Lot 40228 – The “Strade Ferrate” Collection

1844-1865 THE MOST IMPORTANT “STRADE FERRATE” – “RAILWAY” COLLECTION

A most comprehensive and significant collection dedicated to early mail travelled by train in the Italian territories, covering the Old Italian States of Tuscany, Sardinia, Lombardy-Venetia, Naples and Papal States, mounted on 290 exhibition pages and comprising about 520 items also including few documents.

Tuscany is presented on 120 pages illustrating the private and ducal postal services, with various unique and relevant examples: two very rare covers travelled in 1844 along the “Strada Leopolda” with one being unique from Pisa to Leghorn, the earliest usage recorded of a railway marking in the Italian territories, a unique insured double weight cover franked by 4cr (2) & 9cr, the only newspaper known bearing a 1q, Tuscany stamps tied by “SaFa” oval hs, straight-line town postmarks used during the early period of the Kingdom of Italy, an attractive display of postage-due labels of the “Strada Ferrata Leopolda” (including six Enzo Diena certs.). Papal States include the Roma-Frascati and Roma-Ceprano lines, with straight-line numeral handstamps including the only example recorded bearing the number of the 10th journey, one of two first-day covers known from the Roma-Ceprano line, from this line also the highest franking recorded tied by the traveling cds, a wide range of different octagonal origin postmarks incl. items from towns with one or two examples known. Sardinia comprises a good display of the rare Italic postmarks on stampless covers or franked mail with the 3rd & 4th Sardinian- and the early Kingdom of Italy issues, as well as traveling P.O. cds’s. It continues with Naples and a good assembly of localities with the small “S.F.” circle handstamp. Lombardy-Venetia displays rare handstamps from the stations of Mestre, Verona and small towns along the Milan-Venice line. Viewing is essential and recommended.