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edited by Giovanni Micheli
LE TARIFFE POSTALI ITALIANE 1862-2000 - vol.1
POSTA AEREA 1926-2000

348 pp. - format cm 17x24 - softbound - printed 2000 - reprinted 2009
series «Handies»
Italian text

ALSO AS FREE BOOK (class C)

ISBN: 88-85335-47-0
978-88-85335-47-9
ITALIAN POSTAL RATES 1862-2000
vol.1
AIR MAIL 1926-2000

Complete laws, decrees, and all the regulations with the rates of air mail from 1862 to 2000.
To make the work more practical and easier to consult, the different subjects (inland/abroad, etc.) have been ordered by date, title of decree or law, detailed indication on publication (ex. R.D. 9.7.1926 n.1381, published in G.U. - Official Gazette - n.194 of 21.8.1926). These data have been schematised at the beginning of each legislative source.
Besides the general index divided by year, there are three indexes more: by subject, by decree, and by rate periods.

GENERAL PLAN OF THE WORK
The complete work is formed by 6 volumes:
vol.1 - Air mail 1926-2000
vol.2 - Kingdom of Italy 1862-1900
vol.3 - Kingdom of Italy and Italian Social Republic 1901-1946
vol.4 tome I - Italian Republic 1946-1970
vol.4 tome II - Italian Republic 1971-1985
vol.4 tome III - Italian Republic 1986-2000
LARGE VERMEIL - GIFRA 2001 (Ravenna)
settembre
Nazionale italiana

VERMEIL - HAFNIA 2001
(Copenaghen, Denmark)

VERMEIL - PHILANIPPON 2001 (Tokio)

VERMEIL - BELGICA 2001 (Bruxelles)
Fiorenzo Longhi
PILOTI ED AEREI DAL PACIFICO ALLE ANDE
Primi voli postali in Ecuador

280 pp. - 284 b/w ill. - 7 maps - colour cover - printed 1995
Italian text

PILOTS AND PLANES FROM THE PACIFIC OCEAN TO THE ANDES First post flights in Ecuador

The fruits of twenty-years research, the book deals with an unknown aspect of Italian aviation history, about which nothing has been written before, and presents images unpublished both in Italy and in Ecuador. Every piece of information has been taken from Italian and Ecuadorian museums, from the archives of South American newspapers, Historical Office of Aviation and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The author underlines the close connexion between aviators and Italian planes, and the rise and development of Ecuadorian aviation. There is no similar example of such a lasting and continuous link between the aviation history of two different countries.

The book narrates the life of the Italian pilots who have made their contribution to aviation development in South America, and tells the story of three pilots from Friuli in Ecuador: Antonio Eolo Paolo from Pordenone, Elia Liut from Fiume Veneto, Tullio Petri from Tavagnacco. On all Italian pilots and these of Italian origin, the author gives information about their biography, from birth to death, including their feats during First World War with relevant decorations obtained. Unpublished previously are the parts on Mirafiori's «Chiribiri» and Cameri's «Gabardini», the complete biography and adventurous life of Cosimo Rennella, tenth in the list of ace pilots of Italian Royal Armed Forces in the First World War.
Fiorenzo Longhi was born in Milan in 1938 and lives by Lake Maggiore.
After obtaining the scientific A levels, he graduates in Economics and Business at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan in 1966 and works as director in an engineering company for twenty years.
Since his childhood, he cultivates the hobby of philately and history, and afterwards he passes to the study of postal history in little known fields such as the first issues of the Ottoman Empire and of Ecuador, Italian air mail and the flights of Italian pilots abroad, creating, in the course of years, some important collections and one of the most complete libraries of philately, postal history and aeronautic history.
He is awarded the maximum rewards in the National and World competitive philatelic exhibitions (6 Large Gold Medals and numerous Grand Prix from 1976 to 1978).
Since 1979, he exhibits only in the Honour Class or upon invitation in National and International exhibitions.
He publishes numerous articles, chapters in specialized books, one book and two catalogues, always dealing with little known or unreleased subjects relevant to postal history and aeronautic history.
He is enrolled in the National Register of Philatelic Jury Members since 1982 and he is an International Philatelic Jury Member.
He is enrolled in the Golden Register of Italian Philately since 1979; since 1995, in the Register of Expert Witnesses of the Court in Verbania for Philately; since 1996, in the Philately Category, in the Expert Role of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture in Verbano Cusio Ossola.
He is Life Member of the American Air Mail Society and member of the following Italian and foreign associations: A.I.E.P. International Association of Philatelic Experts (Italy, Air Mail - Ecuador, Air Mail); A.P.F.I.P Associazione Periti Filatelici Italiani Professionisti; Borsa Filatelica Nazionale; Federazione fra le Società Filateliche Italiane; Accademia Italiana di Filatelia e Storia Postale; Istituto di Studi Storici Postali; Unione Filatelica Lombarda; A.I.S.P. Associazione Italiana di Storia Postale; A.I.D.A. Associazione Italiana di Aerofilatelia; A.I.C.P.M. Associazione Italiana Collezionisti Posta Militare; Schweizerischer Aerophilatelisten-Verein; Cercle Aérophilatélique Français; British Air Mail Society; Nido delle Aquile Museo dell'Aria.
Cod. 1929E
EUR 100,00
Special Price
EUR 80,00


Fiorenzo Longhi
AEROFILIA ITALIANA
CATALOGO STORICO DESCRITTIVO 1898-1941
CON AGGIORNAMENTO VALUTAZIONI 2011

630 pp. - 736 b/w and 390 colour ill. - hardbound - 2nd ed. 2007 revised and increased
Italian text
FREE THE UPDATE 2011
48 pp. - colour ill. - saddle stitch binding - printed 2011

AEROFILIA ITALIANA
HISTORICAL DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE 1898-1941
WITH VALUATIONS UPDATE 2011

Catalogue of air mail from and to the whole world. Story of Italian Civil Aviation and Air Mail through postal and complementary documents. The author makes a vast analysis, reports the reasons for every flight or show, the dates, the pilots' names. He takes into consideration not only air mail documents but also commemorative postcards, private cancels, propaganda handstamps.

