FINE ANTIQUE-VINTAGE MAP- SOLD FOR £15 ONLY , BUY IT NOW, WITH NO AUCTION WAIT, NO POSTAL CHARGE FOR UK 2ND, AND NO PACKING FEE,
SELLER'S CODE: 230120152
AVEZZANO- MONTE VELINO- ITALY
A British Embassy Official (spy) studies this region of Italy just before World War 2, and annotates the map cover
(Same man sent to Belgium-Luxembourge on same geographical intelligence gathering mission)
Surveys of 1882- (No 1012)
Here published in 1907 and annotated by the owner to 1938.
A MAP IN BLACK ON WHITE BY THE
INSTITUTO GEOGRAPHICO MILITARE
Surveys as early as 1882 but here issued under the guidance of Captano Cavallo in 1907.
This is a map printed in a form of Lithography from a master which may have been engraved in the previous century. It seems to be expanded and I describe it as a Military Field map on linen on a very large scale- the magnification as reduced the definition fom the engraved original and here the scale is now about 1 ½ inches to the kilometre or 40mm for each “chilometri”.
( AN INCH IS ABOUT 25MM)
USED AND ANNOTATED BY A DIPLOMAT AT THE BRITISH EMBASSY IN
ROME IN THE MUSSOLINI PERIOD AND IN THE MONTHS BEFORE THE
SEVERING OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS FOR THE DURATION OF THE WAR. NOTES ON HIM ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LISTING
linen backed and dissected or mounted in sections so that the folding of this Military Field map has not affected the printed map in any way.
This map measures about 17 ½ inches squared
(an inch is about 25 mm)
It is folded into 12 sections. 8 square and 4 rectangular.
The process on this monochrome map may be “fotozincographia”: that is a zinc plate lithograph with the image transferred to the zinc plate from an original which was probably engraved (using a light, helio or photo transfer process) This is obviously enlarged for field use in a small area
The co-ordinates of this map are degrees and minutes east or west of the Rome meridian which is here called the “Monte Mario Meridiano di Roma”
This map shows Railways in a bold black line; roads in a black edged white line, rivers and water features in blue, and contours and embankment in brown.
THE COORDINATES:
THE RIGHT HAND , EAST SIDE OF THE MAP IS MORE OR LESS EXACTLY ON 0 degrees line of the Rome Meridian The latitude is 42 degrees 10 minutes north of the equator at the top right corner (NE)
The corners of the map are at:
NORTH WEST CORNER: M. Rosso
NORTH EAST CORNER: Costa Stellata
SOUTH EAST CORNER: Castelnuovo
SOUTH WEST CORNER: Pte dello Scierta
THE CENTRE OF THIS MAP IS AT: M. la Adifensola (I THINK, THE SCRIPT IS NOT EASY TO READ)
The main towns and features of this map are:
MASSA D'ALBE, MAGLIANO, ALBE, CASTELNUOVO, ROSCIOLO, CORONA
where is this?
Massa d'Albe is a commune town in the Province of L'Aquila, a region prone to earthquakes in the Abruzzo region of Central Italy. It is part of the Marsica.There was a great earthquake here in 1915- after the survey shown but before the date this map was used- This map may therefore show the communes before that event – or it may have been updated to show the human geography after it.
Marsica is the name of the geographical area in the Abruzzo region of Central Italy. There are now 37 communes in this area of L'Aquila, the most important is Avezzano. It is a region between the plain of the former Lake Fucino, Lazio and Molise, Carsoli plain and the Valle Sulmona.
There was a tribe here in the past called the Marsi.
DETAILS ON THE BOTTOM LEGEND OF THIS MAP:
Istituto geografico Militare
Riproduzione Vietata
Legge 19 settembre 1882 , No 1012
Scala nel rapporto di 1: 25,000
(then a measure of 2 “Chilometri”)
Queta Carta formata da ingrandimento della levata al 50 mila, non e tenuta al corrente.
Colle ricognizioni parziali del Luglio 1907 (Cap.no Cavallo)
INTERESTING FEATURES OF THIS MAP
THE BOARDS
There are very attractive, green card, not hinged and with two labels on them and some hand writing.
