Date of use : 1944, Italy

Giusto Faravelli: Photographic Chemicals from Milan

The Giusto Faravelli company was founded in 1926 by Giusto Faravelli and specialized primarily in photographic chemicals. A close examination of the card reveals that the firm was not limited to a narrow field of production; rather, it supplied specialized chemicals for a wide range of image production and printing technologies, including photography, cinematography, zincography, rotogravure, cyanography, and galvanoplasty. This indicates that the company occupied an important position as a supplier serving diverse technical processes within the industrial and visual production sectors of the period.

The date of the document is clearly indicated on the reverse as “Milano, 6 Maggio 1944.” This places it in the final phase of the Second World War, a period during which production and supply chains in Italy were under considerable strain. The content of the card directly reflects these conditions, stating explicitly that the requested products were unavailable and that stocks had been depleted. In this context, the translation of the message on the reverse reads as follows:

✉️ Correspondence (translated from Italian):

“Milano, 6 May 1944

Brunner & C.

Via 27 Maggio No. 20

Como

Dear Sirs,

With reference to your inquiry,

We regret to inform you that the products you requested are currently not available in our stock.

Yours faithfully.”

---

The text represents a brief and formal commercial response. The expression “A pregiata Vs/2 corr.” is an abbreviated formula commonly used in Italian business correspondence of the period, meaning “in reply to your esteemed letter.”

In conclusion, this card constitutes a concrete historical record illustrating the close relationship between the chemical trade and photographic and printing technologies in the 1940s. Founded in 1926, the Giusto Faravelli company functioned as a key supplier across multiple industries; however, this document also clearly demonstrates how the challenging conditions of the time disrupted these commercial networks. As such, the card should be understood not merely as a piece of business correspondence, but as a multi-layered archival document reflecting the broader economic and industrial realities of its era.

Record Information

Title: Giusto Faravelli: Photographic Chemicals from Milan

Category: Photographic Industry History / Chemical Supply

Subcategory: Commercial Correspondence / Wartime Supply Chains

Country: Italy → Italy

City: Milan → Como

Date of use: 6 May 1944

Company (Sender): Giusto Faravelli, Milan, Italy. A chemical supply firm founded in 1926, specializing in photographic chemicals and materials for photography, cinematography, zincography, rotogravure, cyanography, and galvanoplasty.

Company (Recipient): Brunner & C., Via 27 Maggio No. 20, Como, Italy.

Object Type: Domestic commercial correspondence card (used)

Postal Features: Italian postal system; wartime postal service (1944); domestic postal rate.

Language: Italian

Material: Paper card with printed letterhead

Dimensions: Standard card format

Collection Theme: Giusto Faravelli, Milan chemical industry, photographic chemicals, Italian wartime commerce, Brunner & C., Como, supply chain disruptions, Second World War, 1944 Italy, industrial production, photographic materials.

Archival Significance: This 1944 wartime business correspondence documents the supply chain disruptions faced by the Italian photographic chemical industry during the final phase of the Second World War, illustrating how commercial networks were strained under wartime conditions.

Research Note:

This article is based on historical research and independent analysis of the material in the author's collection. The text has been prepared as an original interpretative study and does not reproduce copyrighted material.

This item is documented as part of the Photography in Postal History research project.
For research context, see the Research Methodology.
For academic reference, please refer to How to Cite This Archive.