2011 - International Year of Chemistry

The science of chemistry has contributed to advancements in every area of day-to-day living. Chemists, through their observations and experiments, have given us everything from chemotherapy to explosives, and from fertilizers to even non-stick fry pans !

Shimla  October 2011   Vol. IV   Issue # 46

Monthly e-Stamp Bulletin Edited by Jeevan Jyoti for free circulation among philatelists

Readers are requested to send reports of philatelic activities in their area for publication. Short write ups by the readers about their journals, societies, publications and philatelic requirements can be sent for inclusion in this bulletin to j.jyoti9@gmail.com or rainbowstamp2008@gmail.com and by post to –

Ms. Jeevan Jyoti, c / o Mr. Ajay Srivastav, Director, Great Himalayan National Park, Shamshi, Distt. Kullu. PIN 175126. (H.P.) India

Note- This bulletin is only for circulation among a limited group of philatelists without any commercial purpose. The bulletin will be sent to the readers only on request. Those who wish to receive it regularly please reply giving the name of your city / country with the subject SUBSCRIBE RAINBOW

Dear Reader

I am pleased to release October 2011 issue of Rainbow Stamp News. This is the month of festivals and exhibitions. Greetings to all on the festive occasion of Durga Puja, Dussehra and Diwali. In the month of October, November and December, stamp exhibitions at state and national level are being organized by philatelic societies in different parts of the country . I wish great success to all the organizers and participants.

In  this issue read interview with Mr Markand Dave a distinguished professional philatelist from   Nadiad, Gujarat, a very interesting news article from Mr Anil Dhir  about a new Service of China Post and regular series of articles by Dr SK Agarwal, Naresh Agarwal  and Dr Avinash Jagtap. Please send your feedback about this issue and write the new topics   you wish to read  in forthcoming issues !! Enjoy this issue and have a great festive month ahead ! Happy Collecting !!                                                               

                                                                                                                                                            …. Jeevan Jyoti

Contents

Recent Indian Issues

In The News

Interview

Beginners’ Section

Specialized Section

Readers’ Right

New Issues from Other Countries

Philatelic Library

Philatelic Clubs and Societies

Blogs & Websites on Philately

The Lighter Side

Promotional Section

Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters

Editor’s Mail Box

Recent Indian Issues

 

1 August : K.M. Mathew – Rs 5

5 August : Rashtrapati Bhawan – 4 stamps of Rs 5 each + MS

25 August : Pt Santanam – Rs 5

29 August : Dr.M.S.Aney- Rs 5

2 September : Surendra Nath Jauhar – Rs 5

3 September : Dev Narayan – Rs 5

7 September : Tejaji Maharaj – Rs 5

8 September : Tripuraneni Gopichand – Rs 5

25 September : Jaimalji Maharaj – Rs 5

30 September : The Trained Nurses Association of India – Rs 5

2011 Stamp Issue programme of India Post is available at following link.http://www.indiapost.gov.in/philatelycalendar2011.htm

Special Cover – Postmark

11 July 2011 : Golden Jubilee of Sainik School, Kapurthala

20 August 2011 : Commissioning of INS Satpura, Mumbai

24 August 2011: 25 Years of Speed Post service in India , Ahmedabad

1 – 5 September : Leh Philatelic Exhibition LEH (J& K) – 5 covers

26 -29 September : CHINAR 2011 < Srinagar – 4 Covers

In The News

Cyprus Post wins Jury Prize for best EUROPA 2011 stamp

Cyprus Post EUROPA Stamp entry was named the winner of PostEurop's first ever EUROPA Jury Prize Competition which was held on 24 September 2011 at the prestigious Brussels Town Hall, where an expert jury met and voted through closed ballot.

Seven experts were invited to join the jury and judge the EUROPA Stamps based on their expert opinion. 56 entries were displayed before the jury and after much deliberation, the jurors casted their closed ballots followed by a round of voting and discussion. Having reached a consensus, Mr. David E.Failor, Chief of the United Nations Postal Administration, announced Cyprus Post as the winner of the 2011 Europa stamp Jury Prize to be the EUROPA Stamp.

The Jury Prize competition is held separate from the public online competition which took place earlier this year. This means there are two separate prizes for Europa stamps: one coming from the results of the public online competition and other from this expert Jury competition.

The prize for the Jury Prize competition will be handed out during the PostEurop Plenary Assembly in Istanbul on the 12th October, prior to the announcement of the winners of the public online competition.

"There were so many beautiful entries and judging was difficult due to the high quality of entries. We finally reached a consensus on the Cyprus Post Europa Stamp. The design in particular was very strong: modern, visually powerful but the interesting part was the integration of the white in the green of the stamp which created a light effect and contrast across the stamp. This stamp was in our opinion best illustrates our interpretation of what a forest should represent for the people and the young generation" said Mr. Failor.

New stamp issuing policy by US Postal Service

Americans will soon be seeing acclaimed musicians, sports stars, writers, artists and other nationally known figures on U.S. postage stamps — while they are still alive. The Postal Service is dropping a rule that requires an individual to be deceased for at least five years before being honored on a stamp. Under the new guidelines, living or recently deceased individuals could be eligible for commemoration on a stamp as soon as next year.

Name of top five living people are invited to submit from people all over America by USPS which they would like to see on a stamp via Facebook (facebook.com/USPSStamps) and Twitter (@USPSStamps).

 

China Post Plays Cupid

- Anil Dhir

If we think that only the Western world is plagued with a steep divorce rate, it is wrong. Oriental societies which normally attached a lot of importance to strong family values too has seen increased divorces and failed marriages.

The Chinese Post Office has introduced a unique scheme of where love letters are taken and stored for seven years and then delivered. The seven years delay has been taken as the benchmark from the “Seven Years Itch” , an adage that has been propagated by marriage counselors worldwide.

China Post launched its love letters program from special Love Post Offices. on the 9/9 as the numerals sound like a homonym for "forever" in Chinese (aww/aww). This scheme for smitten lovers to send letters to each other but wait for delivery seven years later has gained immense popularity. The Post Office has introduced a varied romantic product range which include special stamps, postmarks, postcards, envelopes and even a Love Passport, which can be stamped on every anniversary. The romantic letters cost 30 yuan ($4.69) each, and have a message inside like a greeting card. The lovers then add their own message of love, and post it. The Love Post Office will keep the letter for seven years, before sending it.

The State run marriage registration offices will even give this service as a gift when couples register. The optimism of the Government that this scheme would save at least save a few marriages is contradicted by the pessimistic couples who say that receiving these letters in seven years might be more hurtful than sweet. Understandably promises made and affections expressed when one is stupidly in love are soon forgotten in the harsh realities of modern day life.

With the increasing competition from online communications, postal systems all over the world are seeking methods to deliver mail faster. This is one venture where the Post office will get paid to deliver the mail slower, much slower, and on the flipside perhaps influence the outcome of some relationships. 

 

Croatian Post Scoops Sacred Stamp Award

27 September 2011

Croatian Post received a special award this week for a stamp entitled "400 years of the Capuchins in Croatia" by Ariane Norsic. The 29th International philatelic awards which includes as category for sacred art on postage stamps known as "San Gabriel", was held in Legnago, Italy.
The competition saw Croatian Post singled out as among the best in the world for stamps containing religious messages. Philatelic award Winners are selected annually, by an international jury composed of eleven philatelists.
Danilo Bogon, the main organizer and coordinator of the international philatelic awards, highlighted the exceptional quality of Croatian postage stamps in their visual communication. The stamp found favour with the jury, who admired the way in which the Capuchin Order and the importance and role of Leopold Mandic had been depicted.

United Nations Postal Administration wins "best stamps" award for highlighting human trafficking and child labour issues

 

27 July 2011 - The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) has won a prestigious award for two stamp editions which highlight human trafficking and child labour.

