150th Anniversary of the International Red Cross
The Monaco post celebrates the 150th anniversary of the International Red Cross by issuing a new stamp. The Red Cross was born at the initiative of one man, Henry Dunant. Founded in 1863, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement is the biggest humanitarian network in the world. Its mission is to alleviate human suffering, to protect life and health, and to ensure human dignity is respected, particularly during armed conflicts and in emergency situations.The stamp features a portrait of Henry Dunant, father of the International Red Cross.
Shimla March 2013 Vol. VI Issue # 63
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, CCF, GHNP & Pin Valley National Park, SHAMSHI, Kullu -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,
National Stamp Show INPEX 2013 was concluded on 25th February at WTC, Mumbai. Philatelists from different parts of the country visited the show and exchanged their views, purchased their favorite items and returned with the sweet memories of the exhibition with a hope to meet again at some other national philatelic show.
The remarkable part of the show was its judging criteria of the Jury. For the first time in history of the exhibitions, very lenient marking was done by the jury and in awarding marks, they were very liberal which eventually brought smile on most of the exhibitors’ faces . But at the same time some deserving participants were unfortunate to get the grace of Jury and their exhibits were awarded medal one or two steps below from the medal they actually deserved. That made them a bit disappointed however such cases were few so definitely they were very unlucky in this show.
Another remarkable part of the show was National Championship Award that went to thematic exhibit “Summer Olympic Games” by Dinesh Chandra Sharma. It was a great judgment by the jury and this opened a new path for thematic collectors to improve their collection and reach at the zenith . Many Congratulations to Mr. Dinesh on his grand success and wish him to get more feathers in his cap at International arena.
The second noticeable part of the show was that the first time a Vermeil medal was awarded to a stamp magazine. This is the highest award ever given to a philatelic journal so far in a National stamp show. Fortunately this magazine is Rainbow Stamp News and to me it was unbelievable as this is an electronic publication and not published in traditional printed form. Thanks to the Jury who found it suitable for this big award and many thanks to my readers and contributors especially to Dr Avinash B. Jagtap, Dr Satyendra Kumar Agarwal and Mr Naresh Agarwal who made it colorful with their regular contribution. Mr Naresh Agrawal has given a new form to the magazine by writing a regular column and taking up the charge of Interview section. My special thanks to Mr Prashant Pandya who always gave me technical guidance in publishing this newsletter in the best possible form with the help of new applications and software. Otherwise it is very difficult to publish such a long magazine in a single Post at a time on Blog. So this achievement is not only mine but a joint effort of all.
Over all the show was very good and successful but during allotment of frames the organizing committee could not manage well as some of the eligible exhibits from Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and some other states could not get entry in this show because their exhibits were not tagged with a list of old awards but had few awards of Private exhibitions held in the last few years. The organizers should have allotted frames without any discrimination. On analyzing the list of exhibits one can clearly find that some participants have got double entry in same or different classes. Many entries were kept on hold at the last moment which made exhibitors puzzled and they prepared their exhibits in a very short time and submitted personally at the venue.
Anyways everyone, everything and every society is never perfect, this is the law of nature and we must accept it…..
Last but not the least, I attended the meeting organized by Jainism Philately Group. It was very nice and attended by large number of philatelists and in this meeting, unity of the members could be seen. We need such type of National Philatelic Federation in India, free of misunderstanding and conflicts.
This issue is late and could not be published on 1st day of the month as usual because I was in Mumbai for INPEX 2013 and returned just 3 days ago and wanted to give complete coverage of the exhibition in this issue .
This is all for this month…More in next issue…..…..Happy Collecting !!
-- Jeevan Jyoti
Contents
· From the Desk of Naresh Agarwal
· Recent Indian Issues
· In The News
· Interview
· Beginners’ Section
· Specialized Section
· New Issues from Other Countries
· Reader’s Right
· The Lighter Side
· Philatelic Clubs and Societies
· Blogs & Websites on Philately
· Literature on Indian Philately
· Editor’s Mail Box
· Promotional Section
· Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters
NOW SUPER GOLD IN THEMATIC
INPEX 2013 was a great success with no doubts what so ever. Leaving aside certain ifs and buts, the show was found managed well and was flavored with exhibits of high order in 800 frames out of which 700 were in competitive section in different classes with more than 50% of the exhibits dedicated to thematic philately. Jury has been found quite justified in its evaluation and exhibitors in general were found satisfied with no complaints. Though there was no formal jury exhibitor interaction but it was found that jury showed all its willingness to discuss the exhibitor on its frame. A very good and appreciable move.
Mrs Damyanti Pittie receiving National Championship award on behalf of Dinesh Chandra Sharma at INPEX 2013
The noticeable and important outcome of this show was the result of National Championship Class which was awarded to Mr. Dinesh Sharma for his exhibit entitled “Summer Olympic Games”, a thematic exhibit. This certainly sent a pleasure wave in my body and mind when the result was declared. Being a thematic exhibitor, I can understand that thematic philately is no longer an ignored class by the jury as in past when it always used to starve for higher awards.
