FEPA News

FEPA NEWS 45 63 The World of Research Eugenio de Quesada : El Correo sin Correos en España, siglos XV a XVIII (The Post Office without Posts in Spain, 15th-18th Centuries). 2023, Studies Library of the Philatelic Society of Madrid (SOFIMA) This is a revised and expanded edition of a work that was published as Volume VI of the Sofima Studies Library. It brings together the most important part of the study collection: the Precursors or the Postal Privileges (granted by the monarchs to Hostes and Correos Mayores) between the fifteenth century and the creation of the Royal Postal Revenue in the early eighteenth century. 240 letters are reproduced in real size and carefully described, with the support of over 100 works of art and exquisite period images —most of them directly related to the letters on display. It illustrates in an exceptional way the typology of letters of fraud and out of suitcase carried outside the Hostes and Correos Mayores. The revised edition is significantly expanded, consisting of almost 300 pages in large format, printed in full colour on high quality couché paper with luxury binding in hardcover, including the latest version of the collection-study. Colin Tabeart : British Long Distance Mail Packets, Vol. 2: The Harwich Packets 1816-1834 2023, The Stuart Rossiter Trust, ISBN 978-1908710-15-4, A4, 294 pages This detailed study shows how packet mails between the United Kingdom and northern Europe (principally the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden) travelled during the final years of the sailing packets era, and how such letters were rated. The focus is on enabling the mode of transport to be determined rather than on postal markings that have largely been covered in other works. With this book a collector should be able to determine by what route a letter travelled, how it was rated, and in most cases what ship or ships carried the mail. Of particular importance is meticulous research into primary sources, in this case the newspaper archives of the British Library, the Rotterdamsche Courant and the Börsen Halle of Hamburg, that has produced a comprehensive data set on which ships travelled where and on what date. The result is an invaluable reference work for postal historians that follows the pattern set by the author in previous publications listing maritime links between the United Kingdom and other parts of the world in the early and mid-19th century. Fabio Bonacina and Beniamino Bordoni : Creativita’ per un francobollo (Creativity through a Stamp - The Sketches of the Historical Museum of Communication) 2023, Unione Stampa Filatelica Italiana, 304 pages, ill., col. In this work Fabio Bonacina catalogues and illustrates some 1,700 designs of Italian stamps that were not approved or finalised. These designs are stored at the Historical Museum of Communication in Rome and represent the graphic evolution and changing styles of different periods. Looking at them takes the reader back to the past. They revive emotions and sensations and enrich Italy’s history, culture, and traditions. The book covers the period between 1922 and 2000 when information technology overtook paper material. For each design the image is shown along with the title, summary description, main thematic categories, author, measurements, and inventory code attributed to it by the Museum.