At the ceremony for the forty-first Asiago International Awards for Philatelic Art, held in Italy on 17 July, UNPA received the prize for "best stamps in the world" for 2010. The winning stamp sheets highlighted "Human Trafficking - Blue Heart Campaign (UNODC)"  by UNPA Vienna and "Against Child Labour (ILO and Geneva World)" by UNPA Geneva.

UNPA Vienna issued a special stamp sheet on the theme "human trafficking" on 5 February 2010. The Blue Heart Campaign is an awareness-raising initiative developed by UNODC to fight human trafficking and its impact on society. The campaign aims to inspire decision makers to effect change, as well as to encourage the involvement of all areas of society to help stop this crime. The campaign allows people to show solidarity with the victims of human trafficking by wearing the blue heart as an international symbol against this crime. The blue heart represents the sadness of those who are trafficked while reminding us of the cold-heartedness of those who buy and sell fellow human beings.

On 2 September 2010, UNPA Geneva issued a stamp sheet on the theme "child labour". The drawings featured on the stamps show the grim realities of exploited young people. The selected images are part of "Children's Views of Child Labour", a vast initiative promoted in 2009 by GenevaWorld in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and with the support of local volunteers to mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the ILO Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour.

The prize is given annually under the patronage of the President of Italy. The organizing Italian stamp collectors club, Sette Comuni, is one of the most well-known and respected stamp collectors clubs in Europe.

Awards won by other Postal administrations..

Portugal won the Tourism award for the Public Elevators series.

Hong Kong won the Ecology award for a souvenir sheet about the Development of Old Areas.

Greece won the Olympic Academy award for their Europa 2010 Children's book set.

Read More..

PETA appeals for vegetarian heritage stamps

India should be proud to be known as the birthplace of vegetarianism, says PETA. Just in time for Mahatma Gandhi's birthday (2nd October), World Vegetarian Day (1st October) and Vegetarian Awareness Month (October), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has sent an application to the philately division of the Department of Posts urging the agency to issue a national stamp honouring the country's strong vegetarian heritage.

Forthcoming International Stamp Exhibitions..

IPHLA 2012

Specialized International Exhibition for Philatelic Literature

IPHLA 2012 : A specialised exhibition for Philatelic Literature is going to be held  from 2 to 4 Nov.2012 in the town hall of Mainz (Germany). This exhibition will  be held under the patronage of FEPA & AIJP but some non European countries are also invited by them and India is also one of them.

Any author, journalist or publisher can apply for participation at IPHLA 2012 Mainz with one or more exhibits (print, static-digital like CD/DVD or a website) on condition he/she is a member of the BDPh or an association affiliated with FIP or FEPA. The application must arrive on time on the entry form provided for this purpose ( Exhibit Entry Forms ).

Applications for ‘IPHLA 2012’ can be submitted until February 1,2012.

The basis of the binding application is the different regulations currently provided by the BDPh. Any applicant is urgently advised to take note of these regulations, especially of the special regulations for IPHLA 2012 Mainz , which he agrees to by signing his application.NO FEDERATION COMMISSIONER WILL BE NOMINATED. Please go through website www.iphla.de

For any information please contact to Mr. Wolfgang Massen, Email: w.maassen@alip.org

THAILAND 2013

THAILAND 2013, International Philatelic exhibition will be held in Thailand from 2 to 14 August 2013 in Bangkok, under the patronage of FIP. The World Philatelic Exhibition will take place from 2 - 14 August 2013 at the Royal Paragon Hall 1-3, 5th floor, Siam Paragon, Bangkok. The event will feature not only some unique postage stamp collections, but also displays of other rare and valuable collectibles from around the world. A stamp contest and competition of OTOP products will also be held as part of the event, with an international panel of judges from member countries and representatives of countries submitting collections for display.

PCI has nominated Mr. R D Binani as Commissioner for India, his address :33-B Rowland Road, Kolkata 700 020  E mail : binanipm@gmail.com Mob:9830073058

China 2011 - 27th Asian International Philatelic Exhibition

The 27th Asian International Stamp Exhibition China 2011, co-sponsored by State Post Bureau, Jiangsu Government, China Post and All-China Philatelic Federation, will be held in Wuxi Taihu International Exposition Center from November 11 to November 15, 2011. This exhibition will be a large international stamp culture exchange activity. held in China after the 2009 World Stamp Exhibition.

Jointly organized by the State Post Bureau, China Post Group Corporation, All-China Philatelic Federation and the Jiangsu provincial government, the event will display 1,300 precious stamps from 26 Inter-Asia Philatelic Federation members.

The five-day event will also feature exhibitions of stamp designs, forums on stamp collecting and auctions of precious stamps, the Wuxi city government said in a statement. Additionally, the exhibition will offer activities showing visitors how stamps are created.

The exhibition's executive committee has kicked off a national youth competition on stamp designs and some of the best designs will be on display during the event.

Exhibition Date: November 11 – 15, 2011, will run for five days.

National Commissioner : Dr RS Gandhi, Patna Email : gandhipatna@yahoo.com

Venue : Taihu International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Organizers: the State Post Bureau, Jiangsu Provincial People's Government, the China Post Group Corporation, China National Philatelic Federation. Website : China 2011

Jury members from India at China 2011

Mr. Yogesh Kumar of Bareilly has been appointed as member of Jury and Prof V K Gupta of New Delhi has been invited to China 2011 as 2nd apprentice jury .

INDONESIA 2012 WORLD STAMP CHAMPIONSHIP

INDONESIA 2012: International Philatelic exhibition will  be held under the patronage of FIP from 18 to 24 June 2012 at Jakarta Convention Center. The exhibition will be known as  INDONESIA 2012 WORLD STAMP CHAMPIONSHIP.

Mr. S. Sahoo, is National Commissioner for India. His address is :- D-3, BJB Nagar, Bhubanshwar 751 014 Email: sahadevas@yahoo.com

Due to technical problems, there will be a delay in the bulletin and hardcopies of Entry Form + Inventory List of the INDONESIA 2012 World Stamp Championship to be sent to all countries by the organizing committee.

The organizing committee of INDONESIA 2012 WORLD STAMP CHAMPIONSHIP has rescheduled the deadline for sending the entry form. THE CLOSING DATE IS ON 15TH DECEMBER 2011. On that date the entry form should already arrive to the Organizing Committee.

Special Cancellation on bird from Germany

On September 22.10.2011  a new pictorial postmark featuring  the bird RED START  in Neubrandenburg, GERMANY  will be issued. The postmark  is available  from  Wolfgang Beyer , email: Wolfgang.Beyer1@polizei.sachsen.de  member of Staff from the topical collector group ARGE ZOOLOGIE . A stationery  of private order is available too.

Stamp Exhibition at Leh

J & K Postal Circle organized a  Philately Exhibition at Leh from 2 to 5 Sep 2011 at Polo Grounds Leh.   Five special covers were released during this exhibition. For these covers Supdt. of Post offices Leh ( 09419286636)  or Chief PMG’s office, J &K, Srinagar may be contacted.

See Covers : http://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-special-covers.html

Chinar 2011

Srinagar, Sep 26: The much awaited 4-day mega philatelic exhibition “Chinar 2011” was inaugurated by Governor NN Vohra at SKICC on the Dal banks on 26 September 2011..   On the occasion the Governor released a Special Cover on “Chinar 2011” and launched the first ever “My Stamp in the country by which the people will get personalized stamps with their photographs on it.”

Special cover on floating post office, Biscoe School released

John Samuel, Chief Postmaster General while releasing the special cover on Tyndale Biscoe School said that department of posts is opening two more post offices, one at Changla Pass in Leh and other at Khardongla Leh (world`s highest point of motorable road).

Special covers on Kesar. floating post office and Tyndale Bisco were released. Around 450 Students from various schools participated in the Letter Writing Competition arranged by the Department on the theme of “Letter to my mother”. Workshop on Philately for students was conducted in the afternoon followed by Group Discussion on  topic ‘Future of Post Offices’.Special covers on Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Dal lake were also released and Quiz Contest for students was also held besides workshop for students.