It reminded me about one of my articles published long back in ITS Stamp News Bulletin entitled “Why no Gold in Thematic”. But now I can say proudly “Now Super Gold in Thematic”. It is not the win of a thematic collector but it is an indicator showing where philately is going ? What exactly is the trend now? Thematic philately is being adopted and pursued by most of the new and budding philatelists. The future of philately now lies in thematic as it is easy, has wider scope and dimensions, easy to build, easy to procure material and above all comparatively cheaper and can be built in shorter time span.
This championship award to Mr. Dinesh Sharma clearly declared that thematic philately can earn the highest honor too. Now is the time when there is need to educate, guide and help thematic philatelists. There is need to open Thematic chapters, exhibit evaluation services and also jury training centers and if possible, selection of some dealers to provide material too.
By writing this, I never mean that other branches have lost importance or interest. No, they are and will remain to have that respect but adoptability in future is for sure going to reduce. Well, a good sign and good direction to philately established. Through these lines, I congratulate not only Mr. Dinesh Sharma but whole of the community of thematic philatelists.
- Naresh Agarwal – email : nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in
Recent Indian Issues
· 3 January 2013 - 100 Years of Science Congress of India
· 7 January 2013 - Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh – Rs 5
· 8 January 2013 - 125 years of Uttar Pradesh Legislature – Rs 5
· 8 January Ghadar Movemnet – Rs 5
· 11 January 2013 – Silk Letter Movement – Rs 5
· 12 January 2013 - 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda – 3 x Rs 5 + Rs 20 + sheetlet
· 13 January 2013 - C. Achyutha Menon – Rs 5
· 14 January 2013 - Aditya Vikram Birla – Rs 5
· 22 January 2013 - Shrine Basilica,Vailankanni – Rs 5
· 2 March , 2013 - 3 Para (Special Forces) – Rs 5
Recent Special Covers
India Post, HPO, Allahabad is issuing a set of 6 Special Place Covers on Maha Kumbh, 2013.
14 January Makar Sankranti
27 January Paush Poornima
10 February Mauni Amawasya
15 February Basant Panchami
27 February Magh Poornima
10 March Maha Shivratri
These covers are available with Mr Ambarish Kumar Allahabadi email: moni_kumar20@rediffmail.com Ph :9305478831
In The News
Honour for Rainbow
Rainbow Stamp News and our regular writers and contributors to Rainbow won following awards at INPEX 2013. Congratulations to all !!
Umesh Kakeri, Naresh Agarwal, Jeevan Jyoti, Praful Thakkar,Ilyas patel, Sekhar Chakrabarty, Ashwani Dubey, Abhai Mishra, Ajit Dash
Timir R. Shah, Pradip Jain,Col Jayanta Dutta,Prashant Pandya,Sudhir Jain,Deepak Modi,Markand Dave, Sandip Chaurasia, Dr Anjali Dutta
Rainbow Stamp News – Vermeil
Naresh Agarwal – Large Vermeil
Dr Anjali Dutta – Large Vermeil
Col Jayanta Dutta – Vermeil
Sekhar Chakrabarty – Vermeil
Praful Thakkar – Large vermeil and Silver
Ashwani Dubey – Silver
Ilyas Patel – Large Vermeil + Special Prize
Pradip Jain – Gold & Large Vermeil
Markand Dave – 2 Vermeil
Leeza Padhi – Large Silver
Deepak Modi – Silver
Sandeep Chaurasia – 2 Silver – Bronze
Baroda Philatelic Society – Large Silver & Silver Bronze
Sudhir Jain – Silver
Abhai Mishra – Silver
Ajit Dash – Large Silver
Timir R Shah – Silver
Ajit Dash – Large Silver
Timir R Shah – Silver
Umesh Kakkeri – Large Vermeil + Special Prize
INPEX 2013
INPEX 2013 : NATIONAL PHILATELIC EXHIBITION
– Report by Naresh Agarwal
INPEX2013, a National Level Stamp Exhibition organized by Philatelic Society of India established in 1891 with support of India Post and under patronage of Philatelic Congress of India from 21st to 25th Feb. 2013 at World Trade Centre, Mumbai stamped a deep impression of success. Philatelic Society of India (PSI), while celebrating its 115th anniversary of its formation, organized this show and honored philatelists from all over India by giving opportunity to display their collections/exhibits on as many as 800 frames in different classes, welcoming as many as 90 stamp and numismatic dealers and a huge number of stamp lovers from all over India and abroad to witness the show.
Spread over in two big centrally air condition halls of WTC, the exhibition had been divided in to two sections i.e. one hall for exhibit frames and other for dealers stalls with central space for organizing meetings, functions and administrative activities. Reasonably lighted and having adequate space between the frames, one could easily and comfortably view the exhibits. Both the halls had very good acoustics and so there was nice communication between organizers and the visitors. The best thing about the venue was that it is known place and is also easily accessible.
The show was inaugurated by the Mayor of Mumbai Mr. Sunil Prabhu on 21.02.2013 by lighting the Diyas in presence of august gathering of philatelists from all over India and gave his best wishes for the success of the show. He professed that the youngsters should adopt this hobby which is quite educational and helps in personality development.
