Lot 20750 – 1920 The earliest mail recorded from the Italian contingent in Upper Silesia

1920 (March 6). Postcard from an Italian soldier in Ratibor, franked with Upper Silesia 1st issue 15pf, and only carried about one month later by courier to the base military P.O. of Bologna, where the stamp was tied by “Posta Militare/E/(Ufficio Concentramento)” cds on 10.4, over one month after the card was dated, and arrival adjacent; there was uncertainty on how to handle the first dispatch of correspondence from the Italian contingent, as the mail was initially planned to be posted at a civil post office in Upper Silesia -this explains the franking-, but after some delay it was decided to use an Italian military courier to Bologna. The earliest mail recorded from the Italian contingent in Upper Silesia, the few items recorded from the first dispatch being unique by exhibiting a local franking but tied by military cds on arrival in Italy.