For covers and other philatelic items released during the exhibition contact Chinar 2011, Secretariat 0/o CPMG J& K Circle, Srinagar – 190001. Ph 0194 – 2474039, 0194 – 2452408 email : chinar2011@gmail.com

Forthcoming Exhibitions in India

SIPEX'11 Philatelic Exhibition

Date : 7- 9 October 2011, Chennai

Venue: LITE Air conditioned Hall, 17 Balfour Road, Kilpauk, Chennai.

(Adjacent to Nagappa Motors, Diagonally Opposite to ICICI Bank)

Organizers: South India Philatelists' Association, Chennai

For details  visit : http://www.sipa.org.in/ email : sipagold@gmail.com

 

Stamps of India National Exhibition

Date : 3- 6 Nov 2011, New Delhi

Venue: NSIC Exhibition Complex, Okhla Industrial Estate, Govindpuri Metro Station

Organizers: Stamps of India

Contact: sj@stampsofinida.com

Website: www.stampsofindia.com/sine.html

THRISSURPEX 2011 Philatelic & Numismatic Exhibition

Nov 18-20: Thrissur, Organizers: Philatelic Club Thrissur

Venue: Pandy Samooha Madom Hall Contact: C J Vincent, 0 98470 21886

RAJPEX - 2011 : PHILATELIC EXHIBITION

One frame philatelic exhibition -" RAJPEX-2011" will be held in Rajkot, from 18-20 November 2011 at Shri.Shyamaprasad Art Gallery,Race course,Rajkot,Gujarat . The exhibition executive committee will organize a stamp design competition for youth group .The event will feature not only some unique postage stamp collections,but also display  rare valuable collectibles. Special covers/cancellation will also be released as a part of the event. Events like essay writing competitions,forum on stamp collecting , & workshop on philately will be organized along with display of some special exhibits on WILD LIFE,GANDHI & of PRINCELY STATES.

RAJPEX-2011          : Philatelic exhibition

DATE                      : 18 - 20 NOVEMBER 2011.

VENUE                    : Shri.Shyamaprasad Art Gallery,Race course,Rajkot-  360 001,Gujarat,        

Contact for  details /entry forms/sales stall Booking etc :

Secretary,RAJPEX-2011,C/o.Philatelic Bureau,G.P.O.,RAJKOT-360001   Phone : 0281 -2223883

UPHILEX 2011

A state level exhibition is proposed to be held in Lucknow from 16 to 18 December 2011.

GUJPEX 2012

A state level exhibition is proposed to be held in Vadodara in last week of January 2012.

Mahapex 2012

Pune will host the four-day 11th state-level philatelic exhibition, Mahapex 2012, at Ganesh Kala Krida Rangmanch from January 13 next year. After 25 years, Pune will be hosting such an exhibition for Maharashtra and Goa. The Prospectus of 'Mahapex 2012' was unveiled by Chief Postmaster General, Maharashtra circle, Faiz-Ur-Rehman, on Friday at Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management.

The postmaster general of Pune region, Colonel (retd) KC Mishra, mayor of Pimpri-Chinchwad Yogesh Behl were present on the occasion. Among Philatelists Pratisad Nurgaonkar, Basti Solanki, Dixit, Col. Dutta, Mrs.Dutta, Col.Pujara, Vinayak Avate from Pune, Suketu Zaveri and Surendra Kotadiya from Mumbai, P.G.Bhargave from Nasik, M.J.Karajagi from Solapur and Deepak Modi from Jalna were also present.

Mr .Rehman said that it would be a big-budget event, where renowned Indian philatelists would be participating. The show will host 400 exhibition frames exhibited by over 300 philatelists from the two states.

Obituary

Shri Madhusudan Pittie, husband of noted philatelist and Treasure of PCI Mrs. Dayamanti Pittie passed away recently. He was a life member of PCI. Our deepest condolences to Mrs Pittie and family members. May his soul rest in peace and the family members get strength to bear this loss in the family.

INTERVIEW

In this issue meet with a very dynamic professional philatelist from Nadiad, Gujarat, Markand Dave. Mr Dave has participated in National and International stamp exhibitions and have won a number of awards for his exhibits. He loves classic Indian Philately and is always in search of philatelic items that are rare to be found. Recently he discovered “ONE ANA” stamp paper (watermark) on which 1854, Two anna stamps were printed . Philatelic research is his passion. He participated in Hong Kong 2009 and won Silver medal for his exhibit "India used abroad - ADEN" and last year at JOBURG - 2010 held in South Africa , exhibited his collection of AIR MAIL STAMP - First in Asia - INDIA 1929. He was awarded Vermeil Medal for this exhibit. Mr Dave has specialized in Indian Classics and philatelic research is his passion. At National One frame stamp exhibition “ Stampmania 2009” held in Vadodara in 2009, he was awarded Grand award with Special Prize for his exhibit "Early India cancellation on Scinde Dawk and Lithograph" .

Markand Dave receiving award at HONG KONG 2009

He has been in constant touch with stamps since childhood as his father Mr Dipak Dave is also a well known professional philatelist. But he developed special interest for this hobby in 2005 and made a good start with participation in national and international exhibition. He was also honored by Gujarat Philatelic Association for his work and contribution in promotion of philately. He frequently attends Philatelic shows in India and abroad. It is a pleasure to publish interview with Mr Markand Dave. Here he shares his views and experiences on different issues related with philately and some memorable moments at a stamp show…... – Editor

 

  INTERVIEW with Markand Dave

Q1. When did you start collecting stamps and how were you introduced to this hobby?

I started collecting in 2005, but I knew about this hobby since I was 7 years old.

Q2. You have special interest in classic stamps of pre - independence era, why did you choose traditional philately and not any other branch of philately? Were you inspired by someone in your family to collect stamps from pre independence era as normally today's generation is more attracted to Thematic Philately.

Yes, it is true that I am more interested in classic philately, the reason is my old age foreign friends, as they all are in classic it was easy for me in the beginning of my collection to share and learn something, So I continued in classic philately. I am interested in postal history of India, this includes all European settlements: - Portuguese, French, Dutch, Danish & British.

Thematic philately is of modern origin. If I want to assemble thematic philatelic collection, I will look for some unusual subject.

Q3.There are certain advantages to a dealer if he is a collector too, as procurement of material at a reasonable rate is easier. Would you advise philatelists to turn in to dealer cum collector? Is it easy to manage both hobby and business at a time?

Yes, there are some advantages. But I can’t advise philatelists/collectors to turn on as a dealer because many collectors have their Professions and are busy with their business / job. For me this is not my bread and butter, because I take this in a different way, However I am also engaged in a business and involved as an Executive Director of 3 Public Ltd. Companies engaged in Stock Broking, Finance, Multi commodities.

Q4.There is one burning issue nowadays that some philatelists are turning in to dealers which have caused storage / blockage of good quantity of material to create a superfluous market to enhance prices. This has hampered the interests of genuine philatelists. Is it a correct practice?

Well, your assumption is correct. Question is where to invest your spare income; so many people with the investment in mind have plunged in to this business. And this practice has caused problems with genuine collectors. I can’t comment whether this practice is correct or not.

Q.5 During INDEPEX2011, you were the main person to take up issue of relaxing the limit of 100 years by the Govt. to encourage philately. A demonstration was also staged. What were your demands?

I don’t feel comfortable being called as main person, We had demonstrated together & the rally was marched in the Exhibition hall, It should not be over sighted that the Eminent & Professional Philatelists including some Dealers & Auctioneers also took part, Mostly from all corners of India including Ashok Bayanwala(Ahmedabad), Pradip Agarwal (Patna), Madhukar Jhingan(Delhi), Mr. Toddywalla (Mumbai), Pradip Jain(Patna), Ashish Talwar(Gurgaon), R S Gupta(Banglore), Mr.PR Krishnan(Chennai) Prashant Pandya (Baroda), Sandeep Jaiswal (USA), Raj Sukhani(Kolkata), Andrew Mansi (Stanely Gibbons), David Feldman & Marcus (Switzerland) expressed their feelings and supported the Demonstration and the Protest March.