During the show a beautiful souvenir was released and also as many as five special covers and four booklets/ souvenir folder were released. The details of release of these philatelic stuffs is as under ;
S.No. Date Item Name Title
1. 21.02.2013 Special Cover The vision of India the country
2. 21.02.2013 Booklet 150th anniversary of swami Vivekananda
3. 22.02.2013 Special Cover Think green for Pollution free nation
4. 22.02.2013 Booklet World Scout Foundation Day
5. 23.02.2013 Special Cover Tribute to father of Nation
6. 23.02.2013 Booklet Tribute to father of Nation
7. 23.02.2013 Special Cover RTE Right to Education
8. 24.02.2013 Booklet 65 years of Independence
9. 25.02.2013 Special Cover A salute to our Armed forces
A special cover was released on 23rd to give tribute to father of nation mahatma Gandhi. For the first time a golden postmark was released also the Gandhi portrait on the cover is done with a special sublimation to give a live effect
Regarding exhibits and awards, the show was dominated by thematic exhibits as more than 50% of the frames pertained to thematic exhibits only. The exhibits were found of high order and were appreciated by one and all. The award list shows not only number and type of awards given but also reflects the quality of exhibits of the show. The brief details of awards is as under
The National Championship Award was given to Mr. Dinesh Chandra Sharma of Lucknow for his exhibit on “Summer Olympic Games”, a thematic exhibit. This changed the trend as thematic exhibit never got such prestigious award in India before this.
In the literature class too, the results were quite satisfactory. Rainbow Stamp News, which is quite popular now, stole the literature section by getting 83 points to procure Vermeil, probably the highest award ever given to a stamp magazine in literature class in India. Rainbow thus stamped its impression on the hearts of the philatelists in general. Mr. Sekhar Chakrabarty’s book “The Indian Flag Unfurled Through Philately” also got Vermeil with 83 points, Stampamania2009 Souvenir got Large Silver, Dr. K. Ramachandran’s book “Indian Postal History – Focus on Tamil Nadu” also got large Silver with 78 points and other entries in this class were also suitably rewarded.
The jury in 10 nos. also did a fast job as the result had been declared on the 3rd day morning to give ample time to the exhibitors, viewers and visitors to view the exhibits in accordance with the award and discuss with each other. That also gave sufficient time to the exhibitor to discuss shortcomings of his exhibit with the jury. Though there was no formal jury – exhibitor interaction but jury helped exhibitor by discussing in front of his exhibit. Jury attitude was very friendly and the judgment level too was quite satisfactory as there was hardly any complain/ dis-satisfaction on the scores given by jury. Jury report was presented by Mr. Rajesh Bagri who appreciated the standard of Exhibits by saying those to be of higher order.
For first time in show in India the organizer prohibited photography of the exhibits. Though a few exhibitors and visitor showed their dis satisfaction upon this decision. But as per the organizers, the same had been done for the security and protection of the exhibits. However, the photography had been allowed on the last day but without the use of camera flash.
The award ceremony was graced by Col. K.C.Mishra V.S.M. CPMG Mumbai and Goa Circle, the chief guest of the function. He awarded medals Large Vermeil and above and also the special prizes offered by various persons and societies. Smt Damyanti Pittie was given life time achievement award for her lifelong services to the philately and also for her individual achievements.
During the show various societies conducted their meetings. Jain Philatelic Group, Philatelic Journalists Forum and most importantly Philatelic Congress of India and various others. Jain Philatelic society discussed mainly how to develop and project Jainism in philately and philatelic exhibits. Philatelic Journalists Forum which is in its formation stage discussed about its aims/scopes/objectives and formed an ad hoc / temporary committee. It discussed that literature class has to be promoted in philatelic exhibitions. PCI regional meeting proved to be very important one as various members spoke about restructuring of working committee by inclusion of new and young faces, working of commissioners, strict rotation of deputation of commissioners, inclusion of new panel of jury, regular issuance of SIGNET, on line blog of PCI to update regularly, to reflect list of members, drive to include new members, and various other matters to promote philately. All India Philatelic Federation declared its formation and invited membership. This federation has its motto to enfold maximum philatelists in India and to work for promotion of philately.
There were two auctions conducted by M/S Todywalla one a Philatelic and the other Numismatic. The auctions were well attended and participated.
All in all the show saw a good gathering of stamp lovers from all over India even abroad and was highly appreciated by most of the visitors. The level of exhibits, the jury decisions, the number of dealers, the release of stamp booklets and special covers and number of special awards etc. will always be remembered by one and all.
While everyone gave his best wishes to Philatelic Society of India, he also thanked Philatelic Society of India who gave Indian philatelists a chance not only to be part of its celebration but an opportunity to meet fellow philatelists, to strengthen the bond of brotherhood, to witness high quality exhibits to learn more and of course to get chances for display of their exhibits in future Internationals.
View : INPEX 2013 : Award List
View : Glimpses of INPEX 2013
PCI Meeting 24 Feb 2013
During INPEX 2013 the long awaited meeting of PCI was held on 24 Feb. It was attended by large number of philatelists. Many important points were raised by the members during the meeting some of them are as follows -
Col Jayanta Dutta raised the point that a subcommittee should be formed for the promotion of Philately in which new comers should be included. There is a need to change in the system to appoint Jury members.
