Lately I've been trying to build a display page about the national awakening in Europe in the 19th century because this had an impact on the fathers of Zionism. One example of the events taking place in Europe was the unification of Italy and the delayed addition of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venice.
In 1815, the Congress of Vienna convened, which was intended to shape the map of Europe after the upheavals caused since the French Revolution and during the Napoleonic era. Strangley the Congress determined that the kingdom would be included in the territory of the Austrian Empire. The Kingdom of Lombardy-Venice was Italian speaking and Austria was German speaking, very different cultures, history and languages.
In 1859, Austria was defeated by the Kingdom of Sardinia and France in the Second Italian War of Independence, and was forced to surrender Lombardy to the French Emperor Napoleon III. France, for its part, transferred the territory it had just won to the Kingdom of Sardinia, and thus the end of the unification of Italy was in sight. For the sake of completeness of the historical picture, I will mention that the area of Venice was handed over to Italy only a few years later, in exchange for its participation on the side of Prussia in its war with Austria.
The thematic point that interests me is the handover of Lombardy to Italy in 1859. One day an item caught my eye at a well-known European auction. The title in the auction catalog was:
Sardinian War, 1859: Austria against the Kingdom of Italy - loss of the Kingdom of Lombardy.
Interesting, I said to myself. The Sardinian War is another name for the Second Italian War of Independence, so I should definitely read the auctioneer's description of the item:
Nice, I thought to myself. Augsburg is a city in Bavaria. A luth is a unit of weight that was used at that time in Austria, and is equal to 17 and a half grams. The fact that Lombardy was still part of Austria is exactly the heart of the matter for me. I paid 130 euros for the item, to which were added 65 euros in additional expenses (commission, handling and shipping fees), as well as 110 NIS that I paid to customs in Israel.
The item arrived and I excitedly opened it and then I sat down to examine it more carefully. I immediately had questions. The Bavarian stamps are indeed from the 1850s, but I found no sign of the letter passing through Switzerland or of a payment to the Swiss post office in return. Then I noticed that the year on the stamp is 1866 and not 1856 as written in the sale catalog! In 1866 Lombardy was already part of Italy, and the letter had nothing to do with the Sardinian War that ended seven years earlier.
In 1815, the Congress of Vienna convened, which was intended to shape the map of Europe after the upheavals caused since the French Revolution and during the Napoleonic era. Strangley the Congress determined that the kingdom would be included in the territory of the Austrian Empire. The Kingdom of Lombardy-Venice was Italian speaking and Austria was German speaking, very different cultures, history and languages.
In 1859, Austria was defeated by the Kingdom of Sardinia and France in the Second Italian War of Independence, and was forced to surrender Lombardy to the French Emperor Napoleon III. France, for its part, transferred the territory it had just won to the Kingdom of Sardinia, and thus the end of the unification of Italy was in sight. For the sake of completeness of the historical picture, I will mention that the area of Venice was handed over to Italy only a few years later, in exchange for its participation on the side of Prussia in its war with Austria.
The thematic point that interests me is the handover of Lombardy to Italy in 1859. One day an item caught my eye at a well-known European auction. The title in the auction catalog was:
Sardinian War, 1859: Austria against the Kingdom of Italy - loss of the Kingdom of Lombardy.
Interesting, I said to myself. The Sardinian War is another name for the Second Italian War of Independence, so I should definitely read the auctioneer's description of the item:
23.12.1856, Augsburg- Milan, 2 double 6 red-brown Kreuzer, on a letter weighing up to 1 luth. At that time Lombardy was still part of Austria, and the letter was sent within the Austro-German postal union. The letter passed through Switzerland, and the Swiss Post received 3 kreutzers in return. Arrival stamp of Milan from December 27, 1856.
Nice, I thought to myself. Augsburg is a city in Bavaria. A luth is a unit of weight that was used at that time in Austria, and is equal to 17 and a half grams. The fact that Lombardy was still part of Austria is exactly the heart of the matter for me. I paid 130 euros for the item, to which were added 65 euros in additional expenses (commission, handling and shipping fees), as well as 110 NIS that I paid to customs in Israel.
The item arrived and I excitedly opened it and then I sat down to examine it more carefully. I immediately had questions. The Bavarian stamps are indeed from the 1850s, but I found no sign of the letter passing through Switzerland or of a payment to the Swiss post office in return. Then I noticed that the year on the stamp is 1866 and not 1856 as written in the sale catalog! In 1866 Lombardy was already part of Italy, and the letter had nothing to do with the Sardinian War that ended seven years earlier.
Here is a classic case of an incorrect item description in the auction catalog. I contacted the auction company, and to their credit they took responsibility for the error and refunded everything including the 10 euros for shipping the item back to them, but not Israeli taxes. I would say "caveat emptor" but in this case, the online image was not clear to see the '66 part.
Fortunately for me if I had trusted the description in the auction catalog, and a judge had caught me out, I would have been embarrassed and lost points on thematic knowledge. I also would not be able to get my money back from the seller, well depending on how much time passed.
That is quite a story! I appreciate that there is someone endeavoring to enrich our understanding of Zionism through philately. Zionism was the most exciting intellectual movement of the twentieth century and in many ways continues that legacy until today.
ReplyDeleteThank you Amir. I try my best
DeleteThank you Lawrence for this very interesting article from a historical point of view but also for the postal history enthusiasts that we are. When I'm interested in an item at auction, I upload the photos, study it, and if I have any doubts, I ask the auction house questions. If after all this I still have doubts I limit my maximum bet. But I have to admit, you can't see everything and for my part, it's often on the quality that I got screwed. Michael.
ReplyDeleteI can only hope that these problems don't come up often
DeleteThe cancel does look like it says 1866, though the first 6 is smudged and could be a 5. The Brown 6 kreuzers were not used at this point, it was the blue 6 kreuzers (since 1862). A bit unusual to use two of them in 1866. people would not usually have stamps lying around for that long after buying them. A cross on the letter points to postage prepaid, which I think would be most common for non-stamp franked letters. It is unlikely, but possible that the stamps have been added later (fake). Does the rate of 12 kr to Lombardy match the 1866 rates ? (1856 DÖPV multiples of 3,6 or 9 kr ... in this case at least 9 kr for > 20 miles so 12 kr does not fit)
ReplyDeleteThank you sir
DeleteIndeed when comparing the cancels of augsburg 1856 vs 1866. It looks like this should be 1856 and not 1866. In 1866 they had complete different cancels in Augsburg. And at that time the brown 6kr where in use while in 1866 they should be blue. So... 5 of 6 on a cancel is always tricky ... specialy after a while used it could give some doubts.
DeleteGreat story (:
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for sharing. Also, thank you for your taxes :D