Demand was very simple. Just stop misinterpretation of the Act. Because stamps / covers do not come under the definition of the Antiquities Act. When they have clearly mentioned Coins, Sculptures, Paintings then logically treating stamps-covers, without mentioning them as such under the generic definition of anything 100 years old is illogical.

Also this act needs to be revised and made more comprehensive taking into account not only Pre-Independence but Post-Independence era also. i.e.:- Gandhi 10 Rs. Service stamp has to be treated as an Antiquity, also the Red cross omitted, which fetched 33,000 Euros (26+ Lacs Rs., including premium) during Christoph Gaertner recent auction and the Bird of Prey 1 Re variety which appeared in Stanley Gibbons Catalogue and more or less the stamps with current market value is 10 Lacs Rs. or more. These are just a few examples out of 100. I am very sorry to say that our philatelic community was not united on this issue, otherwise this would have been stopped being misinterpreted many years ago, But now the time has changed & we need to introduce some “Anna Hazare effect” attitude on lodging a complaint with our Govt on this issue. Let us fight together.

Q6 It is felt that philately now revolves around the walls of the dealers. As a dealer as well as a philatelist, what do you suggest in a broader way to help promoting philately ? What do you say about role of societies, dealers, and   philatelists?

First let us talk about youth philately. How many societies and dealers are concerned to support youth philately? They are neglected today. I personally think that if the new generation wishes to enter in the philately then perhaps they can break these walls, apart from that the Presidents of the some Regional Societies or Associations are acting like dealers (speculator) and taking the advantage of their chair by keeping soft relations with staff of Postal Department to get the material in advance and in sufficient quantity to generate an artificial demand in the market. Later, they dump the acquired material back through their chain.

Q.7 Would you explain the difference between a professional philatelist, a stamp collector cum dealer and a philatelic trader or a stamp dealer. These are very close terms. Are there any differences or these are just synonyms? Many philatelists would like to know and you can give the best fitting answer.

Professional philatelist: A stamp collector collects stamps; all types of stamps. A professional philatelist collects specific philatelic items, He carries of detail studies of his collection He finds something un-reported or unknown. He publishes his findings in reputed journals. A professional philatelist is a specialist

A stamp collector cum dealer or a philatelic trader:: This is a mixed role and many young persons are doing this, Now question is Why? So the Answer is simple., i.e. :- When a collector buys a collection because of only few important items, and naturally he sells the rest of material. In this way they enter in the trading segment, since they are young and internet “savvy”, they trade more frequently to gain some money and to re-invest for their hobby.

A dealer is simply one who trades exclusively in philately. But we should not forget the treasure of knowledge given by reputed dealers like Jal Cooper and Robson Lowe on national and international basis. I personally think that dealer is always more knowledgeable, because he invests his money in the Philately before a collector does, though he really knows better what a collector wants a certain item and why ?

Q8. In philatelic shows at all levels, contacts of the dealers with the jury are very strong. Sometimes it certainly affects the results in any exhibition. What would you say about it ?

Yes, I fully agree with you. But as you said ‘sometimes’ which cannot lead to all time. Let me clarify one thing that Jury’s knowledge is always limited on the subject as compared to that of a dealer, because dealer deals in almost everything, while Jury is basically a collector and has limited yet more specific knowledge, He knows more technical aspects of an exhibit and not with the subject of exhibit, perhaps this could be  one of the reasons that philatelic societies abroad prefer the dealers as a Jury. I hope Indian philately will adopt this fact of choosing a dealer as a Jury, which I know is rather very heavy to digest.

Q9. Gandhi is the most popular theme all over the world and it has been treated in various forms in different classes of philately. Why Gandhi theme is highly popular among collectors all over the world?  Is it because of Gandhiji's personality or highly rare stamps and covers available on Gandhi? In your opinion   what are the most sought after items by philatelists in the world?

Stamps on Gandhi is one subject, World Gandhi another. Collectors will be surprised to know, that after Queen Victoria, Gandhiji is the 2^nd most printed personality on stamps. I don’t think that all collectors are just collecting Gandhi theme because of his personality, It is a kind of mania or trend I can say. It is also just true that many other countries without any connection to him when he was alive, have issued stamps, postal stationery and/or cancellations on Gandhi .

Q10 Being a professional philatelist you must be in constant touch with different categories of philatelists. In your opinion the lager group of philatelists in India is professional or non professional? As in the last few years the hobby of stamp collecting has lost its charm and it has become more a business than just a hobby.

1] Yes, there is a small knowledgeable professional group in India - all very knowledgeable in their own collection area.

2] World over with the arrival of TV, Video games, Computers etc. philately is taking a back-seat. Serious Philatelists are slowly diminishing. In fact people have no time for leisure activities.

Q11. There is no single strong National Philatelic Federation in our country. The one which was a stronger one in the past is now split and it is not working actively. Do you think that there is a need of a strong and active National Philatelic Federation in our country to look upon the national philatelic activities? What would you suggest the philatelic community of India to help in making a strong National Philatelic Federation in the country?

I fully agree with you. Indeed we need a strong and nationwide spread philatelic federation for Indian Philately. Some Senior Philatelists of repute should write an open letter to the President of the present federation to take necessary action in this connection.

Q12. You have visited International exhibitions held in India and abroad. What basic difference do you find in the exhibitions, organized in India and abroad?

A very good and important question. I would like to deal with this step by step.

The exhibitions held abroad differ from those held in India in the following points:

The overseas exhibitions have: ·

. Wider range of deeply studied exhibits. ·

. Better Qualified Jury, Dealer as Jury – Because of his wide span of knowledge.

· Helpful Jury; Ready to offer suggestions for improvement in your exhibit.

· Open House – Jury – Exhibitor exchange of Ideas

· Better Security, Cleanliness & Facility in all respect.

Q13. Do you think Internet plays an important role in promoting philately? In past years when Internet was not introduced the hobby was much popular among people of all age groups. But today it is restricted to a certain age group of people and new generation is not taking interest in the hobby. Please give your views.

Yes, I feel that Internet has an important role to play, But when my father is talking about the pink days of well developed Philately in 70’s to 80’s. I also think like you that the glory of those days was without Internet. Now the point is promotion & awareness, Just by printing “Philately King of Hobbies – Collect Indian Postage Stamps” on 50p postcard Postal Department’s Job is not over, but Department has to come on field with strong willingness and the existing federation also has to approach the Department to promote this hobby. Otherwise the Investors and Speculators have already made this as a “Hobby of Kings” and the next generation will also have to suffer for that. Some revolutionary ideas are needed to be implemented.

For example there is a Proposal :

10,000 Rs. Of Philatelic Investment has to be Income Tax free for each I.T.Year

L.I.C. , N.S.C., K.V.P etc Governments promoted Interest based Investment schemes are accountable as Liability with Interest burden for Government.

But simultaneously raising fund by selling mint stamps to collectors for promotion of philately will be a straight Income for Government and without any Liability.

Q14. Last but not the least… Explain the pleasure of philately in your own words. Please also share your special moments in a philatelic event .

Philately keeps day to day stress of modern living under control. A new discovery is a pleasure to share with likeminded people.

 

Memorable Event :

It was -10 degree in England, when I went to attend a small stamp fair in St. Albans when finally reached there I came to know that the taxi service was not available due to snow, I walked 4 Km in snow to reach to the hall, where only one dealer friend was there just because he was the organizer  of the show, I bought couple of nice items and I was happy, again started walking to cover the 4 Km., when came back to station I thought “Why I am doing this??????” Just because of Philately…….

Markand Dave may be contacted at email : markand7@yahoo.com

Beginners’ Section

Philatelic Glossory

Die Proof

An impression pulled on special paper or card from die, usually as a preliminary measure to check that all the detail is correct.

