Italo Balbo - La Centuria Alata - 1934

Splendid and highly sought-after First Edition (1934) of the famous volume "La Centuria Alata" written by Italo Balbo, published by A. Mondadori Editore. The book is the official, epic, and detailed account of the historic Decennial Air Cruise (1933), which carried 24 Italian seaplanes from Orbetello to Chicago and New York, before returning to Rome.
The book includes the extremely rare original era dust jacket, magnificently illustrated by painter and poster designer Arturo Cisari, depicting the seaplanes in formation over the Statue of Liberty in New York.
Inside are the beautiful original front matter, the facsimile reproduction of the order of the day issued to the crews over the Atlantic on July 11, 1933, and the rich array of illustrations with plates and geographical maps. Also present is the original bibliographic card from the Mondadori publisher (bound into the volume), a detail coveted by true collectors and often missing.
Specifications of the item:
• Author: Italo Balbo
• Title: La Centuria Alata
• Publisher: A. Mondadori Editore, Milan
• Year of publication: 1934 (MCMXXXIV - A. XII)
• Edition: First Edition
• Language: Italian
• Content: 128 plates and a folded map
Condition of the item
• Interior: Overall in very good condition. Clean pages, firmly bound, protective tissue sheets and original attached documents well preserved. Light and natural aging of the paper edges due to time.
• Hardcover under the dust jacket: In blue editorial cloth with impressed titles, well preserved.
• Dust jacket: Shows evident and widespread signs of aging and wear, with losses and tears repairable on the spine and the upper edge of the rear cover (as clearly visible in the macro photos). Despite the defects on the spine, the front cover retains the strong visual impact of Cisari’s splendid artwork.
A fundamental piece of Italian and world aviation history, exceptional for the completeness of its original apparatus.