Italy - Como the silk stamp

Location : The Gulf Of Mexico

Sometimes it is frustrating not to have access to the internet because I want to research a bit into the subject that I want to blog on. This is one of the reasons that I have been holding out on this miniature sheet that I am presenting today.

This is apparently the first (and as far as I can tell - the only) stamp sheet to have come out in pure silk. This sheet, priced at approx 2.8 Euro was released by the Italian post to comemorate the Italian artist and sculptor Baldassare Longoni (1876 - 1956). The picture on the left of the sheet is one of his paintings of the city Como, which is famous for the silk it produces. Please note the side edges that I have left out where you can see the fine silk threads coming out.

That said, the above information is something I have deduced using my non-existent knowledge of Italian, mixed with the help of a few translation sites. So there is much that still needs to be resolved. For example why silk? Does it pay homage to the city or to Longoni, who did something in silk as well.

Also It seems to be particularly tough to get hold of an boigraphy of Mr Longoni to know more about that chap. Web searches only lead to auction houses who ask me if I am a neice of Mr Longoni.

Finally the translation of the back printing leads me to believe that this is actually some sort of an envelope and it is supposed to open up. Very exciting and Indiana Jones like! I think I will leave it a mystrey till someone from you kind readers can translate it and shed some more light on it.