Napoleone Colajanni e Vittorio Luigi Alfieri - Doppio...

RARE DOUBLE AUTOGRAPH – NAPOLEONE COLAJANNI AND GENERAL VITTORIO LUIGI ALFIERI – MINISTRY OF WAR – 1917 Important original World War I document bearing a double autograph of Napoleone Colajanni and General Vittorio Luigi Alfieri. Document dated Rome, January 5, 1917, on letterhead of the Ministry of War – The Undersecretary of State, signed by General Vittorio Luigi Alfieri, at the time Undersecretary of State for War. The letter is addressed to the Hon. Prof. Napoleone Colajanni, Deputy to Parliament, Naples, and concerns a specific request relating to the appointment of a military chaplain for the priest Francesco Spadavecchia. The Ministry informs Colajanni that it has considered the request, but specifies that it is not possible to foresee when the priest may obtain the appointment, because there are no vacancies and many applications have already been received by the Ministry. PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT: THE VERSE OF THE DOCUMENT On the reverse is a note entirely in the handwriting of Napoleone Colajanni, written in Naples and dated January 7, 1917, thus just two days after the ministerial letter. Colajanni personally comments on the matter and makes explicit reference to General Alfieri: “Meanwhile, does the promise hold? It holds little for me, as far as General Alfieri has always been courteous. A world of good wishes and affectionate regards. Yours N. Colajanni” The contemporaneous presence of Vittorio Luigi Alfieri’s signature on the recto and Napoleone Colajanni’s autograph note on the verso, both pertaining to the same matter, makes the document particularly interesting from a historical and collectible standpoint. This is therefore an original double autograph, not simply two signatures collected separately: the two interventions are indeed documentary linked to the same case and chronologically only two days apart. THE FIGURES Napoleone Colajanni (1847–1921) was a politician, scholar and professor of statistics, a deputy since 1890 and one of the prominent figures of Italian southern-ism. He authored numerous political and social studies and founded the Rivista popolare. Vittorio Luigi Alfieri (1863–1918) was a General of the Royal Italian Army. He held important positions at the Ministry of War and during World War I served as Undersecretary of State for War; in October 1917 he became Minister of War. In the document presented here, dated January 1917, his title is correctly that of Undersecretary of State for War.

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