Mrs Savita Jhingan said that younger people should be encouraged to join jury ship and the members should be selected from those who had won higher awards in the last ten years so that new philatelists could also get a chance for jury ship.
Pradip Jain discussed the role of commissioners and reiterated that commissioners do not give report after the exhibition and send award list to the media. Moreover they do not publicize the exhibition properly so that it may reach all the philatelists. Delayed return of exhibits too cause trouble to the exhibitor as gets less time to improve his exhibit and also some time fails to apply for another exhibition.
Mr Sudhir Jain said that PCI should circulate the list of members with their phone numbers and email id so that the communication could be easy. He also emphasized on enrolment of new members.
Mr. Anil Suri insisted that commissioners should do some more efforts not only to see that there is maximum representation from our country but should be ready to serve for that. He also advocated one system of judging either by DOP rules or FIP. He also added that the matter of considering 75 years of philatelic material as antique by ASI should be taken up by PCI with ASI for necessary rectification as per demands of the philatelists.
Prof VK Gupta said that the rules of the judging system set by India Post are different from that of FIP. It should be on the same FIP line.
Mr Raja Ghuman from Akola ( Maharashtra) said that new young philatelists should be given chance to become member of Jury and also commissioners.
Mr Pradip Mohanty from Cuttack said that state Units are not communicated with the activities as since a long time PCI Journal Signet is not being published. He even professed structural changes in the PCI governing body and emphasized inclusion of young and new members.
Mr.C.J.Vincent of Philatelic Club of Trissur emphasized to continue publication of SIGNET and even digital bulletin of PCI.He also added that some cash award to be given to the winners of National or International awards.
MEETING OF FORMATION OF PHILATELIC JOURNALISTS FORUM
The first ever meeting of the veteran, serious and dedicated philatelic writers, journalists and blog operators was held at WTC, Mumbai during INPEX-2013 on 23.02.2013. This big show gave a big opportunity to most of such persons in India to be present in it and to give their views and opinions about its objectives, aims and mode of operation. Following are details of the discussions:
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mrs. Jeevan Jyoti
Mr. Naresh Agrawal
Mr. Prashant Pandya
Mr. Madhukar Jhingan
Mr. Shekhar Chakravarty
Col. Dr. Jayanta Dutta
Mr. Ajit Dash
Mr. Rakesh Walia
Mr. Pradeep Mohanty
Mr. Pratishad Neougaonkar
Mr. Parful Thakkar
Mr. Mainak Kathiyara
Mr. Shakil Ahmed
Prof. V.K.Gupta
Mr. P.G.Bhargave
Dr. Anjali Dutta
Mr. Ilyas Patel
Mr. Deepak Modi
Mr. Rajesh Paharia
Mr. Sahadeva Sahoo
Dr. S.K.Sondhi
Abhai Mishra
AIMS & OBJECTIVES:
- To promote of philatelic writing.
- To encourage philatelic journalism.
- It’s scope being global and not India.
- It should become voice of India (for philatelic operations).
- To take up current and hot issues.
- Setting debate and get comments.
- To help and guide new and upcoming philatelic writers.
- Membership to be restricted to India only.
- To be a collective body to collect information from different sources.
- Existing journalists and writers to be brought in to the fold under the /banner of forum.
- To conduct independent or joint literature exhibitions.
- To see that literature class gets due respect and importance in philatelic exhibitions.
- Elevating the standard of the writers and journalists/forum to be invited for jury-ship in philatelic shows or to give assistance services
- To offer support services to the new writers and journalists.
- To prepare a data base of various philatelic writings to provide reference services to the writers/authors/journalists
16. To develop a digital library
17.To act as a platform for all India Philatelic writers and journalists.
18.Prepare data base of the philatelic writings.
19.News gathering and redistribution
20.To create a recognized body/ to act as observer.
21. To provide reliable and truthful information.
22.To write, project and highlight forgeries, speculations and anything that could harm
philately.
TEMPORARY / AD HOC GOVERNING BODY
After long deliberations following governing body was formed/suggested
President : Shri Sahadeva Sahoo
Vice President : Shri Madan Middha
Hon. Secretary : Shri Prashant Pandya
Joint Secretary : Mrs. Jeevan Jyoti
Treasurer : Shri Rajesh Paharia
Governing Council Members:
Col. Dr. Jayant Dutta
Shri Suraj Jaitly
Mr. Sekhar Chakrabarty
Shri Rakesh Walia
Shri Naresh Agrawal
Members hoped that this forum will act as milestone in philatelic history of India
First IPF Membership Card presented by Prashant Pandya at INPEX 2013 to Shri Sapan Jhaveri who designed the card. Mr Pandya distributed IPF Membership Cards to members, present at INPEX 2013
Indian Philatelists’ Forum, a web based forum on yahoo groups, has come out with an innovative idea of creating online directory of Philatelists. This directory is intended to facilitate networking among philatelists and members of forum.
Online Directory of Philatelists
The Directory of philatelists is divided in to two categories. (i) Philatelists residing in India (ii) Philatelists residing abroad and collecting on any aspect of Indian Philately.
An online directory is available on forum’s website www.indianphilately.net. Indian Philatelists’ Forum respects privacy of its members and that’s why directory information is accessible to registered members only. Username and password has been allotted to each member.
