Italian soldier's Ethiopian photograph album, 1935-1937
Date:
1935 to 1937
Description:
Collection comprises a photograph album maintained by an Italian soldier stationed in Ethiopia during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and the subsequent Italian occupation of the region. The soldier is unidentified, but his name may be the one that is embossed on the lower right-hand corner of the album's leather cover. On the first page of the album is a postcard announcing the Italian troop's victorious entry into Addis Ababa. Comprises 133 black-and-white photographs, ranging in size from 2"x1" to 4.75"x6", of the A.O.I. (Africa Orientale Italiana). The photographs are divided into groups by city, and many have captions written in Italian. Cities and other locations mentioned include Axum, Scire, Gondar, Cheren, Asmara, Lake Tana, Adua, and Addis Ababa, among others. In addition to images of military maneuvers, there are photographs of social customs and conditions (markets, native buildings, hairdos, priests, pilgrims, ceremonies, families, etc.), wildlife, and landscapes.
