What do you collect?
I gather envelopes, postcards and other objects that regularly traveled from a know origin to a known destination through the Postal Service in a specific date. Objects shall possibly have their stamps on it, in good conditions and according to a specific postage rate. The boundaries of my collection are, on one side, the Democratica series issued in 1945 (technically it’s not Italian Republic yet, but it was the ordinary series which was valid when Republic was voted in the 1946 referendum) and, on the other side, the silk envelope issued at the end of 2001, the last Italian postal object with a value in Italian Lire.
How did you organize your material?
My material, and therefore my site, is organised according to three specific classes:
– postal objects: in this part of the site the material is organised according to the typology (letters, postcards, etc.) with possible additional services (express delivery, registration, etc.) during the different periods;
– franking: in this part of the site there is the same material of the postal objects part, but this time sub-pages are organised according to the applied stamps;
– themes: in this part of the site there is only a selection of the material, for which some specific studies were performed.
Just to make an example: a basic fare letter franked with 25 lire stamp of Italy At Work series will be found either in the Postal Objects menu (sub-menu basic fare letter, sub-menu basic fare letter within Italy) or in the Franking Menu (sub-menu definitive series, sub-menu Italy At Work); among the themes the same object will appear a third time only in case there is a special aspect to put in evidence: a cancellation with a slogan plate, the postmark of a Travelling Post Office, a tax, a story to tell…
In the pages dedicated to postal objects or to stamps, sometimes there’s a link and sometimes there isn’t: why?
Maybe I do not have any object which traveled with a certain stamp, or during a specific period. Maybe I already have the object, but I still haven’t had the time to scan it and to publish it in the site. I preferred to create the framework first and then, according to my availability (I’ve got a family and a job!), I will put in order what I already have and what I may purchase in the future.
Why did you erase the name of some recipients?
I censored names and/or addresses in the postcards or in the envelopes that were given to me by friends and relatives. None of them, in fact, kindly gave me that material to see one day their own name and address published in a website. I did not have the same consideration for the material I bought: these objects were already publicly exhibited in catalogues, on ebay or in a shop.
Is your material on sale?
No. I have an Ebay account and sometimes I sell some pieces, but the material I published here is not on sale.
Where did you find the objects in your collection?
A part of the material comes from my own family archive: these are letters and postcards received by my parents, relatives and me through the years. Another part comes from friends and colleagues: they have been knowing for years about this passion of mine, they patiently deal with it and they kindly keep for me all the empty envelopes and the old postcards that would have been thrown away otherwise.
Other material was bought in markets, websites, shops, auctions.
When I started being interested in philately, a dear friend donated to me a lot of letters and postcards belonging to his collection and to his family archive: if one day I started to study and collect Postal History it’s mainly his fault. Now this friend is not with us any more, and this site is also dedicated to his memory. Thanks again, Leo!.
Where did you find the information you present in the pages?
For the post objects I have worked with the Catalogo Unificato di Storia Postale edizione 2011-2013 Terzo volume “Servizio Corrispondenze Repubblica Italiana”, whereas for the pages dedicated to stamps I have used the main Italian catalogues (Sassone, Unificato, CEI). When I present more detailed information I also put a specific note with the specialized bibliography I used. I also gathered in a specific page the overall bibliography.
Can I make references to the material which is published in your site?
Yes. There are some basic rules, I explain them here. Since this site was created for the pleasure of sharing, without any intention of making money off of it, I limited my requests to those good manners rules that should be obvious for all the people sharing a common interest.
How can I get in touch with you?
You can write an email to giorgio@gm-storiapostale.it
I answer in Italian, English, French.
I’m also on facebook.