The labels show the relationship of this military map to those about it; the number Fo. 145, and the name AVEZZANO. The handwriting says:
“WS LAVER, BRITISH EMBASSY, ROME 25/2/38”. he has also added in black ink under the printed title: “Monte Velino”
This Rome based Englishman, and diplomat, was resident in the Via di Villa Emiliani had to be repatriated in 1939 with the outbreak of the 2nd World War. One must assume that this is when his fine collection of Italian maps, which I will be listing, left Italy. It may be of interest that this man, when repatriated, went to live in Tunbridge Wells in South West Kent. It is apparent from some embossed stamps that some of his Italian maps were bought, by him or perhaps by the Embassy) of Edward Stamford in London- the famous map dealer and producer.
PLEASE READ THE INTERESTING BIOGRAPHY OF HIM LOWER IN THE DESCRIPTION
INTERESTING FEATURES OF THIS MAP:
Massa d'Albe is at the head of a valley and is surrounded to the north, west and east by tall mountains, magliano lies off to the south west and a river valley comes in from the north west . Albe is a hill side town in the south of this map and south east of Massa d'Albe. Albe is at 956 metres which is about 3000 feet – Massa d'Albe is at 865 metres and the crown of mountains to the north – M. Velino, M. di device, M. Rozzo. M. Cafornia. Rise to about 1950, 2487 metres- that is up to 7000+ feet.
The town or village in the east of the map is Forme which is situated under a mountain called il Sasso and the Costa Sentula (any of these names may have errors because the printing is from a hand written script which is not easy to interpret).
Mountain paths are seen winding up to the high peaks and the roads stay to the valley. One stream coming down from Monte Velino is the Lama- a valley river crossing the south east of the map is La Vara.
THE DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN WHO SIGNED, AND OWNED, THIS MAP:
The owner of this map was a British Diplomat at the British Embassy in Rome. He was a young official at the time. He was born in 1908 and so was about 28 or 29 years old when he owned and used this and his other maps. He was a junior diplomat during the period of Mussolini's Pre War Government. He must have been pulled out of the Rome Embassy, only months later, in 1939, when the War broke out and diplomatic relations came to an end. After the War he became Political Agent in the Bahrain Embassy from 1951-52- then went to Yugoslavia as the Economic Counsellor 1954-58. Then Commercial Counsellor at the British Embassy in Oslo, Norway from 1958-62. Then Ambassador to a string of African countries: Gabon, Chad and the Republic of the Congo in the period 1962-1966. He became a C.B.E. One can deduce certain things from this CV. He was certainly a linguist and spoke Italian and French- for the African Embassies were all in Francophone Africa. One has to wonder why he or the British Embassy officials with whom he worked generally were so interested in fine and detailed military maps of Italy just months before the outbreak of the war; perhaps he was a keen hill walker and found plenty of time to quit the Embassy, at what would have been a manic time, to explore the sheep paths of Tuscany. Perhaps the Embassy and his interest in the geography of the country was more professional and of immediate significance. That he shuffled round the World from Embassy to Embassy on rather short secondments- Politics, Economics, Commercial- suggests, perhaps, that his duties might be described as "special". That he was in the Embassy at all aged about 28 shows that he must have been very gifted at his job. This distinguished Diplomat died in 1988. I do not know if the address he writes on these maps is a house in which he lived in Rome, or the British Embassy itself- which may have been in Via di Villa Emiliani. Back in England he retired to the region of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, and passed away in 1988, 27 years ago.
A DISSECTED LINEN BACKED MILITARY MAP from a survey of 1882- obviously enlarged in this area of Monte Velino for field use.
AVEZZANO
USED BY A BRITISH EMBASSY OFFICIAL 1937-38
IN THE MONTHS IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR- A YOUNG AND HIGHLY ABLE OFFICIAL WHO CONCERNED HIMSELF WITH THE DETAILS OF ITALIAN GEOGRAPHY JUST BEFORE HE WAS PULLED OUT.
A MAP WITH AN UNTOLD AND UN-KNOWABLE STORY BEHIND IT.
.....................................
NOTES ON ITALIAN STATE MAPPING- NOT NECESSARY READING- ADDED ONLY IF WANTED
The Istituto Geografico Militare, abbreviated to IGM, or The Military Geographic Institute is an Italian State organization, under the auspices of the Italian Army, General Staff. It is the national mapping agency for the Republic of Italy and was so for the former Kingdom of Italy.
Its headquarters are in the Via Cesare Battisti, Florence in Tuscany, and the Institute occupies the Santissima Annunziata Cloister in that town. It was established by King Victor Emanuel II (Vittorio Emanuele II) in 1861 and it is governed by national statute: No. 68l, February 2nd, 1960- which was passed, more or less on its centenary.
