WANTED TO BUY - Italian Somalia - covers & Postal History

[ingegné]

Hi everybody,

I'm eagerly looking for letters, postcards and any other mail sent from Italian Somalia to countries facing the Indian Ocean.

I have a lot of mail of the 1900-1940 period, mainly addressed to Arab and Indian merchants based in Somalia, incoming from their partners in Aden, Kenya, Tanganyika, South Africa, India and other countries of the Indian Ocean Area.

Unluckily, I found it very hard to find the corresponding outgoing mail, that seems to have vanished in the times. Probably in countries that had so many troubles after WW II, taking care of the old postage and archives was not a priority at all.

Can somebody help me? Do you have any item like the ones posted below? Do you know any stamp dealer or auction house that sells this kind of items?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

And I am always interested to buy also letters from Italian Somalia to other countries - Italy and Italian area excluded.

[ernelopez]

Hi

I found this in an Argentinian dealer's page: http://philatino.com/cgi-bin/ca/photo.pl?33534

Best regards
Ernesto

[ingegné]

Many thanks Ernesto,
this letter is very interesting, mainly because it is franked for the exact rate, but with an "espresso" stamp.
I will offer on it and hope to win the bid!

Cheers to Argentina, that happens to be the Country where I was born!

[ingegné]

Just to bump this thread, I'll show another cover like the ones I'm looking for:

This letter from Mogadiscio, 11 November 1933, could be interesting also for collectors of Kenya and Uganda (British East Africa): it was taxed 60 cents on arrival because, even if the rate was correct (L. 1,25) it was franked with stamps of three different issues ("Floreale", "Imperiale" and commemorative of Saint. Francis) that had all lost their validity on December 1932.

[ingegné]

I know I'm a dreamer and I'm looking for a needle in a haystack, but isn't this the most important forum in the word for stamp collectors?

1) this letter is franked, among others, with a L. 20 stamp of the second issue, perf. 14, of the "Pittorica" definitive series (Sassone 229, Scott 154a, S&G 177a)
Im'looking for a complete and well kept letter franked with the same stamp of the first issue, perf. 12 (Sassone183, Scott 154, S&G 177)

1) this one is franked, among others, with a L. 25 stamp of the second issue, perf. 14, of this series (Sassone 230, Scott 155a, S&G 178a)

Im'looking for a letter or a big fragment franked with a clear postmark sporting the same stamp of the first issue, perf. 12 (Sassone184, Scott 155, S&G 178)

If you just happen to have a couple of them, let me know

[ingegné]

Another example of the items I want to buy.

I've got this registered letter from Soler y Llach of Barcelona. There are not many letters from Somalia to Finland: this one bears a philatelic franking but the rate is perfectly matched, so I decided I had to have it.

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[ingegné]

Hi

I found this in an Argentinian dealer's page: http://philatino.com/cgi-bin/ca/photo.pl?33534

Best regards
Ernesto

And finally I got the envetope for 77 US$. Here it is

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It is very interesting because the rate of 1,25 Lire for foreign Countries, was paid by a single special delivery stamp, very scarcely used even for its own purpose.

The letter was sent on August 7, 1936, just after the end of the Italo-Aethiopian war from Military Post Office 130E, arrived in Buenos Aires on September 19 and was delivered next day.

Thanks Ernesto. Any other can give me advice on where to find the covers I'm looking for?

[ingegné]

I'd like to have an opinion from USA collectors about this cover.

I paid it only a few euros, so it's not a tragedy if it is not genuine. The problem is: there are no USA arrival postmarks on the back. Is it normal or it means that the cover was Cancelled To Order and did not really travel it's way to S. Francisco?

I renew my request: let me know if you have or have seen postage sent to Indian Ocean facing Countries and other interesting postal history documents from Italian Somalia.

[ingegné]

Always looking.

Have you seen something like this? Do you own one? Would you like to sell it? Please post here or write me a PM.