1873 – 2023: 150 years of ZBLB engraved in history and on postcards

On Friday June 9th, the postal cancellation ceremony took place to celebrate the century-long and illustrious history of the pioneering company in Biella textile district. A cultural mark, evident in the achievements and transformations of the manufacture, representing a continuous link between the past and the future, craftsmanship and contemporary sensibilities. A mark that has begun visible through the special franked cancellation in collaboration with the philatelic service of Poste Italiane.

The temporary counter allowed stamp enthusiasts and curious ones to freely affix the commemorative cancellation stamp, which replicates the trademark registered by the Manifattura in 1879, onto a series of three limited edition and numbered postcards.

Postcard No.1 features the chromolithograph “Woman among Skeins of Yarn” – the poster of Lane Borgosesia designed by the artist and advertiser Leonetto Cappiello in 1927. The foreground figure is immersed in colorful yarns, with the distinctive red thread representing the Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia identity.

Postcard No.2 is a famous early 20th-century black-and-white shot by parisian photographer Louis Charles Eugène Fréon. The image captures the workers of Manifattura Lane Borgosesia at the entrance of the factory, where the photography is still displayed today. Its expressive power is tangible, and some compare it to “Il quarto stato” by Pellizza da Volpedo.

Postcard No.3 reproduces the label previously used by Manifattura Lane Borgosesia to promote skeins and hanks of yarn. The same logo is used for the cancellation stamp: a little sheep enclosed in an oval wreath topped with a star – the company’s first registered trademark.

These are evocative images of a history that transcends the boundaries of the factory and reaches the core of a territory and an entire industry. They represent an indelible mark of the artisanal, social, and cultural heritage, gathered for this occasion within the geometry of a postage stamp.

After the anniversary celebrations, the special cancellation stamp becomes part of the historical collection of Poste Italiane and will be exhibited at “Museo storico delle Poste e delle Telecomunicazioni”.