The first aerophilately exhibition in Italy with international participation took place in the Villa Aldobrandini, in Rome, on the occasion of the First World Congress of the Aeronautical Press, which was attended by 132 journalists from 23 countries. We leave the description of this event to Lino Lensi, who in the AIDAFlash magazine n. 1 on March, 24th 2009, commemorates its 70th anniversary.
An anniversary to remember by Lino Lensi
The year that has just begun marks an exclusive anniversary, an anniversary that concerns our philatelic specialty, uniquely qualifying it.
This is the expression “Aerophilately”, which just 70 years ago appeared, for the first time, on an Italian postmark.
The cancellation is the one that the Postal Administration used on the occasion of the “1st International Exhibition of Aerofilatelia”, held in Italy, at the Aldobrandini villa in Rome.
It was the magazine “L’Ala d’Italia”, of the Aeronautical Editorial of Rome, which to celebrate its twentieth year of publication promoted a complex of important flight-oriented events. So in June 1939, Rome was the seat of the “First World Congress of the aeronautical press”, which saw the participation of 132 specialized journalists, representing 23 countries, and an exhibition of about 500 publications on aeronautical subjects.
This event was accompanied by other collateral events, including the first Italian art exhibition and the first photography exhibition, both expired on the fly, the first aerial meeting of aviator journalists, at the Littorio airport, as well as the first international aerocinematography exhibition and a motor aircraft competition between journalists, also at the Littorio airport. The events were commemorated with some special postcards (Fig. 1 and 2), which, when forwarded from the location of the philatelic event, carry the aforementioned cancellation, containing the word “Aerofilatelia” (Fig.3).
The cancellation therefore baptizes our collecting specialty, identifying it with the expression “Aerophilately”, a diction, says the Corsari, in his catalog “Italian Aerofilatelia”, which “… defines in the simplest way and without any limitation of the study and collection of documents … “, by air mail.
During the event no special dispatches were prepared by air, but some envelopes or postcards are known, bearing the special cancellation, which were forwarded from Rome, by air, with the regular airport services (Fig. 4).