In this new edition, several chapters and events have been completely revised and reorganised. Thanks to new findings, the information contained in the previous edition has been updated, both forerunners (1898-1914) and following historical periods. Some topics have been increased (for example, postal flights of 1917-1919 and of M1 and F6 dirigibles, the flights of Italian pilots abroad and of foreign pilots in Italy, Italian and foreign air lines operating in Italy, the flights of Norge and Italia, the Cruises of De Pinedo and Balbo, the flights of Francis Lombardi, L.A.T.I. and newspapers travelled by air). New subjects have been added.

Rates - In the first edition they were not included. In the present one they have been introduced starting from SISA flights in 1926, every special flight (Rome-Buenos Aires, Rome-Mogadishu, etc.), L.A.T.I. ones.

To make search easier, besides the numbering already existing, new progressive numbers have been added (from no.1 to 4.089). They have been inserted, in cameo, in every page of the catalogue, next to the previous numbering relevant to the year of the event, in every black and white photograph, in the colour tables and in the list of valuations in euro enclosed.
Fiorenzo Longhi was born in Milan in 1938 and lives by Lake Maggiore.
After obtaining the scientific A levels, he graduates in Economics and Business at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan in 1966 and works as director in an engineering company for twenty years.
Since his childhood, he cultivates the hobby of philately and history, and afterwards he passes to the study of postal history in little known fields such as the first issues of the Ottoman Empire and of Ecuador, Italian air mail and the flights of Italian pilots abroad, creating, in the course of years, some important collections and one of the most complete libraries of philately, postal history and aeronautic history.
He is awarded the maximum rewards in the National and World competitive philatelic exhibitions (6 Large Gold Medals and numerous Grand Prix from 1976 to 1978).
Since 1979, he exhibits only in the Honour Class or upon invitation in National and International exhibitions.
He publishes numerous articles, chapters in specialized books, one book and two catalogues, always dealing with little known or unreleased subjects relevant to postal history and aeronautic history.
He is enrolled in the National Register of Philatelic Jury Members since 1982 and he is an International Philatelic Jury Member.
He is enrolled in the Golden Register of Italian Philately since 1979; since 1995, in the Register of Expert Witnesses of the Court in Verbania for Philately; since 1996, in the Philately Category, in the Expert Role of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture in Verbano Cusio Ossola.
He is Life Member of the American Air Mail Society and member of the following Italian and foreign associations: A.I.E.P. International Association of Philatelic Experts (Italy, Air Mail - Ecuador, Air Mail); A.P.F.I.P Associazione Periti Filatelici Italiani Professionisti; Borsa Filatelica Nazionale; Federazione fra le Società Filateliche Italiane; Accademia Italiana di Filatelia e Storia Postale; Istituto di Studi Storici Postali; Unione Filatelica Lombarda; A.I.S.P. Associazione Italiana di Storia Postale; A.I.D.A. Associazione Italiana di Aerofilatelia; A.I.C.P.M. Associazione Italiana Collezionisti Posta Militare; Schweizerischer Aerophilatelisten-Verein; Cercle Aérophilatélique Français; British Air Mail Society; Nido delle Aquile Museo dell'Aria.
Cod. 1974E
EUR 8,00


Nicola Simonetti - Oreste Pugliesi
LA PRIMA SERIE DEL MONDO
DI POSTA AEREA
(31 maggio 1917)

80 pp. - colour ill. - softbound - ed. 1998
Italian text

THE FIRST SERIES IN THE WORLD
OF AIR MAIL
(31 May 1917)

The first series of "Air Mail" postage stamps in the world, in the present volume described and documented even thanks to the study and the reproduction of several documents. This is a primacy for Italy, but it is also important as both the 25 c. express, on cover, and the 30 c. express, used, are really rare items.
Fiorenzo Longhi
CATALOGO STORICO DESCRITTIVO
DEGLI AEROGRAMMI ZEPPELIN DI ITALIA - COLONIE ITALIANE SAN MARINO - VATICANO - 1929-1939
con aggiornamento quotazioni 2017 e nuovi inserimenti
CATALOGUE OF ZEPPELIN MAIL OF ITALY - ITALIAN COLONIES
SAN MARINO - VATICAN CITY - 1929-1939
with quotes updating 2017 and new insertions

VII+281 pp. - 863 colour and b/w ill. - format cm 21x29,7 - hardbound - printed 2009
series "Handies"
Italian and English text
by Paolo Moretti FREE THE UPDATE 2017
40 pp. - colour ill. - saddle stitch binding - printed 2016

ISBN: 978-88-96381-02-1
Chronological history of Zeppelin mail of the Italian area flown on Graf Zeppelin, Hindenburg and Graf Zeppelin II airships, including rates.