Overprint (Commemorative, surcharge)

An inscription or device added to the face of a stamp subsequent to the original printing. Such an inscription may be added to alter the purpose, or place of validity, or to commemorate an event or anniversary.. Change the face value of stamp, the term is called surcharge.

Automatic stamps

They are a gummed label for affixing to a postal packet, dispensed by a coin-operated machine.

Publicity Slogan Postmark

 

A type of machine cancellation intended to publicizes the industry or tourist potential of a town or district.

Specialized Section

DISINFECTION OF MAIL

By Naresh Agarwal

Contd…from the last

MAIL STERLIZATION

MAIL SANITIZATION BY IRRADIATION

Mail sanitization is the process which is applied as a precautionary measure to kill micro organisms that may be contained in the mail or to sterilize mail that is suspect of or known to be contaminated with dangerous microorganisms. In this process, the mail is decontaminated by exposure to radiation, high pressure, or gases. Micro organisms, such as the bacterium that causes anthrax succumb to these conditions. Ion beam sterilization (high-energy electrons) and x-ray radiation have been considered very useful on individual letters.

Otherwise also this process has great role in forensic investigations which sometimes require the analysis of substances found in contaminated mail. Identifying toxins or harmful residues present in mail, along with their concentrations to find evidence in criminal cases and information necessary to decontaminate the mail.

MAJOR USAGE DURING ANTHRAX ATTACK IN U.S. IN 2001

The major usage of this method of decontamination of mail was done by USPS which used to combat the bioterrorism attacks on American people shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Mail containing the anthrax bacterium was detected. Few persons infected by the anthrax bacterium died from the disease. As a direct result of this, the USPS developed an Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) with the goal of protecting USPS employees and customers from future bioterrorism attacks. The plan was composed of six initiatives such as Prevention, Protection and health-risk reduction, Detection and identification, Intervention, Decontamination, Investigation.

The SML 5520 is designed as an anti – bio – terrorism tool; the system eliminates contagious and harmful bacteria and viruses including anthrax. Each system can process 70 kg of mail per hour. The system produces no radiation residue or contamination.

METHODS TO IRRADIATE MAIL :

The USPS has been studying various different methods of decontamination of mail to find the one which could most effectively sanitize mail. For proper mail sanitization, the decontamination method must thoroughly penetrate letters, flats, and packages but not damage the mail in any way. In the year 2002, irradiation was the only acceptable method for decontaminating mail. But this method had reduced the rate of mail delivery due to time taken in irradiation..

Ionizing radiation kills bacteria. The energy from ionizing radiation destroys the chemical structure. Thus results in significant damage to the DNA and proteins of bacteria and causes them to die. Three sources of ionizing radiation were selected for mail sanitization that are x rays, gamma rays, and electron beams as each of these could kill the anthrax bacteria. Radiation can easily penetrate and sanitize most types of mail, however, it may damage some other materials.

X RAYS are a type of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. X-ray particles, or photons, are generated when electron-dense materials are bombarded by high-energy electrons. X rays have a high-energy content and can penetrate most objects.

GAMMA RAYS are another type of high-energy electro-magnetic radiation. Gamma rays are released by decaying radioactive compounds such as cesium 137 or cobalt 60.

TT1000 Rhodotron

Rhodotron TT100 is a very cost effective E-beam solution as it develops very high-power electron accelerator devoted to X-ray ideally suited for customers with medium production volumes. It delivers up to 45kW giving sterilization facilities processing an average of 80 000 m³ of sterilized material per year

ELECTRON BEAM or e-beam, is a stream of electrons that is propelled by a high accelerating voltage. The energy content of the e-beam is determined by the accelerating voltage and is lower than both x rays and gamma rays.

Of the three ionizing radiation sources, e-beam technology has been found the safest and most readily adaptable system for mail sanitization.

NON-IONIZING RADIATION : Two of non-ionizing radiation methods that have been used for sterilization are ultraviolet (UV) light and microwaves. Both are effective in killing microorganisms, but in different ways.

UV light radiation damages DNA which then can not reproduce or survive. It cannot penetrate objects and is used to sterilize surfaces and air only. In addition, some microorganisms are resistant to the effects of UV radiation. Therefore, UV radiation is an unacceptable method to sanitize mail.

Microwave radiation is a low energy non-ionizing radiation which ultimately kills the micro organisms. Due to short comings like difficulty in control the heating effects as it has "hot spots" and "cold spots” and low destruction rate of bacterial cells (spores),it is also found ineffective for mail sanitization.

UlTRA HIGH PRESSURE STERLIZATION :

Ultra-high-pressure (UHP) sterilization is accomplished by applying a pressure of almost 100,000 psi, which causes physical changes to DNA and proteins. The resulting cellular damage kills the microorganisms.

The UHP sterilization cycle time can be less than 30 minutes and the process is non-destructive to the object being sterilized. This method was found suitable for mail sanitization..

UV DISINFECTION SYSTEMS :

The UV Bulk Mail Irradiation System consists of a chamber for disinfecting mail that has become contaminated by anthrax bacteria and anthrax spores. Contaminated mail is placed in the chamber. Consideration for the characteristics of the chamber in which the contaminated mail has been placed, the location of the C-band ultraviolet lights, the duration of the sterilization process allow effective elimination of this biohazard from the contaminated mail.

GASEOUS TREATMENT : Certain gases like Chloride dioxide, ethylene oxide, methyl bromide and ozone have been identified suitable for gaseous disinfection and sanitization as they have anti-microbial properties . These gases are not only used for disinfection of the mail but used for disinfecting spaces and buildings

Large amounts of gas would be needed to sterilize mail and it is not evident that gases can kill microorganisms within sealed letters, flats, and packages. Gaseous sterilization of mail is not currently a viable option for mail sanitization. But this certainly can disinfect the outer covers and the packages and space where the mail is kept.

STEAM AUTOCLAVING

An autoclave is a device to sterilize equipment and supplies by subjecting them to high pressure saturated steam at 121 °C or more, typically for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the load and the contents. It was invented in 1879, although a precursor known as the steam digester was created in 1679.

The image above shows an envelope contained a phone bill suspected for anthrax has been sterilized using a steam autoclave. The small rectangle over the barcode is the shrunken remains of the plastic window which is readable on removal of plastic.

EFFECTS OF RADIATION ON MAIL

Some adverse effects were observed to the mail comprised of a number of papers and plastics exposed to radiation method leading to various mechanical and structural deformations.

COLOUR CHANGES :

Due to radiation the paper of mail material was found to become gray or may exhibits definite yellowing or some change in color. I some case the color shift is not necessarily immediate but occurred over the time. This indicated that the initial irradiation induced the formation of unstable intermediates, such as peroxides, that continued to breakdown after the irradiation process was over.Contrary to this some common inks present on irradiated papers did not seem to change color.

Discolored irradiated mail

MEHANICAL DAMAGE :

According to postal sources, temperatures of the irradiated materials can reach 130degree C. which causes distortion and softening of the clear windows of the envelops and in some cases adhering to the printed matter beneath. Certain printed materials have become stuck together, possibly due to the softening of the resins in the printing inks or photocopying toner. Moisture driven from the paper by high temperature can also condense and cause "blocking". Images on slides have been found to crack due to the high temperatures.

Tensile measurements on irradiated paper show that there is a substantial loss in the ability of the paper to be deformed and become brittle, stiffer, loose strength and so paper can not be folded so paper degrades. It may become fragile, and some plastics have bubbled or melted.

The paper damaged due to irradiation of mail

Christmas 2001 catalog packed in black plastic bag package to contain any contamination with a letter from USPS. This Plastic bag/envelope has never been opened as after the October 2001 due to anthrax attacks as the Washington's mail became suspect. Letter explains how this piece of mail had been irradiated and is safe to open and view..

