Over the years, their relationship evolved into a level of familiarity which allowed for frank exchanges of political views: "We kept corresponding with each other. I'd send Christmas cards and letters to him about my different viewpoints about the United States and Israel," the florist recalled.
In one note, sent in 1981, Schlamowitz argued that "the state of Israel would never be split because it's the homeland of the Jewish people".
Gaddafi rose to the bait, responding in a two-page note that "America practices terrorism against the Palestinian people through providing Israel with the planes and weapons for attacking the Palestinian camps".
Despite his pen pal's surname, Gaddafi seemed not to realise that the man he was corresponding with was Jewish. And Schlamowitz didn't mind his anti-Israeli rhetoric.
Other letters he received contained a selection of signed photographs, showing the Libyan leader in eccentric outfits. A Christmas card written around 2000, and signed by Gaddafi, thanks Schlamowitz for his "friendship through the years".
The Colonel's letters and cards are included in a selection of scrapbooks detailing written exchanges between Schlamowitz and a wide cross-section of world leaders and celebrities, ranging from Richard Nixon and Harry Truman to Marilyn Monroe and the Ayatollah Khomeini.
At one point, Schlamowitz was visited by FBI and CIA agents, who wanted to know why he was exchanging familiar letters with hostile foreigners. So he showed them his scrapbooks. "I said I collected them as a hobby, and they were amazed."
Upon reading that the Arab Spring had spread to Libya, Schlamowitz wrote urging Gaddafi to cut a deal with the rebels. But it was returned unopened.
"I felt bad about how he was slaughtered. They really gave him the one-two-three," he recalled. "But that's politics."
- Independent