This catalogue deals, in great detail, with Zeppelin mail of Italy, Italian colonies, San Marino and Vatican from 1929 to 1939. This list only refers to flown items for which it has been possible to assess their existence. Other mails, whose existence has not been verified yet, although mentioned in other sources, have been omitted. Items which are not genuine or fakes have been frequently mentioned, instead.
In this catalogue Zeppelin airmail stamps have been excluded, as they have already been described in philatelic catalogues.

The recording, given in chronological order, enables to trace a catalogued Zeppelin mail simply by referring to the page related to the airship's name, the year and, thus, the flight number, from which month and day of that particular flight are evident.
The flights numbering used in this work is that reported in the official original records of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin / Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei. The use of this numbering avoids arbitrary misleading information, instead providing a reference form among collectors, dealers and aviation historians.

Dieter Leder: "Zeppelin mail experts and sophisticated collectors worked together and shared their knowledge, information and covers to make this catalogue the most comprehensive data base for Zeppelin mail from Italy and its connected areas."

CONTENTS

* Preface by Dieter Leder
* Prefazione by Romano Savini
* Introduction by Fiorenzo Longhi
* Flight numbering used in the catalogue
* Postmarks or special cachets abbreviations
* Mixed franking and re-mailings
* Airship LZ 127 "Graf Zeppelin" (Orient flight, Mediterranean flight, North America flights, flight to Darmstadt, to Dortmund, to Russia, Baltic sea flight, Vogtland flight, Holland flight, Hungary flight, Egypt flight, flight to Pomerania, landing flight to Nuremberg, Baltic sea circuit, landing flight to Magdeburg, Liechtenstein flight, flight to Hanover, Swabia flight, Iceland flight, Upper Silesia flight, Polar flight, South America flights, Switzerland flight, flight to England)
* Italy flight (Friedrichshafen-Rome, round flight over Rome, return flight Rome-Friedrichshafen) - Some preliminary information about Italy flight - Postmarks and special cachets of the Italian flight - Postmarks and special cachets of the Italian flight and of the 2nd S.A.F. - Some preliminary information about the "on board mail" of Italy flight
* Malta (return flight Rome-Friedrichshafen) - A few considerations on the Barcelona mail drop
* Cyrenaica (round flight over Rome, return flight Rome-Friedrichshafen)
* Aegean Islands (round flight over Rome, return flight Rome-Friedrichshafen)
* Greece (round flight over Rome, return flight Rome-Friedrichshafen) - Mail with insufficient franking
* Italy (round flight over Rome, return flight Rome-Friedrichshafen)
* San Marino (round flight over Rome, return flight Rome-Friedrichshafen)
* Tripolitania (round flight over Rome, return flight Rome-Friedrichshafen)
* Vatican City (round flight over Rome, return flight Rome-Friedrichshafen, South America flights, flight to the Saargebiet)
* German standard flight cachets used on flights to South America from 1934 to 1936
* Shuttle flights
* Airship LZ 129 "Hindenburg"
* German standard flight cachets used on flights to North America in 1936
* Airship LZ 130 "Graf Zeppelin II" (flight to the Sudetenland, to Görlitz, to Bielefeld, to Kassel, to Würzburg, to Eger, to Essen-Mülheim, to Königsberg)
* Italy - Postage rates
* Zeppelin airmail surcharge
* Vatican City - Postage rates to Italy

Bibliography
Picture credits
Fiorenzo Longhi was born in Milan in 1938 and lives by Lake Maggiore.
After obtaining the scientific A levels, he graduates in Economics and Business at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan in 1966 and works as director in an engineering company for twenty years.
Since his childhood, he cultivates the hobby of philately and history, and afterwards he passes to the study of postal history in little known fields such as the first issues of the Ottoman Empire and of Ecuador, Italian air mail and the flights of Italian pilots abroad, creating, in the course of years, some important collections and one of the most complete libraries of philately, postal history and aeronautic history.
He is awarded the maximum rewards in the National and World competitive philatelic exhibitions (6 Large Gold Medals and numerous Grand Prix from 1976 to 1978).
Since 1979, he exhibits only in the Honour Class or upon invitation in National and International exhibitions.
He publishes numerous articles, chapters in specialized books, one book and two catalogues, always dealing with little known or unreleased subjects relevant to postal history and aeronautic history.
He is enrolled in the National Register of Philatelic Jury Members since 1982 and he is an International Philatelic Jury Member.
He is enrolled in the Golden Register of Italian Philately since 1979; since 1995, in the Register of Expert Witnesses of the Court in Verbania for Philately; since 1996, in the Philately Category, in the Expert Role of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture in Verbano Cusio Ossola.
He is Life Member of the American Air Mail Society and member of the following Italian and foreign associations: A.I.E.P. International Association of Philatelic Experts (Italy, Air Mail - Ecuador, Air Mail); A.P.F.I.P Associazione Periti Filatelici Italiani Professionisti; Borsa Filatelica Nazionale; Federazione fra le Società Filateliche Italiane; Accademia Italiana di Filatelia e Storia Postale; Istituto di Studi Storici Postali; Unione Filatelica Lombarda; A.I.S.P. Associazione Italiana di Storia Postale; A.I.D.A. Associazione Italiana di Aerofilatelia; A.I.C.P.M. Associazione Italiana Collezionisti Posta Militare; Schweizerischer Aerophilatelisten-Verein; Cercle Aérophilatélique Français; British Air Mail Society; Nido delle Aquile Museo dell'Aria.
GEORGE D.KINGDOM LITERATURE AWARD 2011 - AMERICAN AIR MAIL SOCIETY

