334 pp. - almost 500 colour ill. - softbound - printed 2017
Italian text
THE EPISTOLARY COMMUNICATION FROM AND TO TURIN
VOL. IV THE KINGDOM OF VITTORIO AMEDEO III (1773-1796)
AND THE POSTAL RATES OF 1795 BASED ON THE DISTANCE IN "POST"
The Kingdom of Vittorio Amedeo III lasted from 1773 to 1796, for a period of almost twenty years.
Regarding Post, everything happened according to the well-known patents of 1772, with the rate system described in the 3rd volume.
The second period of kingdom of this unfortunate king was, instead, anything but quiet, starting from the French Revolution that, in 1789, upset the entire Europe.
Just during this troubled period, an important postal reform was implemented in Turin, modifying completely the method used in correspondence taxation. A criterion completely new for Piedmont was introduced with the patents of 1795, that is binding the postage of letters to the distance between the location of departure and to the one of destination (criterion already applied in France on the basis of the leagues travelled). The longer was the route the higher was the postage to pay on delivery. Since the journeys used for post by horse were measured in "post", the same was done for letters. So the parameters became two: one was the kind of letter (simple, covered, double, by ounce) and the other one was for the distance measured in "post".