Foyer Du Francais Antifasciste?

Cinderellas? Poster stamps?

Nino Nanetti ( with two t's ) was someone in the Spanish Civil War. These stamps may be locals from Spain/ I guess we need to wait for some of our Spanish friends to ring in! Peter

Spanish Civil War republican labels. Just a guess of sorts although the middle label also exists in Red.

Sorry I cannot be of more help. They are nice.

Londonbus1

Well, these cinderellas are not Spanish, but Catalan. They were issued during the 1936-1939 war by the Catalan Government Propaganda Dpt (Comissariat de Propaganda)managed by Jaume Miravitlles (Figueres, 1906 - Barcelona, 1988) a Western minded politician and man of letters of some value, who spent his exile (1940/1962) working as a journalist in New York City.

His dpt made any kind of propaganda items from pictures, to sculptures, posters, films and (yes!) cinderellas of a very high quality level. There was an exhibition of this material in Barcelona, properly called "The Good Taste Revolution".


As for the cinderellas they were issued for propaganda reasons and to rise money for the French Antifascist Fighter Home, in Barcelona. There can be seen some pictures that appeared on the January 10th, 1937 issue of the Barcelona newspaper "La Vanguardia" (still existing). There are around 300 different cinderellas issued for this "Foyer du Français Antifasciste".



The cinderellas were issued in 1937:

Nino Nanetti (' - Santander, Spain, 1937) was an Italian communist who fought as an official on the International Brigades and on the Basque Republican Army. The cinderella exists on black ink on green paper and on grey paper.

Firminhac: No information available. As Mike (LB1) has pointed, it exists in green and red.

The 10 cts cinderella shows José Antonio Aguirre (Bilbao, Basque Country, 1904 - Paris, France, 1960). He was the president of the Basque Government, who sided with democracy on the 1936-1939 war. When the fascist took the Basque country (1937), he was exiled in Barcelona and later in France.

All this information comes from the book "Viñetas Políticas de la Guerra Civil Española" (Spanish Civil War Republican Political Cinderellas) by José Vicente Domènech, Donostia (Basque Country) 2011. A wonderful work!

That was a good comprehensive asnwer from the Master !

Thank you, but not "Master" at all, Mike. Always a student!

If I recall, Catalunya is an autonomous region of Spain and not a nation unto itself, so it would also be correct to refer to the stamps as being Spanish in origin.

I am not sure though, what the exact status of Catalunya was during the Spanish Civil War. I only know a little bit of the horrible things Franco did after he came to power, especially to wipe out the Catalonian identity and language.

although Catalunya is "just" an autonomous region of Spain in this moment, Catalans in fact are a nation, with their on language, history and national identitiy. probably most books will say that Catalans are Spaniards, but, a proud Catalan (as Cursus is, I believe - when I look his flag in profile) could be insulted with that. they believe that they are enslaved (probably not the right term, but I don't know better) by Spain for now, and they believe in their independence in the near future.

Thank you very much for your understanding. Although Catalonia is politically by now an Spanish autonomy, it's a nation by its own. We have our language, our culture, ancient laws and traditions dating from 2000 years.

On the years of the 1936-1939 war, Catalonia was a Spanish autonomous region (with more power than now), but due to war circumstances it acted in most aspects as an independent country (most resented by the Spanish!) having its own war industry and, off course, war propaganda means, much different from Spanish ones.

Today, Catalonia is asking the Spanish Government for holding an independence plebiscite to decide which the Catalans want to be their future. To this, Spain answer is not only not allow this plebiscite but to damage our economy, to wipe Catalan limited autonomy and to threathen our language and culture. As you may guess, all this does nothing but to boost Catalan wish for freedom. The country, is full of starred/independentist flags (the one on my avatar) on windows, balconies and hills, showing our independence feelings. I fully share this dream.

Filipo, I truly appreciate your remarks, coming from a Croatian friend. I used to have two Croatian friends (from Zagreb), Damir and Suna. As I know, the first Croatian language grammar was written in Barcelona; there are many links between Hrvatska and Catalunya. I look forward to a not very far day when our two nations will be equal partners on a true European Union.

Janko Polic Kamov, one of the most famous Croatia poets, died at a very young age (24) in Barcelona, and was buried at the hospital cemetery near Hospital de la Santa Creu, in the year 1910. It is also a nice connection between Catalonia and Croatia...

Here is also an artistic project of the Catalonian and Croatian frienship... you can find more about it on the link below:

http://www.kamov-residency.org/en/home

I'm afraid there should be a mistake when you (and Wikipedia) say that Janko Polic Kamov "was buried at the hospital cemetery near Hospital de la Santa Creu, in the year 1910".

Hospital de la Santa Creu (Holy Cross Hospital, in Catalan) was Barcelona's oldest hospital, dating from 1401 and it's located in he old town.
Since 1819, all cemeteries were transfered outside city's walls (that is, outside nowadays Barcelona's old town). In 1910, there wasn't a "Hospital de la Santa Creu Cemetery"; the nearest being Montjuïc Cemetery, by then known as "New Cemetery", dating from 1883. So, I guess that Janko Polic should be buried there.

You have a right. He has died in that hospital, and he was buried unnamed, in the hospital's cemetery for the poor people. That is an information which is written in his another short biography. While he was still alive, in Barcelona, he has lived on the address: "55, Cale de Sant Pau."

He has only 24 years old when he has died in a great agony.

Here is his memorial monument in Croatia:

I know very well carrer Sant Pau or Saint Paul's Street, as "carrer" is Catalan for Street, while "calle" is the same in Spanish. It's in what it used to be (and still is) one of the poorest areas of Barcelona. Incidentally a very good friend of mine (and my professor in philately) lives very near carrer de Sant Pau. On the same street there's a wonderful XI century monastery called "Sant Pau del Camp" (Saint Paul in the Fields), as this saint is said to have visited Barcelona on the 1st century.
Not many people know that Antoni Gaudí (the famous architect) also died on the poor's dpt. of Hospital de la Santa Creu. He was dressed so poorly, that people that helped him after a tramway accident, thought that he was a beggar. When he was properly identified, he still refused to be moved.

It is very interesting fact about Antoni Gaudi, at one side a sad, but, on the other, it witnesses about his great character. When I havebeen in Barcelona, about 15 years ago, I have tried to found "55, Carrer de Sant Pau", but I didn't have a success do find it. I just thought that possibly in the basement or so of that building maybe rests some of the Kamov's works. Who knows... he was a very tragic person (a "doomer")... died at very young age, but left a very interesting literature inheritance.

It shouldn't be that difficult to find number 55 of carrer de Sant Pau. If you want I'll go myself and take a picture of the house; although there's a very slim possibility that anything from Janko Polic's time remains. The area has changed very much, and now is full of non-EU immigrants.
Most likely there's a Pakistani shop on the basement of the house...

yes, there are probably no-chance that anything left after 103 years... it is sad, because, for the croatian literature, kamov is something like e.a. poe is for the american (and the world's literature).

of course, if you have a feeling that you will need to go there, maybe you will have a great experience... and maybe you will discover something... and become a famous, who knows :)

but, I suppose that his house in Barcelona is probably pictured many times in the past decades, and photos are published in different magazines and biographies.