Irradiation's effects on paper caused some alarm in the philatelic world, which sends large numbers of rare postage stamps and covers through the mail. A number of auction houses stopped sending material through the mail, and Linn’s Stamp News regularly featured reports on stamps and covers that had been ruined by irradiation.

Although at one time the USPS expected to irradiate all mail, it later scaled back to just treating mail sent to government offices.

The response of the Post Office to the anthrax problem has been the electron irradiation of select portions of the mail. The mail is packaged in sealed plastic to a good thickness and irradiated in two passes. Sufficient examples of the irradiated mail have been examined to permit some observations.

To be contd…..

Mr Naresh Agarwal may be contacted at email : nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in

Readers’ Right

Dr. Avinash B. Jagtap, Switzerland

Mahatma Gandhi Mourning Covers

In the September isuue of "Rainbow Stamp News" Mr. Markand D. Dave has written about the three fancy Mahatma Gandhi Mourning Covers. Sofar as self-made fancy covers are concerned, we come across the so- called Somake-Covers, which were prepared by Mr. Moses J.H.Somake in 1925-1930s with stamps with errors and varieties affixed to the envelopes sent by air via Basra - Cairo to London. Others are those which were prepared by Mr. Stephen H. Smith, self-addressed and sent using different kinds of rockets also dating from 1930s. So like the above two, the covers made by Dr. L. P. Advani could be loooked upon as "Fancy Covers", with the exception of their price-difference.These covers, as the author writes, are sold and bought at fancy prices. Here I am not criticizing the preparation of these covers; but I personally have reservations using totally black colour for preparing the envelope. By using black background the first day commemorative cancellation is only partially visible. A First Day Cover should show not only stamp(s) but MUST show the complete First Day Cancellation and in this aspect these covers lack the most needed requirement, even when these covers were not sent or offered as First Day Covers. The author writes that the cover carries a facsimile signature of Mahatma Gandhi. This is however is not some thing rare for which the cover is sold or bought at such a "fancy" price.

I must bring to the notice of the readers of "Rainbow Stamp News", that one Mahatma Gandhi mourning fancy cover (similar to type 1) prepared and sent by Dr. Advani was recently offered by M/S Christoph Gaertner of Germany in their auction on 8th March 2011, at Euro 800.- It however realized Euro 3'400.- (more than four fold the estimation!). One should not blame the the person who offered it for sale and certainly not even the auctioneers that such cover could surpass the imagination of philatelists. It is however a great pity that can happen to philately."Duniya Jukukti hai, lekin Jhukanewala chahiye! What else?

Response to above comment

Sir,

It is my pleasure to get comments on my small article from a Senior most Philatelist like you. I fully agree on your point of using black color on FDC where the cancellation is equally important, I also agree that these are fancy covers But I am not comfortable with your comparison of these covers with Somake, because Somake pasted any thing means any thing, Indian States, Nine Pies, KGV 1/4 ovpt etc. on the Basra - Cairo route and they  produced galore, also there was no reason to produce those covers. Where Advani covers has a specific reason of First Day & Mourning Issue, Again limited no. and yes that is the no. game and that is the reason that they are so popular among  Gandhi Collectors. For readers information, I would like to quote the realization of recent ISC Auction where the 4 Value Mourning cover fetched 1750 GBP.

- Markand Dave, Nadiad Gujarat

Something of interest, also for non-philatelists….

By Dr. Avinash B. Jagtap

Horatio Hardy and his Jerusalem Coffee House

Coffee Houses served as a link between the sender of the letters and the ships which used to carry them overseas to the respective destinations. The bags were kept in the coffee houses, which were bearing the name of the captains and the destinations of the ships. The fees which were very nominal, were paid by the senders to the proprietor of the coffee house. It was customary to send the duplicate or triplicate copies of the letters and to hand over to the respective captains of the ships. The fees paid were much lower than those demanded by the Post Office Packet Service via Falmouth. This type of service went on for years together, although at the loss of British Post Office.

The British Post Office did attempt, although with little success, to bring the owners of the Coffee Houses under control in respect of the handling of the overseas letters .

With the Act of 1799 and the establishment of London Ship Letter Office the Customs and Excise took a sturdy decision to curb the unauthorised dispatch of letters by private ships. So in the beginning the unauthorised mail was seized, the letters were opened and the senders were asked to pay the postage. Having paid the postage, the letters were re-sealed. This gave rise to the protests from the merchant community. The treasury had to warn the Post Office against pursuing a policy from which the legal defence was not without problems and the letter bags for depositing letters were in use in the coffee houses till 1820.

It was in 1818 that the proprietor of the New England Coffee-House was prosecuted for unauthorised collection of letters for dispatch overseas. This action was however withdrawn on the payment of £5 and the publication of an apology in the newspapers. With the time as the postal service overseas began to develop by 1820, the Coffee House system began to slacken and ultimately ceased to exist. Jerusalem Coffee House existed from 1757 to 1833. In the beginning it was in the Fleece Passage, Cornhill, later at 32-33 Cowper’s Court. Most of the letters which were forwarded by Horatio Hardy during the years 1815-1840 bear his personal and decidedly characteristic signature with its many flourishes, as the following illustration will reveal.

The signature of Horatio Hardy

Jerusalem Coffee house was frequented by managing owners of East India Company ships and East India Merchants and brokers. The Jerusalem Coffee House became “The Jerusalem Limited” in 1880 when the coffee house was demolished in 1879 and replaced by a commercial resort dealing with sale, exchange with its own news rooms.

Letter from London to the Civil Surgeon in Calcutta, bearing the characteristic signature of Horatio Hardy and endorsement “Rd---------forwd---------hh”.

1832 Cross-written entire letter from London to the Civil Surgeon in Calcutta, bearing the characteristic signature of Horatio Hardy and endorsement “Rd---------forwd---------hh”. The letter was carried by a private ship. On its arrival in Calcutta it was stamped in red “CALCUTTA/G.P.O./22 JUL 22/1832” (D. Hammond Giles N0. CG20) and before delivery again stamped “G.P.O./JULY 23/1832 (HS53/CG10) and received the rate stamp “Inld.Ptg.6/Ship Do.6/ (2) As 12” (Giles N0.SR28) for a “Double” letter. The letter sent on 21^st January 1832 was received in Calcutta on 26^th July, almost after 180 days it had been handed over to Horatio Hardy.

New Issues from other countries

Czech Republic

5 October : World Post Day

 

Isle of Man

28 September : Sepac 2011

Monaco

28 September : Sepac 2011

New Zealand

5 October : The New Zealand Experience – 6 val

Switzerland

6 September : Lavaux region & Muggestutz

The Lavaux region adorns new special stamps issued by Swiss Post. This region bordering on Lake Geneva is not only part of the UNESCO World Heritage, but also offers some of the most beautiful panoramas in the country. For this reason, Swiss Post has created three special stamps that together form a panorama of the famous terraced vineyards. Muggestutz the dwarf appears on another of the new stamps. This children's book character has been a favourite of young and old for many years.

USA

13 October : Holiday Baubles special forever stamps – 4 val

Philatelic Library

e books on Philately : All about Stamp Collecting

http://www.scribd.com/doc/37667833/Stamp-Collecting

http://www.askphil.org/b.htm

Online Stamp Catalogue…

Search stamps of different countries online…

http://www.catawiki.co.uk/catalog/100271-stamps

New Blogs & Websites

Phila India : www.PhilaIndia.info – A new website on Indian Philately created bb Mahesh Reddiar of Krerala

Postmarks of India : http://www.indianpostmarks.blogspot.com/ - This blog is dedicated to Permanent Pictorial Cancellations available at Indian Post Offices.

Discover Topical Stamp Collecting : http://secretstostampcollecting.com/members/ - How-To, Tips, News, Reviews and Resources for Stamp Collectors

Officially Sealed Mails of the World : http://www.poseal.com/ -    A site dedicated to the study of Post Office Seals   -

Sports Philately : http://www.sportstamps.org/ - Website on Sports Philately.

