Page 18 - Delcampe Collections classiques EN-004

Stamps

Napoleon

An extremely rich postal history

Napoleon lived at a time when stamps as such did not yet exist. This does not mean that his
reign did not have an impact on postal history. Indeed, through his various campaigns, he
was directly interested in sending international mail at a time that was very far from our
current communication methods. The postal history expert Maurice Boule has devoted his
new book to this topic and enthusiasts will be delighted. Through a complete study detai-
ling armies and campaigns, admirably documented with numerous letters, you can learn
all about postal history and imperial history. It is impossible to summarize the book, but
it is full of very beautiful and interesting documents. I have therefore decided to present
you with a small selection taken directly from the book and this is just a tiny part of the
absolutely splendid pieces that are described in it.

Let’s start with the letter on page 12, whose legend
written by Maurice Boule is as follows:
Letter from Cesare Pelegatti, member of the Commune
of Milan, to Jean-François Merlino, a deputy and member
of the Council of Elders in Paris. Milan, 19 March 1797
(Year 5 of the Republic, followed by three initials, which
probably refer to the French Republic) and Year 1 of Li-
berty for Lombardy.
A patriotic text on provisional illustrated paper, with the
hand-written header “Democracy or Death - Long live
Liberty”.
“You will already be aware of the dignified and quiet
manner in which Bergamo proclaimed its freedom.
Brescia did the same. The Venetians had a large num-
ber of forces stationed there. All it took to disarm them
was a handful of Bergamasques and Lombards ins-
pired by the idea of freedom. We have also declared our
freedom and expect that your patriotism will prompt
you to request a declaration that guarantees our free-
dom. In the face of so many striking examples, the un-
certainty, in which these good people are forced to live,
hurts them terribly. The public spirit suffers as a result
and our enemies take advantage of this.”

18 Delcampe Magazine