ITALY 1904 REGISTERED COVER REGGIO CALABRIA TO BERLIN GERMANY
1904 (February), Registered Cover from Reggio Calabria, Italy to Berlin, Germany. Franked with a **pair of 25 centesimi** blue Victor Emmanuel III adhesive stamps, tied by squared circle cancellations alongside a matching Reggio Calabria dispatch datestamp and an official registered label "REGGIO / DI CALABRIA / 005701" on the face. The reverse features an **AMB. GENOVA MILANO** railway post office transit datestamp, a German arrival receiver Postamte 16 / 15.2.04", and an intact red corporate wax seal (**Fratelli Spinelli fu Bruno / Reggio Calabria**). Toned with a slight crack to the wax seal. Without contents.
This 1904 registered cover was dispatched from the southern Italian port city of Reggio Calabria to Berlin, bearing commercial corner card markings for Fratelli Spinelli fu Bruno. The cover exhibits secure registration handling, including railway transit postmarks and a well-preserved proprietary red wax seal on the reverse. The combination of a registered pair franking, railway sorting postmarks, and a decorative corporate wax seal makes this an exceptional Italian registered mail cover[cite: 70, 71].
Technical & Social Commentary
- Technical Analysis: Features a pair of 25c blue Victor Emmanuel III stamps tied by squared circle cancels, Reggio Calabria registration label and dispatch cds, AMB Genova Milano RPO transit backstamp, Berlin arrival postmark, and an embossed red wax seal[cite: 70, 71].
- Geopolitical Context: Documents international registered mail security protocols between southern Italian commercial exporters and Prussian business houses during the Edwardian period.
- Logistical Narrative: Transported via Italian railway postal sorting cars (AMB Genova Milano) northward across the Alps through German postal channels for delivery to Berlin[cite: 70, 71].
- Social/Mercantile Insights: Illustrates high-security commercial correspondence used by established mercantile firms to transmit valuable documents or drafts abroad.
Please examine lot scan carefully and please send any questions at least 48 hours before the auction closes. Please note that cover condition usually includes normal wear and tear to cover edges, opening tears and some creases and wrinkles. Only exceptional or extreme condition issues will be mentioned.
Legend:
PS - Postal Stationery
FL - Folded Letter
SFL - Stampless Folded Letter
RPO - Railway Post Office
CDS - Circular Date Stamp
DPO - Dead Post Office
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