October 2017 – Page 3 – The-Philatelist

Welcome readers to todays offering from The Philatelist. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. We have an interesting story to tell. A story of fascists on the run, Austrian sailors mistaken for Turkish pirates, and an everlasting old ass.

The stamp today is Italian. It is gummed but also possesses a cancellation. From 1944, it is too early to be a Mincus farm out stamp. There was a philatelic conference in Venice in 1945 that included overprints of this issue, so it may have to do with that. Any clarification on this from the commenters is welcome.

This is issue A10, a 25 centesimo stamp issued by the Italian social republic on December 6th, 1944. It is worth 55 cents in its cancelled state according to the Scott catalog. The stamp is part of a three stamp issue commemorating the 100th anniversary of the execution of the Bandiero brothers in 1844. This was the last stamp issue of the Italian social republic.

The Italian social republic was formed in late 1943 in the part if Italy that was controlled by Germany after the Allied invasion of Italy. King Victor Emmanuel had removed Mussolini from power after the invasion and intended to turn him over to the Allies. In the mean time, he was held under arrest at a hotel. The Germans pulled off a daring glider raid on the hotel and took custody of Mussolini. Hitler then appointed him a figure head of the German occupied area of Italy. The social republic ended in late April 1945 when Mussolini, his mistress, and some loyalists were captured by Communist rebels while making for Switzerland. They had hoped to be able to fly to Franco’s Spain and sanctuary. Instead they were shot, then hung, and then had their corpses desecrated.

Enough about this strange postal region of Italy. The two people depicted on this stamp are Atillio and Emilio Bandiera. Sons of an Austrian admiral, the brothers were themselves Austrian sailors who became enthralled by the idea of Italian unification. At this time, around 1840, Italy was a collection of city states with no central government. At the time the Austria Hungarian Navy was staffed almost entirely by ethnic Italians. This makes more sense if you remember that today Austria and Hungary are landlocked countries and the ports they controlled then are in present day Italy.

As the Bandiera brothers began working for Italian unification, they were banished to Corfu. While there, they began corresponding with Giuseppe Mazzini. He was another leader in the unification movement who was in exile in London. Mazzini was anti communist, pro religion, and believed rights had to be earned through deeds. Prince Metternich described him as the most influential revolutionary in Europe. On the other hand, Karl Marx thought him an everlasting old ass.

Either or both ways, the Bandiera brothers were inspired to put together a team of 20 men, make for Cozenza, free political prisoners there, and issue political demands. This all went wrong. The political prisoners proved hard to find and they were turned over to police by locals who mistook them for Turkish pirates. Eight of the group including the Bandiera brothers were executed. There were rumors the group was betrayed by one of their own or that British intelligence was reading Mazzini’s mail in London and let Austria Hungary in on the plot. In any case, the execution where they shouted vive Italia as they fell, became a rallying cry for Italian unification that happened a generation later. As the Mussolini share of Italy shrunk as the Allies made their way up the Italian boot, it is perhaps understandable for the social republic of Italy to hijack the Bandiera brothers story to argue for a new unification under them.

Well, my drink is empty so it is time to open the conversation in the below comment section. How is the Italian social republic remembered in Italy? Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

Welcome readers to today’s offering from The Philatelist. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. We have an interesting story to tell about a man you may not remember, but perhaps he is worth remembering.

At first glance, today’s stamp may look American, perhaps from the Bicentennial year. It is not.The gold profile in the top corner is a giveaway that the stamp is British. The shape of the stamp is also a standard shape common to British stamps from the late 60s forward.

The stamp today is issue A248, a 3 penny stamp issued on August 15, 1973 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the birth of English architect Inigo Jones.The stamp is part of a four stamp issue that depicts various aspects of Mr. Jones career. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is valued at 25 cents in its cancelled state.

Inigo Jones is an interesting figure in the history of architecture and other things. What he achieved and how he achieved them are great lessons on how luck, contacts, and talent can yield lasting, great things. Inigo Jones was born in London in 1573 and was of Welch ancestry. He was not noble by birth, but my much good fortune was able to attract the patronage of several nobleman that allowed him to develop his talent. The Earl of Pembroke sent him to Italy to study drawing. This allowed Inigo to absorb the classic styles of Italy including the architecture of Vituvious. He then went to Denmark to work on the palaces of King Christian. The ending of the Middle Ages was allowing for more travel and soon Inigo was back in England ready to bring a new, if historically referenced style to his homeland.

Inigo did not go directly in to architecture. With the patronage of Queen Anne, he went to work on the stage. Not as an actor, but using his architectural drafting skills to pioneer the use of masks and moveable scenery on the stage. Many of his drawings from this period of his career still exist. One of the other stamps in Great Britain’s 1973 Inigo Jones issue celebrates his work on the staging of plays.

Architecture comes back into the picture as King James becomes less frugal than Queen Elizabeth I had been. In 1613, Inigo Jones was named the Surveyor of Kings Works. This opened many opportunities to put his style vision into practice. Among these was the structure on today’s featured stamp, St Paul’s Church and Convent Garden. The Earl of Bedford wanted to create a square in London in the style of an Italian piazza. Inigo Jones was just the man to see this vision realized.

There is always tension between patron and artisan. The Earl of Bedford saw the need for a church in the square but wanted to be economical. He instructed Inigo to model the church on a barn. Instead Inigo stuck to his vision of a Tuscan style temple, as Vituvious would have done. The”best barn in England” still stands today.

Inigo’s career later came to a standstill with the English civil war of 1642. This makes the vital point that talent is not enough for success. The conditions have to be right for talent to be able to flower.

Well, my drink is empty so it is time to open up the conversation in the below comment section. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.