The Institute describes itself thus:
“L’Istituto
geografico militare ha il compito di fornire supporto
geotopocartografico alle Unità e ai Comandi dell’Esercito italiano.
L’istituto svolge le funzioni di ente cartografico dello Stato ai sensi
della Legge n. 68 in data 2 febbraio 1960. L’Istituto opera, quindi, per
assicurare ai numerosi utenti, sia pubblici che privati, prodotti
cartograficiche offrano la totale garanzia, in termini di contenuti e di
ufficialità, per la descrizione del territorio.
Trae le sue origini dall’Ufficio Tecnico del Corpo di Stato maggiore del
Regio Esercito che nel 1861 aveva riunito in sè le tradizioni e le
esperienze dell’omologo Ufficio del Regno sardo, del Reale Officio
topografico Napoletano e dell’Ufficio Topografico toscano. Trasferito da
Torino a Firenze nel 1865, nella sede attualmente occupata, fu
trasformato in Istituto topografico militare nel 1872 per assumere, 10
anni più tardi, l’attuale denominazione.
Le attività principali dell’Istituto sono: produzione, aggiornamento e cessione di cartografia a media e piccola scala; copertura aerofotogrammetrica del territorio nazionale; costituzione e gestione della banca dati geografica; manutenzione dei confini di stato; conservazione della cartografia storica nazionale. Il personale dell’Istituto è impegnato nelle operazioni a supporto della Pace.”
Which I loosely précis as:
“The
Institute Military Cartography, abbreviated to IGM, is responsible for
providing support to land-cartographic units and operates under the
auspices of the Italian Army.
The institute acts as the mapping agency of the Italian State according
to Law Number 68 which came into force on the 2nd of February 1960. The
Institute operates to ensure, on behalf of its many users: both public
and private, the production of cartographic products that provide total
reliability, in terms of content and detail, for the geological
description of the territory of Italy.
The Institute traces its origins back to the Engineering Staff Corps of
the Army in the year 1861, and that body took over and embraced the
traditions of the former corresponding Geographic Office of the Kingdom
of Sardinia, the “Real Officio Topographico Neapolitano” and Tuscan
Topographical Bureau. The Institute was transferred from Turin to
Florence in 1865, and was there located on the site that it currently
occupies, which was transformed into Topographic Military Institute in
1872 . 10 years later its name was changed to the present one.
The main activities of the Institute are:
The production, updating and sale of cartography drawn to medium and small scales.
Aero-photographic Survey of the National Territory of Italy.
The establishment and management of a geographic archive for the country.
The maintenance of State Borders.
The Preservation of the National Archive of Historical Maps.
In their historical notes they note the following: (this is a very loose translation to put the text into readable English)
“ In the 19th century most European
States, aware for the need for reliable and up to date cartography to
serve their military and strategic needs, as well as the development of
their respective countries, formed State bodies responsible for drawing
up geometric surveys and systematic Cartographic surveys of their own
and other territories.
Italy, because of the particular historical events, only put into place a unified mapping project after 1870.
The Government of the Kingdom of Italy, considering the work of the
pre-unification period to be uneven and inaccurate So, in 1872, it
commissioned the “Military Topographical Institute” (which then changed
to its current name of Military Geographic Institute in 1882). The goal
was for a general understanding and mapping of State territory. In due
course, the new Topographic Map of Italy to the scale of 1: 100,000 was
completed. The Institute was formed by the merger of the Technical Staff
Corps of the former Kingdom of Sardinia with the Institutes and mapping
bureaux of the previously existing states in the Peninsula. It
inherited the scientific and cartographic culture of pre-unification
times: a major component of which was as the depositary and inheritor of
the School and Tradition of National Mapping.
The Institute Military Geographic (IGM).
Thus the IGM began its work in the service of Italy, in times of peace and war, promoting scientific and technological progress, using and teaching the discipline of cartography, while keeping up to date with developments and studying important physical aspects of the national territory; and always honouring their primary mission: the production of the topographical and geological works at the service of the State.
This was written originally as: “Nel
XIX secolo la gran parte degli stati europei, consapevoli della
necessità di disporre di cartografia affidabile e aggiornata per servire
non solo le esigenze di carattere militare ma anche quelle di sviluppo
tecnologico e sociale dei rispettivi paesi, si erano dotati di appositi
organismi incaricati dell´esecuzione di lavori di inquadramento
geometrico e di rilevamento cartografico sistematico e regolare dei
territori di pertinenza.