ZEPPELIN STUDY GROUP ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2010

GOLD - ROSSICA 2016
20-22 maggio 2016

GOLD - IPHLA 2012
Mainz, 2-4 novembre 2012

GOLD - AEROMFILA 2011
Bucarest 23-26 giugno 2011

GOLD - NEW ZEALAND LIT. EXHIB. 2011
19 marzo 2011
(Palmerston North - New Zealand)

LARGE VERMEIL - LONDON 2010 - Festival of Stamps
Londra, 8-15 maggio 2010

SILVER - CHICAGOPEX 2010
19-21 novembre 2010
(Arlington Heights, IL, USA)
Fiorenzo Longhi
AEROFILIA ITALIANA
CATALOGO STORICO DESCRITTIVO 1898-1941
VALUTAZIONI 2011
con errata corrige e nuovi inserimenti

48 pp. - colour ill. - saddle stitch binding - printed 2011
VALUATIONS IN EURO
Italian text

AEROFILIA ITALIANA
HISTORICAL DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE 1898-1941
UPDATE 2011

Story of Italian Civil Aviation and Air Mail through postal and complementary documents.
Update 2011 to the catalogue of air mail from and to the whole world, with errata and additions.

CONTENTS

* Preface
* How to read errata, additions and valuations
* Errata and additions
* Plates with 76 images of postcards and air letters
* Valuation tables with 4,413 entries (+ 324 - 4,089 were in the catalogue)
Fiorenzo Longhi was born in Milan in 1938 and lives by Lake Maggiore.
After obtaining the scientific A levels, he graduates in Economics and Business at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan in 1966 and works as director in an engineering company for twenty years.
Since his childhood, he cultivates the hobby of philately and history, and afterwards he passes to the study of postal history in little known fields such as the first issues of the Ottoman Empire and of Ecuador, Italian air mail and the flights of Italian pilots abroad, creating, in the course of years, some important collections and one of the most complete libraries of philately, postal history and aeronautic history.
He is awarded the maximum rewards in the National and World competitive philatelic exhibitions (6 Large Gold Medals and numerous Grand Prix from 1976 to 1978).
Since 1979, he exhibits only in the Honour Class or upon invitation in National and International exhibitions.
He publishes numerous articles, chapters in specialized books, one book and two catalogues, always dealing with little known or unreleased subjects relevant to postal history and aeronautic history.
He is enrolled in the National Register of Philatelic Jury Members since 1982 and he is an International Philatelic Jury Member.
He is enrolled in the Golden Register of Italian Philately since 1979; since 1995, in the Register of Expert Witnesses of the Court in Verbania for Philately; since 1996, in the Philately Category, in the Expert Role of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture in Verbano Cusio Ossola.
He is Life Member of the American Air Mail Society and member of the following Italian and foreign associations: A.I.E.P. International Association of Philatelic Experts (Italy, Air Mail - Ecuador, Air Mail); A.P.F.I.P Associazione Periti Filatelici Italiani Professionisti; Borsa Filatelica Nazionale; Federazione fra le Società Filateliche Italiane; Accademia Italiana di Filatelia e Storia Postale; Istituto di Studi Storici Postali; Unione Filatelica Lombarda; A.I.S.P. Associazione Italiana di Storia Postale; A.I.D.A. Associazione Italiana di Aerofilatelia; A.I.C.P.M. Associazione Italiana Collezionisti Posta Militare; Schweizerischer Aerophilatelisten-Verein; Cercle Aérophilatélique Français; British Air Mail Society; Nido delle Aquile Museo dell'Aria.
Cod. 2551E
EUR 40,00


Antonello & Maria Isabella Cerruti
I VOLANTINI VOLARONO

47 pp. - colour ill. - separate sheets in card case with elastic band - format cm 26x34 - printed 2014
Italian text

FLIERS FLEW

47 pages devoted to the fliers that Venetians used in 1848-1849 to communicate outside the town besieged by Austrians, to the aerial vehicles of the Army of the House of Hapsburg and to the daily report of the heroic resistance of the lagoon town. The text avails itself of the unique existing complete collection of the nine different fliers (all reproduced in the text).
Cod. 2554E
EUR 30,00


Paolo Pellegrini
CATALOGO GENERALE DELLA POSTA AEREA IN ITALIA
1941-2015

240 pp. - b/w and colour ill. - softbound - printed 2015
VALUATIONS IN EURO
Italian text

GENERAL CATALOGUE OF AIR MAIL IN ITALY
1941-2015

This catalogue starts with the first mail in the world carried by a jet flight (Campini-Caproni 1941), it continues with the first world mail at supersonic speed (Istrana-Pratica di Mare 1973 and Aviano-Trapani Birgi 1976) and ends with the first mail in the world carried by a drone (Rome EURO, Alfredo Berra Stadium 2014); all Italian aerophilatelic records.

From a postal-historic point of view, the author has tried to underline the most significant aspects that aerophilately itself contains: such as the study of air mail rates in force from the end of WWII up to the present days, the use of postage stamps and the various franking so called rare, the examination of the various postmarking of departure and of arrival, or in transit.

