Unseen Early Italian Aviation Photography to Auction

A rare group of early aviation glass lantern slides documenting the pioneering long distance flights of Italian pilot Carlo Francesco 'Francis' Lombardi will go under the hammer at Roseberys London on March 11. 

The collection comprises approximately 200 gelatin silver glass slides, accompanied by a scratch built specimen wood slide viewer, and comes with direct provenance from the Lombardi family. Estimated at £800-£1,200, the photographic slides are some of the earliest examples of aviation photography.

Lombardi (1897–1983) was one of the key figures in the development of Italian aviation in the first half of the 20th century. He began flying during the First World War, serving as a fighter pilot from the age of 17 and achieving eight confirmed aerial victories for which he was awarded three Silver Medals for Military Valor.

In the 1920s and early 1930s he became closely associated with Italian long-distance flying, piloting the Fiat AS.1 monoplane on a series of record-breaking routes including Rome to Mogadishu, a circuit of the African continent, and the flight from Vercelli to Tokyo. Beyond his career as a pilot, Lombardi founded Azionaria Vercellese Industrie Aeronautiche (AVIA) in his hometown of Vercelli, focusing on the design of light aircraft for training and touring.

After the Second World War he played an important role in the reconstruction of the Italian aviation industry, adapting surplus military aircraft such as the Macchi C.205 and Fiat G.55 for civilian use, and remained closely involved in aviation until late in his career.

The glass slides are individually captioned and include views labelled Arrivo a Mogadiscio, showing Lombardi’s reception in Mogadishu, and Arrivo a Tokyo, recording his arrival in Japan. A further slide titled Roma-Mogadiscio shows the mapped route of the African flight with a stage table, while an aerial photograph shows Lombardi’s aircraft in flight with the registration I-AAVE clearly visible over a town below.

Other slides are captioned Mogadiscio, showing aircraft and crowds on the airfield and Lombardi e piloti, a group portrait of Lombardi with fellow pilots in flying suits in front of an aircraft.

“The Lombardi slides capture flying at a moment of transition when long distance flight was moving from experiment to viable reality." said said Anna Evans, Head of Fine & Decorative at Roseberys. "The survival of such a large, coherent group from a single aviator’s career is exceptional, particularly with direct family provenance."

Glass lantern slides have existed since the 17th century but the medium flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries following the invention of photography. Their use continued into the 1940s before being displaced by film.