About 3 years ago, I thought the Brevetti Robbiati business was a coffee machine manufacturing business... that its destiny only depended on how good or bad the sales of the coffee makers would be.
In fact, Brevetti Robbiati was a "foundry of light metal" (See my previous post here).
Giordano Robbiati was manufacturing all sorts of objects in his foundry taking order from other businesses and manufacturing x pieces of door handles, meat grinder or fruit juicer etc. on demand.
Of course, Giordano Robbiati was also manufacturing the coffee machines he patented... And after he built a resellers net, he would also take orders from his resellers and produce the machines requested. (see letter of the Bon Trading company here).
So to conclude, the coffee machines produced were only one part of Brevetti Robbiati's business.
How important was the gross income generated by the coffee makers?
Could Brevetti Robbiati have survived without the coffee makers?
Or in contrary, were the coffee machines just another product in the business' portfolio?
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Mussolini's Italy surrendered to the allies on the 8th of September 1943 (fantastic audio here) following a serious bombing of Milan among other cities in Spring 1943 (destroying Mr. Robbiati's business among other businesses).
Mussolini did try to escape the allied forced but was caught and finally executed on the 29th of April 1945.
I added this last phrase because someone was in the area at that time: Thomas CARA!
(Thanks Everyone at the Bancroft Library!)
Thomas Cara was then Captain in the Counter Intelligence Corps and did analyze the content of Benito Mussolini's Briefcase after he was captured. (see previous post here)
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Sorry i do get carried away by these fantastic stories, here is Giordano Robbiati's first patent that he deposit on the 29th of Mai 1945... a handle :
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