Stabilimento Fotografico Lombardi: Siena Studio

Date of use : 1938 Italy

Stabilimento Fotografico Lombardi: Siena Studio to Mrs. James Cyrus Hakes, New Jersey

This postcard correspondence sent from Siena to the United States represents a commercial communication associated with an Italian photographic studio and retail establishment. The printed heading on the card includes the phrase "Stabilimento Fotografico e Negozio," which in Italian refers to a photographic studio combined with a retail shop. The business name Lombardi appears prominently alongside the city name Siena, indicating that the enterprise operated locally while maintaining connections with customers abroad. Establishments of this type were common in Italian cities during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, combining portrait photography services with the sale of photographic products and printed images.

The recipient of the card is Mrs. James Cyrus Hakes, residing in Montclair, New Jersey, in the United States. The address indicates that the correspondence was directed to an individual client rather than another commercial firm. This detail suggests that the photographic studio maintained relationships with international customers. European photographic studios located in historic or touristic cities frequently served foreign visitors who commissioned portraits, souvenir photographs, or photographic prints during their travels. These photographs were sometimes delivered later through postal correspondence.

The handwritten message on the reverse side refers to an earlier request made by the recipient, dated 23 November. The sender explains that the requested item is available and provides information regarding the cost and the additional expense of postage. The reference to a monetary amount indicates that the message concerns a commercial transaction, most likely involving photographic prints or related products. Correspondence of this nature reflects the everyday communication between photographic studios and their international clientele.

The postal cancellation visible on the card indicates that the item was processed in Siena. The stamp affixed to the card belongs to the Kingdom of Italy and bears a portrait design typical of Italian postage issues of the period. The wavy cancellation lines confirm that the card entered the international postal network for transatlantic delivery. At that time, regular postal routes connected Europe and the United States, facilitating both personal correspondence and commercial communication.

Within the broader development of photography, studios such as Lombardi often operated under a dual business model. They provided photographic portrait services while also producing and selling photographic prints, albums, and souvenir images. Studios located in historically significant or tourist-oriented cities frequently developed an international clientele, as foreign travelers sought photographic mementos of their journeys. Once visitors returned home, communication with the studio could continue through the postal system.

From a collecting perspective, this postcard represents a valuable intersection between postal history and the commercial history of photography. It documents the correspondence of a photographic studio conducting business with an overseas client and illustrates the practical mechanisms through which photographic services were delivered internationally. Such items can be categorized both as photographic trade ephemera and as examples of transatlantic postal communication.

This item is documented as part of the Photography in Postal History research project.
For research context, see the Research Methodology.
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