Precise references are included too regarding all the helps and the connections that the Italian Military Air Force has always given and keep on giving, both by a substantial support of pilots, means, technologies and aircrafts granted to the new postwar airline aviation; both, later, when the Italian Air Force has become active protagonist in the aerophilatelic field, by means of a long series of mail flight and air couriers aimed to celebrate the most significant milestones of its history and the most relevant aeronautic events.

From the first edition in 1991 to today, this catalogue has contributed to play the attention and the interest of a wider number of collectors and lovers of aviation on aerophilately.
Cod. 2610E
EUR 60,00

10% off to AIDA, AICPM members

WINNER OF USFI REWARD "RENATO RUSSO"
as 2015 best book



Fiorenzo Longhi
AEROFILIA ITALIANA 1884-1920
Dai Pionieri dell'aviazione agli «Assi» della Grande Guerra
CATALOGO DEI TIMBRI DI REPARTO DELL'AVIAZIONE
Periodo pionieristico, Guerra italo-turca, Prima guerra mondiale

240 pp. - 607 colour ill. - 80 plates - format cm 21x29,7 - high quality glossy paper - hardbound - printed 2015
series "Handies"
POINT VALUATIONS
Italian text

ISBN: 978-88-96381-19-9
AEROFILIA ITALIANA 1884-1920
From the Pioneers of Aviation to the "Aces" of the Great War
CATALOGUE OF AIR FORCE POSTMARKS
Pioneering period, Italian-Turkish Conflict, First World War

The historical descriptive catalogue of Italian air force postmarks, with the foreword by Roberto Gentilli, aircraft historian.

In the centenary of Italy's entry into World War I, in 2015, a comprehensive study about all the known (at the moment) postmarks used by the different aviation units (1,423 postmarks listed, from forerunners to the end of World War I), with their rarity point evaluations, based on the frequency of each postmark, of its colour, and of the possible military postmark impressed on the item in question.

Within the Italian-Turkish Conflict, the leaflets in Arab language are listed, for the first time, with their translation into Italian, in addition to the messages dropped from airships to the Italian troops. They add an unreleased element to the history of aviation seen by an aerophilatelist and from the point of view of the history of military mail.

Much interest is given by the little known news about the presence of the Italian aviation units in Albania, Macedonia, Dalmatia, France, Cyrenaica and Tripolitania and of the allied aviation forces of France and Great Britain in Italy during World War I.

Each chapter is introduced by the history of aviation relevant to each period in question (forerunners, Italian-Turkish Conflict and World War I), from balloonists to airship crew members, to the aviators of the Italian Royal Army and of the Italian Royal Navy, and by the relocation of the units, within the historical period examined. That means a chronological history of the Italian military aviation and of the postmarks used from 1884 to 1920, from the pioneering period to the end of World War I (including the two following years for those units that were not disbanded immediately after the Armistice).

CONTENTS

Foreword by Roberto Gentilli
Author's note
How to use the catalogue
Valuations

THE PIONEERING PERIOD OF ITALIAN MILITARY AVIATION - 1884 - May 1915
History of Aviation
Catalogue of Postmarks

THE FIRST AIR CONFLICT IN THE WORLD: AVIATION IN THE ITALIAN-TURKISH CONFLICT - 1911-1913
History of Aviation
Catalogue of Postmarks

THE FIRST WORLD WAR - 1915-1918
History of Aviation
Catalogue of Postmarks

Bibliography
From the FOREWORD by Roberto Gentilli, aircraft historian

A current word in the academic field, interdisciplinarity means, according to the official definition, the net of relationships of complementarity, integration and interaction thanks to which different disciplines converge in common principles, tending to approach and unify the isolated parts and the fragmentary moments of the present specialized knowledge.
Fiorenzo Longhi, through his works, [...], has been able to lay a bridge of interdisciplinarity between philately and aeronautic historiography.

"Aerofilia" receives a series of fundamental points from military historiography: the deployment of divisions, news about the airplanes used [...] But, in turn, it offers much more, a series of documents that give confirmation of dates, places, people not by means of statistical summaries or reports, but through living, authentic documents, with dates and places certified by postmarks. [...]

Moreover, research in this volume is so accurate to go beyond the simple confirmation; it brings incontrovertible proof of presence, relocation, time, elements which had escaped aeronautic researchers' attention, thus creating problems and uncertainty, but also new fascinating perspectives.

Interdisciplinarity generated by different passions, but also by a common respect for accurate research and commitment for the preservation of historical memories, enriches us, in the hope that care given to every envelope, to every leaflet thrown from an airplane, to every newspaper sent via air mail, is diffused and of help in order to avoid the small tragedies that occur every time that young people throw their grandfather's old papers into a garbage bin.

But there is a last point that I wish to stress. In the Centenary of the Great War, commemorated even by Italy, a country unfocused, like just a few others, on its own history, the aeronautic historians who discover the world of "aerofilia" are brought back to the human aspect of the conflict.
It is not only a matter of airplanes, of kilos of bombs thrown, of identification numbers or of claiming of shooting down, the objects that its research tends to be restricted to, but of men. [...]

The value of research of "aerofilia", therefore, is not only the corroboration offered to the historical research, but the human dimension it enriches that of, and for which we thank Fiorenzo Longhi.