L´Italia, a causa delle particolari vicende storiche, solo dopo il 1870 formulò un progetto cartografico unitario.
Il governo del Regno, considerando inadeguati i disomogenei lavori
preunitari affidò nel 1872 all´Istituto Topografico Militare (il quale
assunse l´attuale denominazione nel 1882) l´esecuzione del progetto di
rilevamento generale del territorio dello Stato e della formazione della
nuova Carta Topografica d´Italia alla scala 1:100000. L´Istituto,
formatosi dalla fusione dell´Ufficio Tecnico del Corpo di Stato
Maggiore del Regno Sardo con gli Istituti e gli Uffici topografici e
cartografici dei diversi stati esistenti nella penisola prima che si
compisse la sua unità politica, ereditò il materiale scientifico e
cartografico preunitario caratterizzandosi di fatto come il depositario e
continuatore della scuola e della tradizione cartografica nazionale.
L´I.G.M. iniziò così un lungo e proficuo viaggio al servizio
dell´Italia, in pace e in guerra, promuovendo lo sviluppo della cultura
scientifica e del progresso tecnologico, esercitando l´insegnamento
delle discipline geotopocartografiche, assicurando costante concorso di
pensiero e di azione per la risoluzione di importanti problemi
attinenti, in genere, gli aspetti fisici del territorio nazionale, ma
soprattutto onorando la missione primaria relativa all´esecuzione dei
lavori geodetici e topocartografici volti al soddisfacimento dei bisogni
di informazione geografica dello Stato”
The New Map of Italy 1: 100000
The surveying of the authoritative “Map of Italy” began in 1878: it was of sufficient importance to draw the attention of the experts and professional groups and also of the authorities of the Kingdom.
The preamble to the founding bill presented on the 3rd of February 1875 placed particular emphasis on the importance of having maps that “not only serve the purposes of the traveller and the curious, but also aid research in all branches of civilisation.”
This major project occupied the IGM for almost thirty years: measurements were carried out at a scale of 1: 50000 for about ¾ of the national territory and the scale of 1: 25000 for the most densely urbanised regions and those of the most militarily significance. The mixed method graph- numerically, with the use of a uniform base line led to the final definitive mapping of the territory of the unified state,as and was published as: “The Topographical Map of Italy.”
The original definitive map was followed by the publication of the entire work on 271 sheets at a scale of 1: 100,000.
Observations:
Compared to the OS in England or German Maps, the IGM maps have a hand drawn quality- the wording is in an Italic pen like script and the founding date is important to the manner of production because, as is was roughly a century later than the Ordnance Survey of England, Copper Plate or Steel Place was not strictly necessary and the work may always have been lithographic. The virtue of the lithographic stone or zinc plate is that anything that can be hand drawn or written can be printed- and as this printing form can be offset- another barrier to naturalness is breached. However, the script used by the IGM can be difficult to interpret- but that is a matter of style only. Off-setting is the printing of a positive from a stone or plate by transferring the ink from plate to paper via a tracked rubber roller- thus the image is inverted twice and so prints positive. Lithography uses no engraving but a block which retains moisture. The principle is that a simple chemical processes creates a positive image which is a water-repelling or hydrophobic; where as the negative parts of the image are water-retaining or hydrophilic. So, when the plate is inked up with a compatible ink, the ink will adhere to the positive image and will be repelled from the negative image. Thus there is no barrier between the artist or draughtsman and his image- not necessity to transcribe it into cut or etched lines, and no necessity to draw or write in an inverted manner.
One superiority of IGM maps is their marking of vegetation- In a landscape relatively poor in tree cover- Italian IGM maps name many species and provide symbols for each: citrus, vine, willow, poplar, chestnut, oak and elm, beech, fir and larch, cedar, cypress. Note that oak and elm, and fir and larch, share symbols.
The other feature underlined by the 1920s and 30s maps is the advanced nature of the country’s infrastructure- with electric railways and autostrada at a time when such things were almost entirely absent from England and Wales. Another feature of the pre War IGM maps is the dating- Anno VII, Anno IV, and this seems to return to a base date of 1922 which is the year that the government of Mussolini took power. There is a hint of the same “resetting of history” that was attempted in the French Revolution.
It must be noted that the Kingdom of Italy survived throughout the Mussolini period and the modern republic was declared on June 2nd 1946. There had been a Republic of Italy from 1802-1805 under Napoleonic rule. This date setting cannot be from the accession of Victor Emanuel III- for he became King in 1900.
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