Today in Postal History
Italy to Sweden
December 3, 1936
This commercial
cover was mailed in Milan
to Goeteborg,
Sweden.
The six stamps are all
from the 1936 series
commemorating the 2000th anniversary
of the birth of Quintus Horatius Flaccus otherwise known as Horace.
There are three 10c deep green showing a
flock of sheep,
one 20c rose red
with a spring view of the countryside, and two 75c rose red of the
capital in Rome (Scott 359, 360, and 363).
Although there is no
other indication through
marking or etiquette, this was probably an airmail.
The airmail rate was 1,25
lire for flat rate
foreign ordinary mail plus
0.75 lire for flat rate (every 20 grams) for airmail within European
countries (except Albania).
These rates were established by Royal Decree # 272 of "3 March 1932
- X" applicable from April 24, 1932.
Each stamp received a
CDS cancel plus the
obligatory readable cancel on the left of the cover.
The CDS legend is:
MILANO FERR. CORRISP. (REP. ORDINARIE)
....ferrovia corrispondenze (reparto ordinarie)
Which translates as Milan railway correspondences (department ordinary
correspondences)
The date reads "-3 12 36.XV 23", December 3, 1936. The XV is for the
fifteenth year of the fascist era.
Footnote to history:
|
The 1936
Issue commemorating the
2000th anniversary of the birth of Horace (together with other issues
of the period) is an expression, through philatelic means, of the
fascist propaganda that tried to awaken in the people the remembrance
of the glories of the Roman Empire, not merely for didactic purposes
but to push them to emulate it. This "exaltation of the
romanitas" along with a difficult marriage with the Catholic church,
which finds its apotheosis (and solution) in the slogan "Rome for which
Christ is Roman", finds its last philatelic expression in the 1941 for
the 2000th anniversary of Titus Livius (Livy, historian) and, again,
selected and well chosen quotations appear on the postage stamps, such
as:
"NE QUOD TOTO ORBE TERRARUM INIUSTUM IMPERIUM SIT" (~ There has not to be any injust empire on the whole earth globe) and "IUSTUM EST BELLUM QUIBUS NECESSARIUM" (~ The war is right for those who find it necessary)... It is
also suggested that these
quotations were taken out of Livy's context toward ends different than
his intent.
After
World War II there were
other Italian issues honoring the nation's rich Roman heritage.
|
My deepest thanks to Paulo
Bagaglia for his wonderful
additions to the
understanding of this cover and the circumstances surrounding the
stamps thereon.
Thanks also to Matthew1999 for his addition.
Again, see what one can learn from stamps and the people who know about
them!
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