Beschreibung:

World War II - Allied Victory in Italy. A photograph album recording the German field surrender at 15th Army Group HQ near Florence, May 1945, the series of 12 photographs appearing at the end of an album containing a further 96 gelatin silver print photographs, arranged chronologically from 1941-45 on 15 stiff card leaves and back to back, beginning with the compiler’s wedding at St. Leonard’s, Exeter in 1941, family snapshots, photographs of radio operation and listening for intelligence at Gothic House, before being appointed as a war correspondent in September 1944 and going from there to Italy, views, aircraft and army personnel, the final two leaves devoted to the 12 unique photographs (mostly 8.5 x 8cm) obtained by him with manuscript captions to mounts in silver pencil, including a group photograph of Truscott, McCreery, Major Mark Clark and General Morgan, photographs including the German General, General Clark handing over the surrender orders, and after the official surrender German and Allied representatives adjourning to G-3 War Room for fuller discussion with Germans on one side of the table and Allied officers on the other side and finishing with caption ‘Victory in Italy. The Germans take orders from the Allies’, contemporary limp cloth with spine tie and Egyptology motifs to upper cover, oblong folio. A remarkable album recently discovered by descendents of the photographer. Though dated May 1945, these photographs would seem to pre-date the official signing of the first instrument of surrender at Caserta near Naples on 29 April 1945. This surrender in ‘woods near Florence’ would seem to pre-date this historic first signing and the photographs are potentially the only photographic record of this first instrument of German field surrender. (1)