******************************
From the PREFACE by Fiorenzo Longhi

Different from what, already long ago, has been fulfilled in other countries and in spite of the historical interest of the connected events, a systematic study of the special postmarks impressed on mail and on official documents of the air force units has never been undertaken in Italy.
[...]

The air force handstamps are of various kind, generally in gum and impressed in violet ink.
More rarely in other colours (blue, red, green) or black.
The postmarks used on mail are sometimes the same as those impressed on the usual exchange of documents within the unit.
Other postmarks, instead, lead us to believe that Aviation units had an autonomous form of censorship [...]

The air force postmarks were impressed on mail just to complete, in a rapid, easy and clear way, the indication of the sender, but this kind of completion could have been done also manually.
Not only: even official documents usually lack of the air force or commander postmarks.
It is therefore probable that precise rules had not been dictated, by the supreme authorities, military or of the State, regarding types, sizes, or text, leaving every commander free to choose, and, very likely, the use of special postmarks on mail has been much less frequent in some units than in others.

Adding to all these considerations the long time passed, the fact that only a minimal part of the correspondence is generally kept and that the interest by Italian collectors in this field has always been rather lacking, we can be almost certain that the possibility of the integral completing of the postmarks of all the air force units of the Italian Royal Army and of the Italian Royal Navy [...] has to be considered, if not impossible, highly uncertain.

As regards the historical events of the units of Navy, Airship crew members and Balloonists, I had to draw hardly from various sources, sometimes contrasting, and so I decided to privilege only those few official documents that I have had the luck to trace in private and public archives.
Fiorenzo Longhi was born in Milan in 1938 and lives by Lake Maggiore.
After obtaining the scientific A levels, he graduates in Economics and Business at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan in 1966 and works as director in an engineering company for twenty years.
Since his childhood, he cultivates the hobby of philately and history, and afterwards he passes to the study of postal history in little known fields such as the first issues of the Ottoman Empire and of Ecuador, Italian air mail and the flights of Italian pilots abroad, creating, in the course of years, some important collections and one of the most complete libraries of philately, postal history and aeronautic history.
He is awarded the maximum rewards in the National and World competitive philatelic exhibitions (6 Large Gold Medals and numerous Grand Prix from 1976 to 1978).
Since 1979, he exhibits only in the Honour Class or upon invitation in National and International exhibitions.
He publishes numerous articles, chapters in specialized books, one book and two catalogues, always dealing with little known or unreleased subjects relevant to postal history and aeronautic history.
He is enrolled in the National Register of Philatelic Jury Members since 1982 and he is an International Philatelic Jury Member.
He is enrolled in the Golden Register of Italian Philately since 1979; since 1995, in the Register of Expert Witnesses of the Court in Verbania for Philately; since 1996, in the Philately Category, in the Expert Role of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture in Verbano Cusio Ossola.
He is Life Member of the American Air Mail Society and member of the following Italian and foreign associations: A.I.E.P. International Association of Philatelic Experts (Italy, Air Mail - Ecuador, Air Mail); A.P.F.I.P Associazione Periti Filatelici Italiani Professionisti; Borsa Filatelica Nazionale; Federazione fra le Società Filateliche Italiane; Accademia Italiana di Filatelia e Storia Postale; Istituto di Studi Storici Postali; Unione Filatelica Lombarda; A.I.S.P. Associazione Italiana di Storia Postale; A.I.D.A. Associazione Italiana di Aerofilatelia; A.I.C.P.M. Associazione Italiana Collezionisti Posta Militare; Schweizerischer Aerophilatelisten-Verein; Cercle Aérophilatélique Français; British Air Mail Society; Nido delle Aquile Museo dell'Aria.
GOLD - PARIS-PHILEX 2016
19-22 maggio 2016

GOLD - ROSSICA 2016
20-22 maggio 2016

LARGE VERMEIL - EXPO 2019 c/o PHILTEMA
Cinisello Balsamo 11-13 ottobre 2019

LARGE VERMEIL - ITALIA 2018
23 novembre 2018

VERMEIL - FINLANDIA 2017
24-28 maggio 2017
Cod. 2630E
EUR 35,00

Enclosed for FREE the postcard of the philatelic exhibition in Turin

10% off to AIDA, TURINPOLAR ASS. members



Emilio Milisenda
UMBERTO NOBILE E IL VOLO
TRANSPOLARE DEL "NORGE"
storia, posta, documenti e curiosità

176 pp. - more than 450 colour illustrations - format cm 21x29,7 - high quality glossy paper - softbound - printed 2016 - reprinted 2021
series "History through documents"
Italian text

ISBN: 978-88-96381-13-7
UMBERTO NOBILE AND "NORGE" TRANSPOLAR FLIGHT
history, mail, documents and memorabilia

This is an adventurous and charming journey to conquer the North Pole, in the 90th anniversary of the Expedition, in 2016. Umberto Nobile and the history of Norge transpolar flight, narrated by means of more than 450 images of philatelic and complementary documents: photos, postcards, air letters, telegrams, invitations, menus, magazines, postage stamps, vignettes, cancellations, medals, calendars, ...

The enterprise, accomplished in 1926 by the intrepid Umberto Nobile, Roald Amundsen and Lincoln Ellsworth, on board the airship "N 1", later named "Norge", was possible thanks to the intelligence and to the perseverance of the Italian fearless General of the Aircraft Engineering, designer and creator of semi-rigid airships. Nobile directed the flight of "Norge", from Rome to the islands of Svalbard, and from the archipelago, across the North Pole, up to Teller, opening the Polar Route.

