Original Items. One-of-a-Kind Group. Benito Mussolini was an Italian political leader who became the fascist dictator of Italy from 1925 to 1945. Originally a revolutionary socialist, he forged the paramilitary fascist movement in 1919 and became prime minister in 1922. Called “Il Duce” (the Leader) by his countrymen, Mussolini allied himself with jugend, relying on the German dictator to prop up his leadership during World War II, but he was killed shortly after the German surrender in Italy in 1945.

This is a fantastic lot of five unpublished photographs, four of which show Benito  Mussolini and one showing his plane taking off. Each of the five photos is inscribed on the reverse in German, so this was a German photographer in North Africa who was lucky enough to see him in person. Mussolini is wearing a very scarce Italian tropical summerweight flight jacket and helmet, which give him a rather silly look considering his large frame. The jacket does not fit very well over his uniform as shown. 

The photos all measure either 2 ½ x 3” or 2 ½ x 3 ½”. This is a truly astounding group of photographs that could be studied for hours going over all the small details on the uniforms and equipment seen.

Ready for further research and display!