Before I go on to the
nuts and bolts aspects of car restoration I have to get something else out of the way as soon as possible. I hope that
one of the constructive ways this blog can help me is with my search for the previous owners of the
Alfatross. Their input could be critical
for the ongoing nuts and bolts work. But where do you even start such a search?
There used to be “six degrees of separation” between you and
anyone else on the planet. Now there are
only two: you to the Internet and the Internet to whomever you’re separated
from. Case in point: I have the original
license plates for the Alfatross. In 1989 I
contacted a guy in Italy who does plate traces and Bingo! He sent me a
photocopy of the registration for the Alfatross when it was first purchased in
1955.
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| The Alfatross's original license plated from 1955 |
It showed that Dr. Alessandro
Costantini Brancadoro of San Benedetto del Tronto was the first owner. I searched for Sr. Brancadoro on Google only
to find his obituary, published in 2009. Bummer. If I had searched a few years earlier I might have been able to speak to him in person! But all was not lost. The obituary contained critical information
that I could use to continue the search. He was a famous heart surgeon
and important community member of San Benedetto.
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| I know you can't read this. The original photocopy is dark and the handwriting is very difficult to read anyway. |
Here’s where the two degrees of separation
comes in: I looked up the City Council of San Benedetto and wrote to the
President, Sr. Marco Calvaresi on New Year’s Eve. Two days later I got a reply. It turns out that Sr. Calvaresi is a friend
of Dr. Brancadoro’s grandson, Giuseppe, and he graciously supplied contact information. I immediately wrote to
him, asking if anyone in the family remembered the car. Were there any photos of Dr. Brancadoro and
his Alfa together?
Giuseppe wrote back just as quickly to say that yes, he thought
there are some photos of his grandfather and the Alfa. He would look for them, scan them, and send
them to me—if he can find
them. My fingers are crossed!
According to your PRA document from Torino:
ReplyDeleteAlessandro Costantini Brancadoro was born in San Benedetto del Tronto but was residing in Milano during the time period of his ownership of the Alfa. Hence the prior Milano registration. If he'd been residing in San Benedetto at the time, the car would normally have been registered in Ascoli Piceno with an "AP" plate. I suggest you research the Milano plate as well. There will probably be additional details that may (or may not) prove to be helpful with your research. I'd be happy to help you read the documents you receive. The reference to Carl Joseph Michels does not show his address as being Jamaica, New York. This is a reference to his birthplace, part of a person's legal identity description during the time period in Italy. He actually registered his address as being in care of the Automobile Club (ACI) of Torino, a somewhat common practice for foreigners living in Italy but without a fixed address. I am guessing that the actual name you are searching for is Carl Joseph Michaels. You'll find that there is an "airman" mechanic who can be (or could be?) found in Scottsdale by that name. He might or might not be the same person? Good luck in your attempts to learn more.
Thank you Mr. de Boer, this is a very promising new development. You seem to have done this kind of research before. How can I research the Milano and Ascoli Piceno plates? The only one I have is the one that was on the car when it came to me, the Torino one. Which Italian agency should I contact? Following your advice, I did contact the Carl Joseph Michels living in Scottsdale. He assured me he is not the man I am looking for, nor related to anyone by that name who might have spent time in Italy in the 1950s. So . . . dead end. If only the Internet had been invented about 30 years sooner . . . .
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