Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Luis Alvarez - continued

Yesterday's card to Senor Don Luis Alvarez was sent from Freiburg, Germany in 1904. Today's card was sent a year later by a different sender from Larche, a lovely little village in the French Alps near the border with Italy. That helps to explain why it is an Italian postcard.

The card shows the Alpini, Italy's mountain troops that were formed in 1872 to protect the mountainous borders with France, Switzerland, and Austro-Hungary.  It was during World War I that the Alpini distinguished themselves, fighting battles on glacial crags and throughout the steep Dolomites. They had to be agile and able to function well at low temperatures and high altitudes. But the adaptable Alpini had also been sent to Tripoli in 1911 to fight in the Italo-Turkish conflict where they battled against Berbers in the sand dunes.

Enough about the amazing Alpini though; let's look at the text. Just as with yesterday's card to Mr. Alvarez, the message is written on the front, because no message was allowed on the address side.  The message, sent on August 8, 1905, reads:

Dear friend,
I received twice three newspapers. Thanks. My regards to all the friends. without______
P. Bulgo (Buljo?)

 Here's the back of the card.


It appears to me that Mr. Alvarez had a post office box (#8). As with yesterday's card, you can see that the sender has specified the route the card should take. I'm not sure if that was just to assist the postman or because the sender preferred that route over others. This card is designated to go via Le Havre and New York to its final destination in Chihuahua, Mexico.

6 comments:

  1. Wow, my goodness this is an amazing postcard....

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  2. Thank you for visiting.

    Feel overwhelmed when looking at this card !
    Love the handwritten too.

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  3. Looks like a fun loving bunch of fellas, unless they are shooting at you, of course... I am amazed that these cards suggest that you could actually specify the routing of your mail- try that today, I'm sure the postal workers will have a good laugh! Also really like the writing on the card, on the front it sort of reinforces the grain of the stone they are posed on, and on the back it just makes for a beautiful composition with the postmarks.

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  4. The card and the mention of the Alpini made me think of Hemmingway and A Farewell To Arms. What a glorious book that was.

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  5. The card, the message on the front instead of the back, the history of it, the route of it, everything about it - makes me shiver. War!

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  6. More International intrigue and Mr. Alvarez! Amazing shot of the troops swarming the mountains.

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