on verso, titled ‘Kon-Tiki Heading for Polynesia’, showing the raft-ship under full sail in a gentle swell but leaning at quite an angle, with Heyerdahl in blue shorts sitting on the cross tree looking up at the very thin and flexible mast, 5¾” x 4”, addressed by Heyerdahl on verso to Eric W. Drever in Glasgow from Italy, no date, circa 1980, faint partial impressions of post mark in portions of sky, a trifle worn at corners
54387
MUSSOLINI (Benito, 1883-1945, ‘Il Duce’, Italian Dictator & Prime Minister, Founder of the Fascist Party)
Outstanding photograph signed, of his portrait, inscribed in Italian and dated, “To Edda, this picture of a posing and imposing knight!”, showing him astride a magnificent horse, upright in the saddle and nearly full face, looking into the future with the gaze of a leader, high above an idealized backdrop of the remains of the Roman Forum and with a distant glimpse of St Peter’s, 14¾” x 11¾”, Rome, 1st September 1926
37814
Click on images to view more details
