Count Carlo Zanardi Landi Collection

Collection

Identifier: SPC-2009-001

Staff Only

Scope and Content

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.

Dates

1907-January 5, 1929; undated
Majority of material found within 1917-1927

Creator

Landi, Carlo, 1872- (Person)

Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Publication Rights

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.

History

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.

Extent

2 boxes

1 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Italian

French

Dutch; Flemish

Additional Description

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.

Arrangement

Arranged in two series:

Series I. Count Zanardi Landi Documents, 1917-1929
Series II. Photographs, 1907-1927

Acquisition Information

The records in this collection were acquired through a donation from Jennifer Cady, daughter of a former instructor at California State University Dominguez Hills.