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a bunch of old letters sitting next to each other on top of a tableseveral old books are stacked on top of each other on a white surfaceseveral old letters are stacked on top of each other on a tableseveral papers are stacked on top of each other on a white surfacemany papers with handwriting on them on a white surfacethree letters from the president of the united states, including a letter from the president of the united statesan image of a letter from a man who is holding up a piece of paperseveral black and white photos of a group of people on a boatseveral old black and white photos of people in a factorya piece of paper that has a list of different languages on itnewspapers are displayed on the wall of a building with pictures of soldiersmany different types of posters on the wallseveral black and white photos of men in suits and ties in a conference roomtwo books on a white background with a picture of a man ' s facean image of a bunch of letters and papers on a white surfaceseveral old papers are stacked on top of each other on a table
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119 - Il Duce Benito Mussolini and René Benjamin the writer, 1935–…
See original version (French)

Estimate €1,000 - €2,000
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Description
Il Duce Benito Mussolini and René Benjamin the writer, 1935–1939 A collection of correspondence, handwritten drafts, notebooks, publications, press cuttings and miscellaneous items FIND THE FULL AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS LOT IN OUR ONLINE AUCTION CATALOGUE Handwritten draft with erasures, Easter 1935, 4 pp. in-4, of a draft letter written by René Benjamin to Mussolini, 4 pp. in-4 2 letters/passes for audiences with the Duce, signed by Emanuele Grazzi, Director-General of the Foreign Press Service within the Undersecretariat of State for the Press and Propaganda, scheduled to take place at the Palazzo Venezia on 10 and 16 July 1935 Autograph letter, Rome, 3 August 1935, from Emmanuel Grazi, written in French Draft letter, 29 October 1935, written by René Benjamin to the Italian Ambassador to France requesting a further meeting with Mussolini Letter/pass, Rome, 9 June 1936, for an audience with the Duce, signed by Galeazzo Ciano, Minister of the Press and Propaganda and the Duce’s son-in-law (on 10 June 1936, Ciano was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs), scheduled to take place at the Palazzo Venezia on 16 June 1936 12 pocket notebooks, 15 x 10 cm, containing René Benjamin’s handwritten notes in pencil, detailing what he saw, his personal impressions and his exchanges, including those with Benito Mussolini in July 1935 and June 1936: 2 notebooks entitled Mussolini, Consul of Rome (July 1935), 95 and 86 ff. Notebook ‘Second Trip to Rome, Oct. – Nov. 1935’, 60 ff. 3 notebooks ‘Italy 1936’, 81, 85 and 43 ff. Notebook ‘Rome 1937’, unpaginated 2 notebooks: *Rome–Florence, May 1938*, 85 ff., and *Rome (May 1938), Germany (July 1938), England (July 1938)*, unpaginated Notebook ‘Rome Nov. 1939’, 70 ff. Mussolini, a account of his life, handwritten notes on loose sheets, approx. 85 pp. in-8; René Benjamin, still under the spell following his meeting with the Duce and his visit to Rome, sets down his personal impressions on paper and gathers material to prepare a lecture on Mussolini’s personality and career Handwritten notes on loose sheets, 30 pp., in-8, on conversations and character traits of figures met in Rome in 1935: Charles de Chambrun, French Ambassador to Rome; Sir Eric Drummond, British Ambassador to Rome and first Secretary-General of the League of Nations; Virginio Gayda, editor of the newspaper *Il Giornale d’Italia*, unofficial spokesperson for Mussolini and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Baron Pompeo Aloisi, Chief of Staff; Fulvio Suvich, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Propaganda documents brought back from Italy 3 Italian press photographs, 18 x 24 cm: ‘machinario per la produzione del Lanital: nuovo prodotto italiano’ (Lanital production machinery: a new Italian product); ‘Propaganda from the provincial after-work club’; ‘The collection of precious metals, 18 December 1935’ 2 banners of propaganda posters in Italian, 34 x 98 cm: Fascist Union of Traders of the Province of Bergamo: ‘We oppose economic sanctions with our discipline, our solidarity and our spirit of sacrifice’ (Fascist Union of Traders of the Province of Bergamo: We oppose economic sanctions with our discipline, our solidarity, our spirit of sacrifice); Proletarian and Fascist Italy, Italy of Vittorio Veneto and the Revolution, Rise up! (Proletarian and Fascist Italy, Italy of Vittorio Veneto and the Revolution, rise up!) 2 posters, 68 x 49 and 99 x 69 cm In memory of the most unjust of injustices, all Italians worthy of the name will fight, organising themselves in the most fierce of defences, distinguishing between friends and enemies, remembering for a long time, passing on the memory and the lesson from fathers to sons to grandsons (In memory of the most unjust of injustices, all Italians worthy of the name will fight, organising themselves in the fiercest of defences; they will distinguish between friends and enemies; they will remember for a long time, passing on the memory and the lesson from father to son and to grandchild); ‘News from Rome’ is brought to you by the Fascist Federation of Rome, a supplement to the magazine ‘Terra’ edited by Umberto Bernasconi 6 propaganda leaflets addressing the petrol shortage, 15 x 25 cm, in the colours of the Italian flag 4 photographs from the Istituto Nazionale Luce, postcards, photographs of works held in museums in Rome FIND THE FULL AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS LOT IN OUR ONLINE AUCTION CATALOGUE
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale René Benjamin, the 20th-century Balzac scholar
Auction location
Auction time 10/06/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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