Philately of Today : http://philatelyoftoday.blogspot.com/ - A nice blog with discussion and details on various philatelic subjects..

Se- tenant Stamps of India - http://setenantsofindia.blogspot.com/ It is a specialized Blog on se-tenant stamps.

Flags & Stamps - http://flagstamps.blogspot.com/ - It is a specialized blog on Flag Theme .

Glimpses of Modern Indian Philately : http://modernindianphilately.blogspot.com/

A new Blog on Modern Indian Postal History and Modern Philately of India, has been created by Mr Prashant Pandya. Idea of creating this blog ‘Glimpses of Modern Indian Philately’ by Mr Pandya is conceived to provide, share and discuss information exclusively on Modern Postal History or Modern Philately of India. Collectors of Modern Indian Philately around the world are invited to share the knowledge and information on the subject.

West Essex Philatelic Society : http://www.wepsonline.org./ A philatelic society with lot of philatelic activities.

Gandhi Stamps :   http://gandhistamps.com - The website is a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi Philately. All the stamps issued on Mahatma Gandhi from various countries in the World have been featured.

Join Mobile Philately & Stay Updated - http://mobilephilately.blogspot.com/Mobile Philately is a mobile technology based philatelic community with short messaging service (SMS) that allows the community members to get latest updates related to Indian philately directly into mobile message box.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Stamps-Philately-1610/indexExp_69442.htm - It is a site based on Question & Answers on Philately. Mr Prashant Pandya replies to queries.

Philatelic Clubs & Societies

Baroda Philatelic Society - http://www.vadophil.org/

Eastern India Philatelists’ Association - http://www.filacapsule.blogspot.com/

Indian Stamp Ghar - http://www.indianstampghar.com/

Indian Thematic Society, Ludhiana - http://indianthematicstamps.webs.com/

Ludhiana Philatelic Club

Mobile Philately - http://www.mobilephilately.webs.com/

Philatelic Society of Rajasthan, Jaipur

Rainbow Stamp Club - http://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/

Rajkot Philatelic Society – Rajkot, Gujarat

Gujarat Philatelic Association - Ahmedabad

South India Philatelists Association - http://www.sipa.org.in/

Stamps of India - http://www.stampsofindia.com/

The Lighter Side

Here is the second part of a special article by Dr Satyendra Kumar . The article is about various types of  unique stamps issued so far using most advanced technology by different postal administrations. From Penny Black to  stamp with lenticular technology – an Evolution !!    - Editor

There was a STAMP…..

© Dr.Satyendra Kumar Agrawal

You have read so far …..

Once upon a time, a Stamp was born. He was given the responsibility to collect pre-payment from the sender for postal services around the world. Soon he gave life to more of his kind to share his increasing responsibilities. Some were assigned to collect pre-payment for Air Mail, some for Parcels. A few got the work of collecting Postage Due and some to bear additional responsibility of collecting Charities for the benefit of various organizations. Although his empire was invaded by his own step brothers; Mechanical and Electronic frankings, ATM labels etc. several times, the Stamp and his aides ruled the world of Post for more than 160 years,

Contd.. from the last….

Even their cloths were made of precious metals like Platinum, Titanium, Palladium, Gold and Silver.

                                   Platinum                   Palladium                                 Gold                             Silver

Poorer were wearing Copper, Aluminum, Steel and Bronze dresses.

                                    Copper                         Aluminum                                    Steel                                   Bronze

He fell in deep thought, how poor his race was, made of mere paper. He reconciled remembering the simplicity of Mahatma Gandhi.

He also asked himself, “was it only a dream or was he watching a Fashion channel on TV?”

Suddenly he was pushed by a stamp jumping out of his frame probably to kiss a passing by beautiful lady with a magnet in her hand. He collided with another stamp; who cried in anger .He bounced back falling on a soft bed and felt tickled when a velvety hand caught him falling again.

          

                                          Magnetic,   Produces sound if scratched                                Cork

On Velvet with Rose scent

He introduced himself as made up of Velvet and to those he collided were magnetic, talking and cork stamps. Wood, Plastic, Silk and polyester stamps of that family also came forward to greet him.

 

                                                  Wood                                   Plastic                                             Silk

While he was trying to come out of this amusement park, he was surrounded with the sweet aroma of fresh roses in the air. He searched for roses but found none but his velvety friend smiling and telling him that it is from his own body. He invited him to meet his other family members of perfumed stamps smelling like Jasmine, Apricot, Narcissus, Magnolia, Tulips, and Orchids etc.

                                               Jasmine                            Narcissus                       Magnolia                       Orchid

After floral scented relatives he met a group of young Stamps who smelt of fresh fruits, Mango, Pineapple, Apple and Coconut.

                                  Mango                            Pineapple                            Apple                                    Coconut

Few smelt like Sandal wood.

    

Sandal wood

Even before he could leave behind this world of perfumed stamps he stumbled upon the mouth watering smell of fresh Swiss Chocolates, Tea and Coffey coming from a distance.

                                                         Chocolate                              Tea                                      Coffee

Even few drops of salvia fell down looking at the brick of chocolates unconsciously on a stamp nearby and to his surprise, as he rubbed the “Lamp of Aladdin” a seed sprang out of the stamp like Ginny introducing himself as Seeded stamp.

  

Each stamp attached a seed

He himself sprang in excitement when his Velvety friend told that not only perfumed and seeded stamps but also tasty stamps belong to his family. He pointed out towards a stamp depicting a pig and when he kissed him it felt like tasting sweet-sour pork.

   

Gum tastes sweet-Sour pork Taste of Vanilla flavored Rubber stamp

He began dreaming when Burger, Pizza, Chow Mein, Biscuit and Cake flavoured stamps would join this new race of tasty stamps. Suddenly the exhibition hall was engulfed into darkness due to a sudden power failure. He was bewildered at the sight that dawned upon him. Ghost like creatures were hanging in the air and glowing brightly. He shivered in fear.

Glow in dark

His Velvety friend came forward, patting his shoulder and said “don’t worry, these are no ghost but your own younger brothers capable of glowing in dark. He showed him few more strange relatives, transparent stamp, stereoscopic stamp and book stamp.

                                 Transparent                      Looks Yellow on Yellow   and                Red on Red backgrounds

 

  

Stamps are slotted into a small screen cinema like arrangement and 3-D glasses used to view pair of stamps

Special glasses are needed to see the 3-D effect

'Book stamps' that you can read and leaf: it contains the story in Dutch Micro Text by J. Zwagerman "Wat is erect" ("What is worse")

Flipping through the pages quickly of this 15 pages “Flip Book” the pictures make an impression of movement.

There was no end to his surprises. He soon found himself in another world of sensual stamps where his relatives were talking, singing and playing movies. They were Gramophone Record stamps, CD and DVD stamps.

                                  Gramophone                          Record CD Rom                                     DVD

A few looked like tiny TV screens with antenna like tentacles showing short clips of football, surfing and rowing.

                

                               Approximately 3-second sport clip          3D Ramayana Puppet show

Lenticular Stamp

Lenticular technology is used for above stamps in which a plastic lens atop a specially-formatted image makes it appear to change.

     

Many images layered on top of each other, when tilted, the images move to appear

One was even showing short movie.

The stamp contains a sequence of 30 frames, for about second mini-movies in a joking way that describes the relationship between the director Anton Corbijn and actress Carice van Houten.

He also met most amazing computer age relative, said ready to accept the challenges of 21^st century, “Multimedia” and "intelligent" stamps the youngest addition in members of this new generation of stamps.

Touching the stamps with a special pen-shaped device, called the Aigo pen(The pen is a unique gadget combines an infrared That recognition system, mass data storage and an MP3 player), allows a chip in the stamp recite some of the greatest poems from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD)to background music.

 

Viewing the stamp via a Smartphone takes users to a related webpage. The stamps combine with an image recognition app called Junaio.

