"A Frightful little gnome"
"A tragic gargoyle"
Bud's Big BlueBud's Observations
Fiume generated a pile of stamps -- a typical result in new
countries besot with social turmoil. Moreover, because stamps were hastily
issued over the few years of Fiume’s existence, fakes and forgeries abound,
especially for overprinted Hungarian stamps. Collectors relying on feeder
albums commonly find problems. The problems crop up again in BBs Hungary
section.
Irregular troops led Gabriele D'Annunzio, a poet and inspirer
of revolts, took over Fiume in 1919. He hoped to annex it to Italy, thereby
making Italy great again, but it didn’t happen as he wished.
Historians say,
however, that Mussolini picked up his ideas, and Hitler did, too. D'Annunzio’s nihilism,
his poetic glorification of passionate beauty, and his pursuit of immediate sensual
pleasure at any cost, especially if someone else pays for it, typifies Nazi
aesthetics. Doting women gushed over the little man (see quotes above). Others
thought him a jerk. Compare his picture to Scott #s 86 through 99 (page 2 and
supplement).
I’ve not finished checking the scans for forgeries, but the
few stamps I’ve looked at carefully seem to be OK. A great help in detecting Fiume
forgeries can be found online:
Jim's Observations
The allied troop occupation of Fiume (November,1918), the takeover by the poet Gabriele d'Annunzio and his legionnaires (1919), and the creation of The Free State of Fiume (1920-24), gave philatelists a stamp issuing entity that, during six years, issued 262 stamps! Fiume, on the Adriatic Sea, consisted mostly of the city of Fiume. The city became known as Rijeka after WWII, and today is in Croatia.
Fiume Blog Post and Checklist
Page 1 (Click and enlarge for examination)
1a
1b
1c
Page 2
2a
2b
2c
Page 3
3a
3b
Supplements
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Comments appreciated!
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