by Giorgio Migliavacca

Book Reviews

Bruno Crevato Selvaggi and Piero Macrelli, Libia: Storia, Posta, Filatelia [Libya: History, Post, Philately] Volume I, ISBN 978-88-94203-12-7, hardbound, 215 A4 pages replete with mostly color illustrations, in Italian (including a two-page abstract in English), Rimini 2022, Published by AICPM, €60 + postage, available from Associazione Italiana Collezionisti Posta Militare (contact: info@aicpm.net).

This is the fi rst in a series of volumes on comprehensive history, postal history and philately of Libya; indeed a colossal task. This fi rst volume deals with geography and history of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania from antiquity to the 1800s. Volume I ends at the eve of the Italo-Turkish War which culminated with Italy acquiring Libya.

During the fi rst half of the 19th century, European economic penetration had increased, which included Italian traders in Tunisia, Tripoli and, to a lesser extent, Benghazi. In 1907 the Banco di Roma opened branches in Tripoli and Benghazi. From a postal viewpoint, in 1869 Italy opened a consular postal agency in Tripoli; by 1881 it became a post offi ce. From 1874-89, the Italian defi nitive stamps overprinted “Estero,” created for Italian post offi ces abroad, were used to frank outgoing correspondence posted at Tripoli’s postal outlets. In 1901, the French opened a post offi ce in Benghazi; lett ers from Libya to Italian destinations date back to the 1600s.

Nevertheless, the true pioneer of postal service in Libya was the Ott oman Empire; Tripoli was connected with Constantinople by regular Ott oman steamships and ships from other steamers. Although not corroborated by tangible evidence, it is possible that by the 1860s there existed an internal postal service in Tripolitania. Other alternatives of routing outgoing mail via forwarders became available by the late 1870s, when mail sent to Italy was routed via Malta, where it was franked and forwarded to its destination. This procedure was also used by the French traders who used forwarders with contacts in Malta.

Volume I includes a catalog of Ott oman post offi ces (page 103-167); similarly, the volume includes a 23-page catalog of Italian and French post offi ces in Libya, as well as a catalog of the known frankings from the Italian post offi ce in Tripoli. The telegraph service is also discussed and is well documented.

50 January-February 2023 www.collectorsclub.org