Through software, the camera phone recognizes the bee tag and allows connection to a particular website.

The up code, top right, can be opened with a phone with a camera which recognizes the up code and allows direct connection to the site of e-shop of the Finnish Post Office.

While returning from the exhibition he was caught in a crowd of thoughts. Some praising the innovations and modernization while others feeling sorry for those who are left with the job of inhibiting philatelic zoos because of the increasing physical and visual materiality of his modern generation relatives and considered by the Post as a product aimed exclusively for collectors not for circulation to perform the function for which they were born.

What would be the future, if collectors turn their back on these stamps exclusively philatelic rather than postal nature, and because of the abuses by many Postal Administrations? “Stamp Collecting” is heading towards becoming a branch of the Antiques business, would it be a tragic end in the middle term? And ‘He’ himself would be in way of dinosaurs?

I thankfully acknowledge my son Tushar , Senior Software Engineer,Tesco HSC, Bangalore and  my daughter Tulika  , Associate Consultant in Enterprise Solutions Division,  Infosys Technologies Ltd, Hyderabad, for their help in portraying the story of  " Stamp in Wonderland"  beautifully in words.- Dr SK Agarwal

Dr SK Agarwal may be contacted at e-mail : rosephila@hotmail.com

Promotional section

Philatelic Library for Sale

Philatelist and  writer Anil Dhir is disposing off his  entire library of  rare and important philatelic books that he has collected over the years. The first list of more then a hundred books offered for sale is ready. To get the list send him an email at anildhir2k5@hotmail.com

Books on Philately

“My Rainbow of Philatelic Articles” by Dr Satyendra Kumar Agarwal is a collection of specialized and comprehensive articles on a variety of subjects published in Rainbow Stamp News during last three years.

The 150 page hardbound book published by Philagold Publications is priced at Rs 1200 ( US $ 25). Dr Satyendra Kumar Agarwal may be contacted for this book at email : rosephila@hotmail.com

Read more details..

Year Book 2011

Mr Madan Middha the publisher of Year Book of Indian Philately needs suggestions from the Readers for Year Book 2011..for which he has started working Readers are requested to send their suggestions about contents of the new edition. Articles are also invited from the readers. Please contact Mr Middha email madan_middha@yahoo.co.in

ITS Stamp News

ITS stamp News, India’s only magazine on Thematic Philately can be subscribed , write to : Suraj Jaitly      Mobile: +91 98728 51244 MIG # 3464, Phase Two, Dugri Road, Ludhiana - 141 013 INDIA email : indianthematicsociety@gmail.com
ITS at http://indianthematicstamps.webs.com/
ITS Stamp News at http://itsstampnews.blogspot.com/
ITS Postal Auction photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/its_offers/

Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters

Stamp of India Collectors’ Companion - India’s first and most updated weekly e-newsletter edited by Madhukar and Savita Jhingan from Stamps of India, New Delhi. E-mail: mjhingan@yahoo.com Website: www.stampsofindia.com

ITS Stamp News - Quarterly - Editor: Suraj Jaitly Publisher: Indian Thematic Society website - http://itsstampnews.blogspot.com/

Phila News, Editor Rajesh Pahariya and published by Philatelic Society of Rajasthan, Jaipur

VADOPHIL, Editor - Prashant Pandya and published by Baroda Philatelic Society, Vadodara. Website -http://www.vadophil.org/

e ZEP Newsletter http://www.ezep.de/zpj/zpj.html Editor : Dieter Leder email zpj@arcor.de website www.eZEP.de

SIPA Bulletin Editor - Mr G. Madan Mohan Das and published by South India Philatelists’ Association, Chennai website : http://www.sipa.org.in/

FILA Capsule – Editor : Ajit Dash and  published by EIPA, Bhubaneshwar.

GPA News – Editor- Ilias Patel and published by Gujarat Philatelists’ Association, Ahemadabad.

Kar Phila News published by Karnataka Philatelic Society & edited by by Akshay Borad

e–mail : akshayborad@hotmail.com

Editor’s Mail Box

Cdr. G Sri Ramarao, I.N,(Retd.), Vishakhapatnam

Dear Mrs Jyoti,

I have gone through the latest Rainbow stamp News. My heartiest congratulations to you for publishing such a newsletter regularly as well as everyday blog posts which are extremely informative and interesting.

You are doing a wonderful job selflessly with tremendous dedication to inculcate interest in philately as well as educate people with the latest in philately and also presenting excellent articles of interest. The way in which you present the newsletter as well as blogs is great. You always do lot of research before publishing anything. The information therein is always latest, and attractively presented..Further the topics selected and the variety of items presented are very attractive, and develop interest even in non philatelists.

I have gone through the articles, There was a   stamp..... by Dr SK Agrawal, which is presented and developed as a story beautifully with   excellent and variety of stamps I regularly and repeatedly read all his articles . In fact all his articles and also of Shri Naresh Agarwal and Dr Jagtap, all of them  who are stalwarts in philately are  very educative. The article,  Disinfection of mail  is very educative. Can't imagine how these rare items are collected.

I alwaysread the articles of Dr Jagtap regularly.The items presented by him in his article 'something of interest also for non philatelists' is superb. I keep wondering what magic you have in your hands to present everything in your/'our' news letter so attractively. .Undoubtedly this is the best of all the newsletters being published ( with many of the others not seen recently at all)., which is available to the readers and who love philately.

Shrikant Parikh, Ahmedabad

The 9/11 issue of Rainbow has added another feather in your cap with highly interesting articles by Mr.Naresh Agarwal, Dr.Satyendra Agrawal ; and, by Mr.Markand Dave showing extremely rare and sough-after mourning covers. Well done !!

RAINBOW STAMP CLUB

This is a blog of e-stamp Club www.rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com . The idea of this blog is to extend philatelic fraternity in all corners of the world. Readers may write about themselves with their collecting interests and share new ideas with other philatelists. Those who are interested may send following details for publication on blog. If they wish they may also send their photo for publication. New Post on recent issues, news on stamp activities and Contribution by members are published every day on this blog.

Name…………………………………………

City/Country………………………………..

E-Mail………………………………………..

Postal Address…………………………….

Collecting Interests……………………….

Brief write up about yourself……………

Readers may also express their views on any philatelic matter which will be published under Club News at Rainbow Stamp Cub Blog. Philatelic Clubs and Societies may also send brief write ups. News about new issues of India and abroad and other information related with Philately are regularly posted on this blog. Readers may send reports on new issues, special covers, cancellations & philatelic activities of their area for inclusion in this Blog. - Editor

Courtesy - News and Image Resource to this issue - Stamps of India, ; International Stamp News ; Hellmail Postal News; Hemant Kulkarni – USA;  Mansoor B.- Mangalore ; Ashwani Dubey – Gorakhpur ; Deepak Modi- Jalna

Address for communication:

Jeevan Jyoti, c / o Mr. Ajay Srivastav, Director, Great Himalayan National Park, Shamshi, Kullu (H.P.) PIN 175126 India

E-mail – j.jyoti9@gmail.com or rainbowstamp2008@gmail.com

Last date for receiving write ups – 25th of every month. Kindly send images in jpg compressed format & text in MS Word only.

If you liked this issue please forward it to your friends and help in promoting philately.

A Request to Readers & Contributors-

Please do not send the text in scan form or PDF. Send your write ups in MS Word only.

Kindly specify your contribution such as article/News/ Reader’s Right / Beginners’ Section/ Lighter Side etc.

Please do not send forwarded messages for promotional section if you want to give any information for promotion please write personally with brief write up. As this newsletter is not used for any commercial purpose in any manner.

Attention -
Please send limited number of images in compressed jpg format only with your article. Please send text and images separately. Please do not send text or image for publication in PDF.

…..Happy Collecting…………………………………………………………………

Rainbow Stamp News is edited and published monthly by Jeevan Jyoti, from Kullu (Himachal Pradesh) India.