From the encounter between Roald Amundsen and Umberto Nobile, to the preparation of the expedition, to the modifications introduced to airship "N 1", to the route to follow, to the choice of the crew, to the supporting bases for the airship, to the materials, to food, to clothing, to fuel... up the realisation of a journey intriguing and rich in hidden dangers.

CONTENTS

Foreword by Fiorenzo Longhi
Preface by Emilio Milisenda

PART I
Umberto Nobile and "Norge" transpolar flight narrated by means of photographs, postcards, air letters, telegrams, invitations, menus, magazines

PART II
Postage stamps, cancellations, vignettes, commemorative postcards, medals, calendars, relevant to "Norge" and to personalities of the polar expedition in 1926

Bibliography
FOREWORD by Fiorenzo Longhi

It is clear from the first pages that this book is what is called a "labour of love", an absolutely uncommon work, the result of the dual unbounded passion for aviation and for "aerofilia", and written with skill and balance without any of the two subjects prevailing over the other.

It is difficult to resist the fascination of the events relevant to Umberto Nobile and to the conquest of the North Pole with his airship N.1 named "Norge", that the author narrates accurately both from the historical and chronological point of view and from the aerophilatelic one, without neglecting the interesting, and sometimes unique, complementary documents.

There is, in the first part of the book, an accurate analysis of the cataloguing of the known air letters of that period that goes far beyond, as to precision and critical analysis, the one of my catalogue "Aerofilia Italiana", by which it is inspired.

The author rightly and proudly highlights the world record of 91 transpolar air letters carried aboard "Norge" from Spitzbergen base to the North Pole and to Alaska.

Among the above mentioned letters, on page 67, the reproduction of the only air letter, up to now, known with Ciampino cancellation, the handwritten address and the additional franking: a jewel in Milisenda collection.

The second part of the book includes a detailed list of postage stamps, cancellations, postcards, commemorative air letters of the post-war period, medals, calendars and magazines both of that period and of the modern times, that leaves us astonished for its completeness.
Also Lauro, in the province of Avellino, Umberto Nobile's birthplace, is recalled together with "Umberto Nobile Museum" devoted to the General.

The volume, very well illustrated also with period photographs, maps and documents, while reminding us that exciting part of the history of aviation, describes, gradually, types and characteristics of air mail and of the postmarks and cancellations used. The work is the exact expression of "aerofilia", that is the close link between aeronautic and airmail history, enriched by the study of air letters and of postal issues.

It is a work that honours not only the Author, but also the aerophilatelic research for the decisive contribution that has offered, and still offers, to historical research in general.

An extensive bibliography and a detailed index make further surveys and consultation easier.

******************************
PREFACE by Emilio Milisenda

Philatelic passion, that I had since my early age, has accompanied me over the years to the research and to the deepening of the study of aerophilatelic and complementary documents. During this route, I often chanced upon enthusiastic records of "Norge" airship Polar Expedition.

The material recovered in numerous years of patient research, and that I have catalogued in chronological order, from the preparation of the Polar Expedition, by Umberto Nobile, until the overfly of the North Pole and the landing in Alaska, has impassioned me so much as to make me feel as if I was participating in that epic enterprise.

The conquest of the North Pole, accomplished by the intrepid Umberto Nobile, Roald Amundsen and Lincoln Ellsworth, on board the airship "N 1", later named "Norge", was possible thanks to the intelligence and to the perseverance of the Italian fearless General of the Aircraft Engineering, designer and creator of semi-rigid airships. Nobile directed "Norge" flight from Rome to the islands of Svalbard, and from the archipelago, across the North Pole, up to Teller, opening the Polar Route.

This work, that retraces its history, is divided into two parts.
The first one deals with the proper Expedition of airship "Norge" in 1926, and summarizes the chronological events of the various phases by means of photos, postcards, air letters, telegrams, invitations, menus, magazines.
The second part includes the summary, as far as possible, of the philatelic and complementary commemorative material of the Polar Expedition, and related to the characters involved, up to the present days; postage stamps, vignettes, cancellations, postcards, medals, calendars, ...

The various publications, books and specialized magazines, such as "Il Polo", "Aida Flash", "Turinpolar" have been important to deepen the historical knowledge about "Norge" Polar Expedition and the environmental one about the Arctic.

The classification of the documentary-philatelic material of that period has been possible thanks to the well-known catalogue by Fiorenzo Longhi printed in 2007 (updated in 2011) "Aerofilia italiana - Catalogo storico descrittivo 1898-1941", that was primary for cataloguing the aerophilatelic production and the complementary documentation. My reference to classify modern air letters has been the "Catalogo generale della posta aerea in Italia 1941-2015", by Paolo Pellegrini. This work of mine shows no valuations, for which reference should be made to the above mentioned catalogues.

