ITALY
It took less than two years to turn Italy from a patchwork of independent states into a single country – first a monarchy, then a dictatorship and then a republic. Each successive incarnation has produced its own collectable stamps.
Monarchy
Italy’s first stamps appeared in 1862, with an adaptation of the Sardinian stamps of 1855. This classic set was produced in Turin by Francisco Matraire, using a mixture of letter-press (typo) and blind embossing. There are four values, perforated from day 1 showing the portrait of Victor Emmanuel II. But only the 20c value has a 2-figure catalogue price – which is understandable give that 80% of the population were illiterate (only 3% spoke Italian) and the stamps had only a short life.
Italy’s next set appeared in 1863 on watermarked paper and printed by De la Rue, though there is some doubt as to who actually designed it. The plates were transferred to the Government Printers in Turin at the end of 1865 and dated postmarks are the best way to distinguish the work of the two