A web based data form is now available on forum’s official website www.indianphilately.net and free registration is open.
International Exhibitions
THAILAND 2013 – World Stamp Exhibition
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. Mr. R D Binani as Commissioner for India, his address :33-B Rowland Road, Kolkata 700 020 E mail : binanipm@gmail.com Mob:9830073058
AUSTRALIA 2013 Melbourne / Australia 10 - 15 May 2013
Mrs Damyanti Pittie is the national commissioner . For details contact : dm_pittie@mtnl.net.in
BRASILIANA-2013
WORLD STAMP EXHIBITION – Brasiliana – 2013 will be held at PIER MAUÁ in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from November 19 to 25, 2013 organized by the Brazilian Federation of Philately (FEBRAF) and Brazilian philatelists under the Patronage of Brazilian Enterprise of Posts and Telegraphs (ECT), in accordance with the F.I.P. General Regulations for Exhibitions.
Mr. Madhukar Jhingan is the new National Commissioner - India for BRAZIL 2013.
The new date for submitting entry form for Brasiliana –2013 is 31st March 2013.
Address for communication
Mr. Madhukar Jhingan
49-D/BG-5 Paschim Vihar , New Delhi 110063
Phone : 0091-9811160965 e mail: mj@stampsofindia.com
Visit : http://brasiliana-2013.blogspot.com.br/
Collector's Guide to First Day Covers & Folders of India
With Set of Stamps, Se-tenant Stamps & Miniature Sheets
Nowadays, in philatelic fraternity, focus on modern Indian philately has gathered grounds. The subject of modern philately is a fascinating section which is capable to delight the collector’s eyes with various sizes, color shades, cancellation marks, legends and creative designs which have a religious, cultural, historical, political and commercial overtone. It has colors, creativity and charisma. It has carved out an important niche in the hearts of new philatelists and collectors. This has happened because in last few years India Post has issued varieties of stamps, se-tenants, Miniature sheets, Sheetlets, Presentation Packs, FDCs and many more philatelic items which attracted the collectors in India and all over the world.
It is also observed that in recent times, a new category for FDC has been incorporated at all the levels of exhibitions. This shows that the charm and charisma of FDCs has been accepted and acknowledged. It is true that this is a modern subject which has huge philatelic potential.
Since 1947, approximately more than 2300 stamps must have been issued along with their respective FDCs and folders. It may be difficult to collect, preserve and present all of them. This Guide is an effort to narrow down the subject to substantial size without losing its collecting pleasure. This Catalogue is a showcase which gives glimpses of FDCs of Set of Stamps, Se-tenant Stamps and Miniature Sheets which form the total of about 450 having equal number of Folders. Thus this theme has a small gamut and it can be managed easily. Here, an effort is made to maximize the number of colored examples to give a creative and colorful dimension to this fascinating philatelic theme. In this Catalogue Valuation of various FDCs and folders is given to give a basic guideline to the collectors.
This book is an attempt to present this subject with all its facets to cater the needs of collectors. Various checklists, illustrations and rare items are displayed in color so as to give an idea as to how the collection will look in totality. Pricing has also been done so that the collector in pursuing his missing items can get a guidance. They need right information, proper way of presentation and required items at a reasonable price. In short, they require a touchstone to measure their efforts and to further improve their collection. This Guide will be able to satisfy all requirements of the collectors in particular and hobby in general.
Mr Mainak Kathiara, President Emeritus, Gujarat Philatelists' Association has rightly observed in his Welcome Message that " Perhaps once in a generation a book like 'Collector's Guide to First Day Covers & Folders of India with Set of Stamps, Se-tenant Stamps & Miniature Sheets' comes along. I would say it is a more than a book/catalogue, there is a living energy in it, one you would probably feel as you hold it & flip through the chapters. It has the power to create an experience in readers, and change their collections for the better.......
This is a first publication of its kind with pricing on FDCs & Folders with Set of Stamps, Se-tenants, Miniature Sheets and many more collectibles........I would like to tell the collectors that this is the 'future book' in Indian philately with the involvement of large number of philatelists........
If I were to sum up, the essence of the book 'Collector's Guide to First Day Covers & Folders of India with Set of Stamps, Se-tenant Stamps & Miniature Sheets' in one phrase, it would be 'Present Moment Awareness'. "
The book is available from Praful Thakkar, Ahmedabad. Email - pkthakkar@yahoo.com
MEETING OF JAINISM PHILATELY GROUP
- Sudhir Jain
Jainism Philately Group (JPG) organised a meeting of it's members on 23rd Feb. 2013 at INPEX 2013 venue at Mumbai. It was grand success and attended by 96 members from different States of the country.
Organising Committee of INPEX had included this meeting in their official schedule and hence provided their function hall as well as decorated stage for the same. We had displayed an additional banner of Jainism Philately group with the images of many Jainism stamps on the background. Mr. Deepak Modi, JPG General Secretary invited Mr. Dhirubhai Mehta (President INPEX Organising Committee and President Philatelic Society of India), Mr. Dilip Shah (President P.C.I.), Mrs. Damayanti Pittie ( Secretary P.S.I.) and Mr. Jatan Mal Dhor (Member Philatelic Advisory Committee) on the dais. We are proud that all these top Philatelists of India are Jain and associated with JPG. Mr. Pradip Jain (Patron JPG), Mr. Sudhir Jain (National Chairman JPG) and Mrs. Meena Mutha (Coordinator of this meeting) were also called on the stage.
