Even though the game, or, better, sport, of bridge is internationally known, it has not drawn much attention in the world of philately: bridge-themed stamps are few and difficult to find.
This article aims to outline how bridge has featured in stamps editions. Since the author is an experienced bridge player, but not a stamps expert, I apologise for any omissions, for not indicating the perforations and for not referring to the international catalogues such as Yvert and Tellier.
We will go through international philately, Italian philately, the Intercontinental tournament in Rome and a review of Italian essays on this topic.
Fulvio Manno
Bridge & Philately – Part IV
Intercontinental Tournament
A prominent place deserves the International Tournament organized in Rome at the prestigious Hilton Hotel, for ten years from 1978 to 1987, by the Roman Bridge Association under President Umberto Barsotti and Marcello Di Egidio, with the sponsorship of Intercontinentale Assicurazioni. From its very first edition the event enjoyed great success, with 165 teams participating, and a record in 1982 of 255 teams competing, thereafter stabilizing at more than 210 teams in subsequent editions.
On the occasion of the third edition in 1980, two collateral events were held: the interesting documentary exhibition “Bridge in Italy”, curated by journalist Ivo Mataloni with bibliographic collaboration from Admiral Verri; and the special cancellation “ROMA BELSITO” of 24 May 1980, applied to the commemorative postcard of the tournament designed by Sergio Barletta.
The special cancellation for the event was repeated in subsequent years, achieving, in the sixth edition of 1983, the prestigious recognition of the first Italian philatelic issue in honor of bridge, consisting of a postcard printed by the State Printing Office (Poligrafico dello Stato) and a philatelic miniature sheet. This was made possible thanks to the interest of the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Hon. Remo Gaspari, who attended the prize-giving ceremony and conferred the “Accademico Tiberino” diploma on Camillo Pabis Ticci, proclaimed Bridge Player of the Year.
The philatelic issue — the first in Italy — was approved by the Consulta per la Filatelia at its meeting of 5 November 1981, with the participation of the Director General of Posts and Telecommunications, Dr. Ugo Monaco; the Director General for Postal Services, Dr. Enrico Veschi; representatives of the philatelic press (Fulvio Apollonio, Giuseppe Sabelli Fioretti, Maurizio Tecardi, Dino Platone, and Renato Russo); representatives of the philatelic trade (Renato Mondolfo and Carmine Perroni); experts in collecting (Beppe Ermentini and Enzo Diena); and art experts (Pier Luigi Berti, Emidio Vangelli, and Livio Roscetti).
The postcard and the miniature sheet were issued on 12 March 1983, coinciding with the start of the tournament. This served as recognition of Italy’s thirteen World Championship victories and three Olympic titles.
The idea for the postcard came from the Roman actor Armando Francioli (1919–2020 — bridge prolongs life! — an avid bridge player), and the design sketch was created by Annibale W. Colangeli of Intercontinentale Assicurazioni.
Fulvio Manno
English Edition by Laura Cecilia Porro
