Handmade pizza cutter dual rotary slicing blades mated to dark wood gunstock like frame with fixed laser line projector in brass tube. 1917
Lot 1011 Circa 1917-1920
This item is described as the only known example from from the early 20th Century of a double rotary-blade slicer used for cutting Sicilian-style pizza.
The unique width-adjustable, twin-blade configuration coupled with a dorsal-mounted, trigger-activated light-beam cutting guide is a matchless example of purpose-built culinary equipment from any era.
This slicer is attributed to the estate of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa an Italian writer and the last Prince of Lampedusa.
Giuseppe is best known for his only novel, Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) set in his native Sicily and ranked by some critics as one of the most important novels in modern Italian literature.
His novel contains detailed descriptions of the violence associated with this region and references the “lupara”, a type of sawed-off, break-action shotgun frequently used in local clan vendettas, and particularly favored by Sicilian gangsters.
Guiseppe, would have seen this distinctive weapon slung across the backs of "enforcers" as they lunched on their favorite scfincione at the local pizzeria.
It is believed that the compact form of the lupara influenced the design of this unique implement.