Large autographed portrait of Alberto Santos-Dumont (1919)

> This item is no longer in the catalogue, see the available documents here <

In 1919, Alberto Santos Dumont offered a large autographed portrait to the manager of the Ritz Carlton in Buenos Aires.

• Large format portrait and presents Alberto Santos Dumont with a dedication to Pierre Gavuzzi.
• In Spanish.
• 20.5 cm x 25.7 cm.
• 1919, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Good condition, although it shows some marks from an old frame.
• Unique piece.

Al Sr
Cav. Pierre Gavuzzi
Memory of
Santos=Dumont

Pierre Gavuzzi was a charismatic hotelier who opened the Victoria Falls hotel in Africa in 1904 and took over the management of the Ritz Carlton in Buenos Aires in the 1920s. It was in this luxurious hotel that Santos Dumont stayed in 1919, at the age of 46, during a tour by Argentina. The world-famous aviator planned several flight demonstrations in the Argentine capital and other cities in the country. His demonstrations aroused great interest, contributing to popularizing aviation and inspiring new generations of pilots.

Several points caught my attention in this portrait found in France:

• Santos-Dumont's pose, full of pride! In 1919, the aviator was already suffering from depression and portraits of him from 1918 onwards generally show a sad man looking older than his age. I had never seen this photograph and didn't find out who the photographer is, but it is printed on it 'Property Campbell Studio New York', which was one of the celebrity portrait studios active in the 1900s.

• In addition to being one of the most beautiful photographs I've ever seen of Santos-Dumont, the large format is also very rare: there are very few large photographs of the aviator, and the condition of this one is excellent.

• Santos-Dumont's extensive dedication, with large writing and his famous impeccable signature. It is possible to feel that he had a lot of respect for Pierre Gavuzzi, who probably made Santos-Dumont's stay in Argentina as easy as possible, providing all the comfort and support that the aviator needed.

• Santos Dumont's documents and autographs from this Argentine tour rarely appear on the market.

Ultimately, this portrait with dedication is, without a doubt, one of the most exceptional Santos-Dumont documents that I have ever had in my hands.