Apostolic blessing "à Monsieur et à Madame van Ypersele de Strihou" by Pope Pius XI.

Original photograph, 23 x 18,3 cm, pasted on beige support paper, photographer's stamp, mounted on white folio paper, 56,5 x 40 cm, ms. text in brown and red ink, gilt decorative lines, decorated initial "D" in red, blue and gilt, signature of Pius XI in lower bl. margin, drystamp.

Portrait of Pope Pius XI (1857-1939) with his autograph signature and ms. calligraphic dedication to family van Ypersele de Strihou, a notable family from Geraardsbergen and Ghent, included in the Belgian hereditary nobility towards the end of the 19th c. G. Felici (1839-1923) was an Italian photographer known for having been the official photographer of numerous Vatican events.