Meeting started at 12.30 noon by Navakar Mantra by Mrs. Geetaben Bavisi of Akola. Mr. Sudhir Jain, Mr. Deepak Modi, Mr. Vikas Jain, Mrs. Pratibha Gandhi presented flowers to the dignitaries on the dais. All the members given their self introduction. Mr. Sudhir Jain briefly presented report of JPG. He said that at the time of inauguration at New Delhi on 15th Feb. 2011, we were 50 and now we are more then 200. JPG members are very actively promoting Jainism Philately. Many members prepared exhibits on Jainism and allied themes and also won medals in various exhibitions. He had also acknowledged achievements of JPG members in organising Jainism exhibitions, issuing spl. covers etc.
Apart from the blessings and suggestions from the dignitaries on the dais, Mr. Atul Jain (Bilaspur), Mr. Hemant Bafna (Pune), Mr. Pradip Jain (Patna), Mr. Suresh Jain (Ludhiana), Mr. Prashant Pandya (Baroda), Mr. Rajesh Paharia (Jaipur), Mr. M. K. Krishnayya (Udupi) etc. also gave good suggestions. Some important decisions taken were as under -
1. Approved formation of Pune Chapter of Jainism Philately Group
2. JPG members will try to get new Jainism Philatelic items of their area for all the other interested members
3. State Representatives for unrepresented States will be nominated by self willingness
4. More Booklets should be planned to issue on Jainism
5. Addition of old Cinderella items on Jainism should be encouraged
Mr. Vikas Jain (Ajmer) given vote of thanks. Meeting was concluded by one minute silence on the sad demise of JPG member Mr. Nanjibhai Janjani (Bhuj).
Interview
This bulletin being INPEX 2013 Special and looking in to the fact that almost all the senior, dedicated and veteran philatelists of India were present, we have opted to have general interview of some of the visitors of INPEX 2013 instead of interview of an individual as in routine. Mr. Naresh Agrawal interviewed some of them either in person or over phone or through mail asking for their opinion and observations regarding this event. - Editor
For me INPEX – 2013 brought my dream come true when I came to know that my exhibit titled “ SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES” has been awarded the Championship trophy. Indeed it is once in a life time achievement. It was a great moment when my friend Sandeep Chaurasia (who regards me as his Philatelic Guru) made it possible for me to listen to the announcement of my name for the Championship trophy on Mobile Phone as I was not present there. Just after the hearing this I received the phone from two magnificent friends Jeevan Jyoti and Naresh Agarwal congratulating me.
The exhibition was well organized and the bourse section was of high standard. Unfortunately the exhibit section was almost empty during my first two days visit. In 1997 I attended all the days of exhibition and the number of people admiring the philatelic frames was much higher than this time.It seems that people/philatelists seem to be more interested in buying and selling stamps and philatelic material.
Since there was no list of exhibitors available, I found it difficult to reach to the desired exhibit during my short stay. Even a list of exhibits at the entrance could have served the purpose. The standard of exhibits was high and thematic section also had some very good exhibits. I am particularly happy to see my friend Ilyas Patel winning a Large Vermeil with Special Prize. After INPEX – 2008, he was so upset and disheartened that he decided to quit exhibiting. I only suggested him that with certain changes and inclusion of material of time would definitely help him to improve. And he did so.
If you look for shortcomings, there always would be some. But I would only appreciate the efforts of Mr. Dhirubhai Mehta and Mrs. Damyanti Pittie who even after crossing the age of 80 looked quite young as they worked tirelessly to make the exhibition successful. Anyways such events should take place regularly as they give the philatelists a chance to meet and interact
INPEX - 2013, was good one, well organised with very high quality of exhibits specifically the exhibits in thematic category. Compared to INPEX - 2008, this time judging is much better with very little confrontation and unpleasant scenes.
For me INPEX2013 was a very good show it was well organized and one could see a total hard work done by a team of young and Young-old and dedicated persons/members of PSI. Nice and spacious venue, Quality exhibits displayed on 800 frames, 90 plus stamp and numismatic dealers, quality judgment of the exhibits, 9 Golds, 18 large Vermeils, and many other awards, Five special covers and 4 booklets, a big space for sitting, meeting and chatting, nice cafeteria, visitor comprised of almost every dedicated and renowned philatelist, strict security concern, beautiful souvenir ; all made this show a wonderful and unforgettable. Leaving aside some shortcomings, the show undoubtedly left a positive impression on mind of every one who visited.
Visitors were found more interested in buying material rather than to spend time on the exhibits and learn more about exhibiting as jury had given its decision by the start of third day to help visitor to view the exhibit according to the award given. Jury was not only quick in declaring results but the results were found quite satisfactory too. Here one thing I would suggest viewers to learn the art/method of visiting/viewing an exhibition to best utilize the time and money one has. PSI deserves all appreciation and congratulation for the great success of this show.
