185

Contessa Elsa Albrizzi (b. 1873)

Collection of Postcards Sent to the Early Automobile Race Driver.

41 postcards addressed to the pioneering race car driver sent in approbation of her accomplishments from fans around the world in Italian, French, English, German and Greek; many real photo postcards; the majority sent just after her participation in an 1899 road race.

Countess Albrizzi, who lived in the opulent Palazzo Albrizzi in Venice as a young widow, was also, in 1899, the first president of the Venice Automobile Club. She is remembered as the first  female Italian race driver. She took ninth place in the epic 172-kilometre race from Padua to Vicenza, Thiene, Bassano, Treviso and then back with a time of 8 hours, 12 minutes and 15 seconds. The 27 year-old countess was the only woman in the race.

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April 23, 2026 10:30 AM EDT
New York, NY, US

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