Italian Regimentals on Postcards
Delandre collectors know of the forgeries of Italian army stamps and the fantasy designs that he produced. One reason for his success was that there were many collectors of these issues all along, both within and outside the army. A large number of Italian military units were represented; Gustave Bertrand lists more than 300 in his “Memorial Philatelique Italie,” most having a couple designs for each unit, and many units also had postcard versions. Thankfully, Delandre never copied postcards (as far as we know), so one does not need to worry about forgers when collecting the cards.
Collectors of Italian Regimental posterstamps, those gorgeous little chromolith wonders, must certainly have come across postcards with the stamps adhered. Long before I had even heard of posterstamps, I had been collecting postcards. Not the viewcards of my hometown or even of travels in the US, but of Europe. At the time they represented to me the memories and romance of the “grand tour.” Many of these cards had been printed using chromolithography and can be considered little works of art themselves.
Hundreds of Italian regimental postcards were printed for collectors. Many made effective use of high quality printing processes and metallic inks often on relatively expensive papers and cardstock. As example, the postcard shown at the top of the page was printed using stone lithography with at least fifteen different color inks including both gold and silver metallics. These cards were more costly than the typical tourist views purchased by the hundreds of thousands. All are sought after by today’s collectors.
The first regimental poster stamps I had seen prompted me to search through the many boxes of postcards to find any that might have been used on postcards. A (very) small stack was the result, but interestingly a couple were actually reproductions of the posterstamps rather than having the stamps themselves adhered. All of these were early “undivided back” postcards printed with the name of the regiment on the address side. (undivided backs refers to the postal requirement that nothing but the address may be written on the stamped side of the postcard, this requirement had been lifted in 1907 in the US). Other cards printed with the regiments’ names are found with the corresponding poster stamps adhered to the message-side, some together with the regiment’s cachet as well. Some of these issues again made use of thick cardstock or of expensive papers giving the impression of being handmade. Though I haven’t come across anything to confirm this, it would appear that these postcards were intended to be used or collected with the poster stamps attached.
Like the Army stamps, the postcards only occasionally have dates, but when they are dated, one almost always sees ‘1904’, which must have been the prime time for both postcard and stamp production. Both of the cards just above are dated 1904. Many of the cards are also rubber stamped with a decorative cancel, or ‘cachet,’ usually in violet-blue ink. Most cachets are not dated, and make reference to the officer staff of the regiment; the officers were usually of the educated upper classes, these are the people who got the stamps and cards produced and had the wherewithal to trade and collect.
Following are four ‘rare birds’, Regimental Postcards combined with the regimental stamps and used in the mail; this ended with the coming of the World War in 1915.
The (address) back of this card has been stamped with a regular issue Italian postage stamp of 2 cts, and mailed from Milan, unfortunately the year of the cancel is unclear, although it is of 2 digits, (likely 1900 to 1915) It is not clear why the the words ‘Italian Postal Card’ have been struck out, and also at the left instructions saying ‘only the address on this side’, if it’s being mailed anyway. It has been sent to an officer of the command staff of the 4th Infantry in Florence.
On the front side, the card has been made to look like an envelope with lines marking paper seams, and a fake wax seal for the 23rd printed on the upper left. The Italian army stamp for the 23rd Military District has been pasted on the “envelope back” and rubberstamped with “Meeting Salon of officers, Military District 23 of Milan”. In this case the cachet has been used to tie the stamp to the cover.
This card for the 3rd Regiment of Infantry was specially printed for an event, and mailed to a Lt. colonel of the 34th Infantry in Arezzo. The card is tinted bluish only on the address back, with a postage stamp canceled on the 9th; it seems a little late to be an invitation, but Arezzo is only about 10 miles from SanGiovanni.
Both sides refer to “Musical Program”, a concert being given 9th August 1905, in the town of San Giovanni Valdarno, from 7:30 to 9:00pm, and signed by the sender with ‘Saluti’ just below the list of musical pieces. The army stamp pasted at the upper left is a very rare issue for the 3rd Infantry Regiment; it is dated 1905, like the concert, for a celebration of the victory at Calmasino over Austria.
This postcard is mailed without a stamp, and with an Army stamp in its place. This is legal, because a war is on, so soldiers get free “franking” mailing privileges. The date on the cancels is 1912; Italy is at war with the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and has occupied both several Mediterranean Islands and the area that is Libya in North Africa. The cancel on the card is dated 7 June 1912 & says “Posta Militaire, IV Division in Tripoli. The other is a receiving cancel from Novellara, Reggio Emilia. The Ottoman Empire ceded Libya to Italy in October. Neither the card or stamp are dated, but they were probably printed back in 1904, so some were still for sale, or have been saved by the mailer.
This postcard and army stamp are for the Central Shooting (marksmanship) School of Infantry. The card has been mailed to “Gentilissima Signora”–most gentle lady–Maria Araldi in Bologna, using a regular postage stamp from the period (1906-1919). the date from the cancel is possibly November 27, 1910.
On the front, we can see typical regimental badges at the top left, a battle scene, the school building, and symbols such as books and bullseye at the bottom left. Many of these same symbols appear on the poster stamp version. At the lower right, the artist’s signature Carlos Carini, and a date 1903 shows with the right edge printer inscription on the card.
One last bellissima postcard, made for the 34th Infantry Regiment of the Livorno Brigade (see the eagle lower left). The brigade was from the Tuscany region, as mentioned at top ‘Volunteers in Tuscany’. The artist’s name Major G. Pauer, is at bottom left, and the printer inscription Mazzoni of Florence, at the far right above the date 1904. Livorno is a port on the Mediterranean straight west of Florence, so the card symbolically shows ships & ocean, as well as olive trees, mountains beyond a soldiers’ encampment, and the coat of arms of Livorno–a fort/lighthouse in the water. As on earlier cards, a special cachet was stamped, with “Officers’ Circle, 34th Regt. Infantry” around a coat of arms.
One of the older Italian postcard price guides, the “Cartoline de Collezione” edited by Cesare Bobba in 1979 lists more than 160 postcards described as either having printed reproductions of, or with the stamps adhered to the cards. These are listed together with the hundreds of other Italian regimental postcards that fill some 80 pages.
Steve Greiczek & Tom Minor