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Landi (Count Carlo Zanardi) Collection
SPC.2009.001
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
Title: Count Carlo Zanardi Landi Collection
Creator:
Landi, Carlo, 1872-
Identifier/Call Number: SPC.2009.001
Physical Description:
2 boxes
Physical Description:
1 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1907-January 5, 1929; undated
Date (bulk): 1917-1927
Abstract: This collection includes handwritten letters, typed correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, invoices, photographs,
and pamphlets primarly regarding Count Carlo Zanardi Landi's steamship salvage business after World War I. Count Carlo Zanardi
Landi was a Marine Superintendent of the Ocean Salvage Company Limited.
Language of Material:
English
, Italian
, French
, Dutch; Flemish
.
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
For information about citing archival material, see the
Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.
The records in this collection were acquired through a donation from Jennifer Cady, daughter of a former instructor at California
State University Dominguez Hills.
Collection processed in March 2009 by Michele Anderson.
The Admiralty was a British authority that oversaw the functions of the Royal Navy. During and after World War I, the British
Admiralty Salvage Section, as dictated by the Admiralty, was responsible for the salvaging of ships stranded at sea. Salvage
duties included refloating, towing, pumping, dredging and repairing damage to ships. Some ships suffered major damage from
torpedoes, while others only required to be patched, pumped or tugged to another location.
Count Carlo Zanardi Landi (1876-1953) was an Italian nobleman who worked as a Marine Superintendent for the Ocean Salvage
Company Limited, a marine salvage company based in London. During World War I, Count Landi was commissioned by the British
Admiralty Salvage Section to recover ships primarily stranded in the British Isles and the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Landi
was responsible for organizing the crews on the salvage ships, such as divers, blacksmiths and carpenters, and ordering ship
supplies. He also accompanied and managed crews traveling to various ports as dictated by the British Admiralty.
Landi was married to Countess Zanardi Landi, who claimed to be the secret daughter of Emperor Francis Joseph and Elizabeth
of Austria and subsequently wrote the book "The Secret of an Empress". Count Landi adopted his wife's children, Tonio and
Elissa, who was a film actress from the 1920's to 1940's.
The Count Carlo Zanardi Landi Collection (1907-1929) contains 1 linear feet of correspondence, newspaper clippings, telegrams,
invoices, pamphlets and photographs related to Count Carlo Zanardi Landi's salvage steamship business, The Ocean Savage Company
Limited. The correspondence in the collection are primarily related to the steamship salavage business after World War I,
including the management of crews, the purchase of ships and supplies, and the status of salavage operations. Other correspondence
include typed and handwritten correspondence in Italian and French as well as letters from Landi's stepson, Tonio, and stepdaughter,
actress Elissa.
Other material in the collection include invoices related and unrelated to the salavage steamship business, as well a pamphlet
in Dutch about a new diver appartus, and a journal about yachting and marine motoring.
There are 153 photographs in the collection of salvage steamships, salvage ships, ship damage, crewmembers, and other images
related to salvage work from 1907-1927. The ships mentioned in the photographs include the Semper Paratus; S.S. Novington
and S.S. Oilfield in Great Britian; the S.S. Andonio D. Kydoniefs in Greece; and the S.S. Sebat, S.S. Lothar Bohlen, and the
S.S. Cleopatra in Turkey. Many of the photograph were taken in areas of Turkey, including Istanbul (formally Constantinople),
Gallipoli, and Karaburun in the Antolia region.
Arranged in two series:
- Series I. Count Zanardi Landi Documents, 1917-1929
- Series II. Photographs, 1907-1927
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Admiralty -- Great Britain
Salvage
Salvage -- Great Britain
Salvage -- Turkey
World War, 1914-1918
Black Sea
British Isles
Mediterranean Sea
Turkey
Gallipoli (Turkey)
Marine accidents
Steam-navigation
Steamboats
Salvage vessels
Ships
Historic ships
Navigation -- History
Landi, Carlo, 1872-
Landi, Elissa, 1904-1948
Great Britain. Royal Navy