THAON DI REVEL

(Paolo, 1859-1948, Italian Admiral and Navy Minister) Double Photograph on Card with Autograph Note Signed in Italian (with translation) on the verso

      the photos show the Admiral bareheaded with medals and decorations, on one side and the Monument tothe Heroes and Martyrs of 1480 inaugurated by him on 3rd December 1922 at Otranto on the other, on the reverse there is a printed transcription of the Admiral’s speech on the occasion, and his autograph note to “the valorous General  Pinzio BIROLI ”, with “heartfelt thanks for the pamphlet ‘El Ejercito National’”, (sic, ‘the National Army’), sending his “cordial congratulations on his fruitful work on the Equator and sincere regards”, 5½” x 7”, no place, ca. 1922 The admiral’s speech, in the presence of Prince Umberto, refers to ‘a marvellous throb of vigorous new activity’, meaning the Fascist revolution of six weeks before. Thaon di Revel had served with distinction in the Italo-Turkish war of 1911, the monument in the photograph recalling an earlier destruction of Otranto by the Turks. As chief of naval staff, 1913, he built up the Italian Fleet Air Arm preparatory to entering the war and was overall commander (at his own insistence) of all naval forces, including British and French, in the Adriatic.