The show was good specially the quality of material & standard of exhibits are improved. The range of exhibits was really very good from Thematic to Classic India and also very good One frames, It was also good to see all the dealers around the country from various places which enable the collectors to satisfy their appropriate need. I must congratulate the INPEX organizers for this great success and specially to arrange the nice frames for valuable collections.
The only thing which I didn't like was No Advertisement outside the Venue.
INPEX 2013 is an unforgettable event for me. PSI has done marvelous job. This exhibition saw far better exhibits than the previous one in Chennai . Issuance of Special covers and booklets added grace to the show. Hats off the Sri Dhirubhai Mehta and Mrs Damyanti Pittie that at this age they worked so hard with their team. The major things which were not that impressive were : Almost no visitor on the exhibits, almost no local visitor, most of the dealers served Indian material, and no advertisement of the show. Jury acted very well. Results too have been quite satisfactory. All in all, a reasonably good show.
I want firstly to congratulate the organizers PSI who worked very very hard for last 5-6 months to make this event happen and to become a great success. Mr. Dhirubhai had contacted me asking for support from department of post and I did whatever I could. I was willing to see some stamps issued during the show but could not succeed. It was wonderful to see 800 frames on display, 5 special covers and four booklets ,all beautifully designed and printed and all on different but important themes. PSI has certainly worked in a big way for promotion of philately in India.
While saying so I must like to add that there were certain things which could have been taken care off such as :
a) Some of the frames which were empty should have been allotted to some other deserving philatelists.
b) No publicity of the show outside the WTC exhibition hall. No poster ,no banner, no advertisement. Hence, no local crowd could be seen.
c) There were separate entrance and exit gates which should have been same.
d) Hospitality lagged somewhere.
e) Rs. 10000/- charges for conducting meeting at the stage was not welcomed by some group of philatelists
INPEX2013 was undoubtedly a marvelous show with as many as 800 frames on display containing some very good quality exhibits.(0 plus dealers provided material for every one and above all 5 special covers and four booklets issued during the show added grace to the show.
But there are certain areas which lacked appropriate management such as
a) Improper delivery of Special covers and Booklets
b) Lack of total publicity caused very low local people to visit the show.
c) A few exhibits were found below standard. the reason of which is best known to organizers. Criteria of selection of exhibits is not clear.
d) No school children.. hence, no promotion of philately
e) No visitor on the frames as most of the people were on dealers’ stall only
Otherwise show was good. Congrats to PSI
INPEX 2013 was a great show. We all enjoyed visiting that. No doubt organizers have worked very hard for making it a success. It clearly showed a team work comprising of young and old people. Good high quality exhibits, nice awards, and issuance of many covers and booklets were the highlights. Jury too deserve full appreciation as it not only declared results on the morning of third day but was found keen to interact with exhibitor on frame. Lack of advertisement is the one shortcoming for me. Otherwise show was excellent.
This show was undoubtedly a great show with high quality exhibits on display and visitor from all over India. The dealers served every philatelist with one thing or the other of his need. The halls were good. But disappointing thing was less attendance and interest of the visitor on exhibits. Jury was fair enough in its decisions. Lack of publicity too caused less local visitors. However,my heartiest congratulation to PSI as they have shown exemplary zeal and zest to make this show successful. This show has certainly helped promotion of philately in a big way.
Organizing a National Philatelic Exhibition by any society is in itself a remarkable achievement. Every event is associated with drawbacks and achievements. INPEX-2013 has sufficient visitors, though most of them were old timer philatelist. The venue has to be in place similar to Pragati Maidan, New Delhi where people throng to see the things. The probability of catching the non-philatelist in the net is very high in such places. By catching non-philatelist and casual visitor will only help in growing the hobby. There were ample dealer stalls and we had a good time in hunting for materials. The frames were reasonable mounted though the space was a bit cramped. The exhibition hall was as usual empty with as compared dealer’s hall. This always worries me. Regarding judging, I do not want to comment anything as my own exhibit was there and I may sound prejudiced as I was not happy with the evaluation. I just want to bring one point that in judging the thematic, the evaluators need to be more educated about the topics. Overall I liked the exhibition as it provided platform for meeting the old buddies. Anything and everything done to promote philately, however miniscule in nature is success.
No doubt this event has ended with grand success, small loop hole is inevitable. This could have been more attractive and effective if the following things could have been done.
1. The web site has been poorly managed. No up to date information was available in it. Till now neither the medal tally nor any information has been uploaded in the site and still it is showing 'details of this page coming soon....'. When we are moving towards 21st century with fast speed, this is a poor state of affair.
2. Philatelists were in dark about the acceptance of the exhibit. All the philatelists whose exhibits were accepted have not received either any mail or any correspondence till fag end .Action was taken due to personal contact over phone only.
3.The evaluations to some exhibits which has received higher medal (vermeil and above) were not done properly which were not following FIP norms and guide lines. This needs more discussions and analysis.
4. The evaluation by the jury members should not be done when the visitors and philatelists are present in the hall as was done during this exhibition.
5. The last day dismounting was very nice and done in a disciplined manner for which hats off to the organizers.
6. The dealer's booth was nicely staged and has attracted me to be the best thing of the exhibition.
7. There should have been provision of free drinking water for the visitors. The only cooler was present near the toilet, which was not proper.