The images included in the various pages, partly in reduced reproductions for reasons of space, make the adventurous and fascinating enterprise easier and more noticeable in its entirety: from the encounter between Roald Amundsen and Umberto Nobile, to the preparation of the expedition, to the modifications introduced to airship "N 1", to the route to follow, to the choice of the crew, to the supporting bases for the airship, to the materials, to food, to clothing, to fuel... up the realisation of a journey intriguing and rich in hidden dangers.
VERMEIL - ITALIA 2018
23 novembre 2018

VERMEIL - FINLANDIA 2017
24-28 maggio 2017

DIPLOMA - SINDELFINGEN 2017
26-28 ottobre 2017
Cod. 2633E
EUR 40,00


Fernando Corsari - Ugo De Simoni
AEROFILATELIA ITALIANA
CATALOGO
Volume Primo 1784-1940

232 pp. - 76 b/w ill. - softbound (cover with very slight defects at the margins or slight yellow spots but inside in VERY GOOD CONDITIONS) - printed 1972
WITHOUT VALUATIONS
Italian text

ITALIAN AEROPHILATELY
CATALOGUE
Volume One 1784-1940

Digest from "Rivista Aeronautica" of the months: 7-8-11-12/1969 - 2-3/1970 - 3-5-6-12/1971 - 1/1972
(no further issues have been published)

Historical chronology of the Italian air force with the description of almost 800 facts between 1784 and 1940. The known documents, postal and not, of each fact are catalogued here (postage stamps, aerogramme, cancellations, vignettes, postcards, prints, etc.). The introduction is a wide guide to aerophilately, completed by the multilingual list (Italian, French, English, German) of the airmail terms and of the air companies. It is a unique work of its kind, fundamental text of Italian aerophilatelythe, first one in Italy, that, gathering all the philatelic material about aeronautics from the origins, acquires an important historical value, as well as philatelic, and constitutes a proper history of flight in Italy.

CONTENTS

Introduction
Abbreviations
Part one (1784-1916)
Forerunners and experiments
Part two (1917-1930)
From the first postage stamp of air mail to the first transatlantic flight in flight formation
Part three (1931-1940)
The prewar decennial
Conclusion
Cod. 2225EA
EUR 15,00


Paolo Moretti
CATALOGO STORICO DESCRITTIVO
DEGLI AEROGRAMMI ZEPPELIN DI ITALIA - COLONIE ITALIANE
SAN MARINO - VATICANO - 1929-1939
AGGIORNAMENTO QUOTAZIONI 2017 E NUOVI INSERIMENTI

40 pp. - colour ill. - saddle stitch binding - printed 2016
VALUATIONS IN EURO
Italian text with introduction in English

CATALOGUE OF ZEPPELIN MAIL OF ITALY
ITALIAN COLONIES - SAN MARINO - VATICAN CITY - 1929-1939
QUOTES UPDADING 2017 AND NEW INSERTIONS

The present pricelist comes alongside with the work of the Author and intends to be a complementary part of it, giving the quotations of the aerogramme listed in the catalogue. Evaluations are expressed in euro and refer to the boxed numbers quoted in the catalogue.

The point of reference used to evaluate every single aerogramme is the quantity known up to now.
Besides evaluations refer to items of good quality, with well legible cancellations, and take into consideration only the importance of the flight made by the airship they refer to.

An additional value added is represented by the autographs of one or more crew members or by the passengers' aboard mail.
Cod. 2746E
EUR 45,00


Emilio Milisenda
UMBERTO NOBILE E LA SPEDIZIONE
POLARE DEL DIRIGIBILE "ITALIA"
storia, posta, documenti e curiosità
II EDIZIONE

334 pp. - b/w and colour ill. - softbound - printed 2019
Italian text

UMBERTO NOBILE AND AIRSHIP "ITALIA" POLAR EXPEDITION
history, mail, documents and memorabilia
II EDITION

The tragic history of airship "Italia" polar expedition is narrated by means of some hundreds of colour images of postal and complementary documents: postage stamps, cancellations, vignettes, air letters, postcards, photos, medals, telegrams, invitations, menu, periodicals, musical scores.

The book, indeed of great interest also from an aerophilatelic point of view, retraces in chronological and historical order, the various phases of the polar expedition and the events following the overflight of the North Pole by airship "Italia": the organization of the expedition, the flight over the Pole, the impact of the airship on the pack, the vicissitudes of shipwrecked during the 48 days spent on the pack, the rescue of castaways by Krassin, the sacrifice of some rescuers, among which Amundsen and Penzo, the coming back to homeland of survivors, the negative judgement by the Commission of Investigations on Nobile performance.

The volume has been revised and integrated in this second edition with new information and further documents for a total of 401 colour and 20 full-page images.
Cod. 2836E
EUR 43,00


Martyn Cusworth
THE ITALIAN SOUTH ATLANTIC AIRLINE
(L.A.T.I.)
Fil-Italia Handbooks Number Ten (second edition)

178 pp. - colour ill. - ring binder - 2nd ed. 2022
English text

This work brings together all the known information on this important short-lived airmail service.

In the ten years since the publication of the first edition, the author has vigorously pursued his research into the subject, making contact with other collectors, scouring auction catalogues and adding to his database of known covers.

Large sections of the text have been revised or completely rewritten and new sections, including the one on censorship, and rate tables have been added.
Also many new images have been incorporated so that now over 300 covers and nearly 120 cachets are shown in full colour; in addition, the publicity material and other special postal stationery used on the service, and all the special directional cachets, organised by country.

The book also describes how and why the service came into existence, and the circumstances of its eventual demise. It presents a route chart for the Ala Littoria airline in 1938, which shows the network of connecting flights throughout Europe and the Middle East; moreover, in the appendix, a list of important dates and events relating to World War II and the list of L.A.T.I. flights.

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