Lot 1310

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Description:

A fascinating album from the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, 160pp. 4to., filled with autographs, musical quotes, poems, original works of art and notes by more than eighty prominent Spanish citizens of the era, most affiliated with or sympathetic to the Falange movement of FRANCISCO FRANCO (1892-1975). Most notably, the album includes a partial A.Ms.S. by Franco himself, 1p. 4to., [n.d., n.p.] the final page from a speech. Although hurriedly written and difficult to read, the statement includes notable anti-Semitic content, in part: "...[?] and paying with high capital to foreign adventurers... all this is what I will defend with weapons or with our [?]... And the national order, stripped of all sovereignty... in submission to the international committees in the service of Russian imperialism, destruction of our industries, playing the game of the Jews holding rival foreign companies... the impoverishment of Spain and its handcuffed delivery to secular enemies... All this is what I will defend with our weapons and with our [?] the adventurers who direct them..." Franco signs briskly at bottom right in black ink. The signature is affected by an inkblot, while the text itself shows numerous emendations, with the page affixed within the album at its top corners, showing folds overall. Another especially notable group of personalities is represented by a 6 1/4" x 4 1/4" slip of paper affixed within the album by its top edge, bearing the signatures of several notable foreign diplomats, including: EBERHARD VON STOHRER (1883-1953), the German envoy to Franco's government who arranged the meeting between Franco and Adolf Hitler at Hendaye in 1940; GALEAZZO CIANO (1903-1944), Italian Foreign Minister and nephew of Mussolini; RAMON SERRANO SUNER (1901-2003), Franco's brother-in-law, President of the Falange and Foreign Affairs Minister; Italian ambassador GUIDO VIOLA DI CAMPALTO (1883-1947); and the Japanese ambassador to Spain. A caption on the album page below indicates that the signatures were gathered at a banquet given in Ciano's honor at the Italian consulate in the Basque city of San Sebastian on July 14, 1939, shortly after the end of the Civil War. An additional page bears the signatures of twenty-two White Russian soldiers who volunteered with Franco's forces during the Spanish Civil War, as well as an inscription in Cyrillic, the unit's insignia patch and a 3 1/4" x 2 1/4" b/w group photo of the unit. The remainder of the autographs within the album constitutes a veritable who's-who of notable Spanish artists, musicians, writers, and politicians of the era. It presents an extremely impressive collection of original signed illustrations by notable artists including surrealist cartoonist ANTONIO LARA (1896-1978); painter PEDRO PRUNA (1904-1977), a student of Picasso; illustrator ANGELES TORNER CERVERA (1896-1978); playwright MIGUEL MIHURA (1905-1977); graphic artist JAVIER BALDRICH; painter TEODORO DELGADO (1907-1975); modernist illustrator and painter RAFAEL DE PENAGOS (1889-1954); surrealist JOSE ROMERO ESCASSI (1914-1995); surrealist JOSE LOPEZ SANCHEZ; surrealist JOSE CABALLERO (1913-1991); avant-garde painter JESUS OLASAGASTI (1907-1955); and three unidentified, including a fine watercolor portrait of a Nationalist soldier signed "A. Kemer". Many of these individuals are representative of the so-called "lost generation" of Spanish artists, whose modernist trajectory was broken by the Civil War and who turned to more classically-inspired aesthetics as a result. Additional notable signers include: poet MANUEL MACHADO (1974-1947), who executes several original poems; painter IGNACIO ZULOAGA (1870-1945); classical guitarist REGINO SAINZ DE LA MAZA (1896-1981); writer and journalist VICTOR DE LA SERNA (1896-1958); novelist and diplomat AGUSTIN DE FOXA (1906-1959; playwright and director ALFREDO MARQUERIE (1907-1974); writer and director ERNEST GIMENEZ CABALLERO (1899-1988); scientist JOSE A. PEREZ DEL PULGAR (1875-1939); writer CONCHA ESPINA (1869-1955); journalist and playwright JUAN IGNACIO LUCA DE TENA (1897-1975); playwright and director EDGAR NEVILLE (1899-1967); leading Falangist politician and diplomat RAIMUNDO FERNANDEZ-CUESTA (1896-1992); film director BENITO PEROJO (1894-1974); revolutionary and military commander GONZALO QUEIPO DE LLANO (1875-1951); leading Nationalist fighter ace JOAQUIN GARCIA MORATO (1904-1939); and a great many others, the majority of whom execute lengthy inscriptions, poems, or musical quotes in addition to their signatures. A complete list of the contributors has been thoughtfully provided by our consignor. The album was compiled by Palmira Zavala Iriberri, general secretary of the Falangist illustrated magazine "Vertice", which was published in San Sebastian from 1937-1946. Palmira collected the autographs of many figures who were interviewed by or otherwise contributed to the magazine, with the last entries being added as late as 1952. Her name is executed in extravagant calligraphy on the first page. The album is bound in dark brown leather boards, decorated with embossed geometric patterns and metal escutcheons, bearing Palmira's incised initials "P Z" on the front cover, which is secured with two brass clasps. The covers and spine show some bumps and wear to the edges, while the front hinge is split and one page is partially detached, while the remaining pages show slight foxing and minor toning to the edges, else very good. A truly historic, one of a kind collection of submissions from some of the most notable figures of the tumultuous era surrounding the Spanish Civil War, which should certainly be examined in person by interested parties.

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July 31, 2019 10:00 AM EDT
Chesapeake City, MD, US

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