8 There were serious errors in the final result list, by showing improper medals against the marks to some exhibits. Some of them were corrected and hopefully some are still there (I am not mentioning the names). You may check your marks and medal. Are they correct?
9 The exhibition space was not sufficient for the free movement of philatelists and visitors. Off course in the city like Mumbai it is difficult to get suitable space.
10. The medals should have been awarded in hard case and there should have been variations in size between large and normal medals.
11. The names of the awardees in certificates should have been printed through computer. It has been written in hand which was not uniform especially in a National event.
All these comments are my personal experience and do not intend to hurt anybody. Hope my observations can help for improvement in future exhibitions.
My hats off to the Philatelic Society of India and the Todywalla Firm for pulling off a very successful and energetic philatelic event in the heart of Mumbai. The event was very well attended by philatelists from all over India. I got to meet several new people in this trade. It was nice to see that India Post partnered up and provided frames for the exhibits. BTW - these are the finest frames I have come across on an international level. There was a wonderful array of exhibits and I was lucky to spend several hours going thru some very exciting displays.
One of the things that stood out to me, at Inpex, was the emphasis on British India postal stationery both at the collector & dealer level. The asking price for better postal stationery items were quite high (and in many cases well over the catalog values) - I had to pay, a prominent dealer, Rs.50,000 for an item of postal stationery for my collection. I also noticed that postal stationery lots fetched very handsome prices at the Todywalla auction. I saw three fantastic exhibits on postal stationery including one put up by my friend Pratisad Neurgoankar, author of "Postal Stationery of British India 1856 - 1947".
Something else that caught my attention was the lack of stock of items other than Modern India sheets at dealer booths - which was very discouraging from a philatelic standpoint especially because I see these things as purely speculative items with no future as collectibles.
In my opinion, the event overall was a tremendous success and I hope that PSI & the Todywallas will consider making Inpex an annual event.
Interview : Naresh Agarwal
Beginners’ Section
How Swiss Made Their Wood Stamp?
- K.Ramarathnam
The Swiss Innovation of a stamp made of indigenous wood is a continuation of Swiss Post’s successful series of innovations. The sustainable and versatile raw material was constantly in the forefront in developing and designing the stamp, as a tangible pointer not only to the uniqueness of the stamp, but also to Swiss Post’s pioneering spirit. On the 7th of November 2004, beside a sheet dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the "Sitting Helvetia" stamps, the Swiss Post issued a stamp by using a less usual material, the wood. This stamp continued the effort of the Swiss Post in the diversification of materials used for stamp fabrication, like the earlier world's first embroidery stamp or the chocolate stamp.
The top-quality Norway spruce timber is used to make the stamp shown above. The wood for all the wooden stamps comes from seven trees in Seon and seven in Staufen. The trees for the veneer all had a diameter of 70 to 80 cm and were about 120 years old.
The production of these stamps have been challenging to Swiss Post as can be seen from the visual presentation below.
1. The wood is specially selected by experts and delivered in debarked half-trunks.
2. Depending on the type of wood, the half-trunks are steamed or boiled in hot water.
3. The wood is then prepared for the slicing machine.
4. The tree trunks, which can weigh up to 2.5 tons, are positioned for slicing..
5. The slicing machine is set to the required thickness of 0.7 mm and cuts the trunk into thin sheets of veneer.
6. The damp pliable sheets of veneer are checked and stacked ready for the next stage.
7. The veneers are smoothed and dried in the press dryer(residual moisture 8 to 12 per cent).
8. This is followed by trimming on the cutting machine, after which the cuttings are processed
Into chips..
9. The individual sheets of veneer are counted and tied at the ends. On the way to the terminal…
10. …the electronic system measures their length and width and prints the surface area and other details on a label.
11. This means that each packet of veneer can be traced back to origin.
12. At the printer’s, the self-adhesive foil is applied to each sheet of veneer.
13. The sheets of veneer are cut into two small, ready-to-print strips, measuring 1452 cm, and cleaned.
14. The coating blade of the screen printing machine spreads the white ink through the nylon screen onto the veneer.
.15. After the printing machine, the printed sheet of veneer passes through the ultraviolet drier and is ready for punching.
16.The printed sheets of veneer are placed in the punching machine one by one and the stamp40 30mm is punched out.
17. The punched stamps are pushed out manually, checked, counted and delivered ready-packed.
It is not the production of stamp that posed challenges. The adhesive used and Cancellation was also equally tricky.
Stamp adhesive: For technical reasons, it was not possible to use the same adhesive foil on the back of the wooden stamp as was used for the embroidery stamp. As a result, once the stamp is affixed to the envelope, it can no longer be removed. Soaking it off is neither feasible nor expedient. What is more, because the stamp is made of real wood, humidity or mechanical stresses and strains can destroy it (causing it to split, break or change colour).
Cancellation: Because the wooden stamp is 0.7 mm thick, philatelic cancellations (date stamps) applied in post offices are problematic and, if at all possible, can only be applied on the stamp itself (contact pressure from the cancellation stamp, cancellation ink, uneven surface making for poor colour absorption, etc.).For this reason, only the Cancellation Service at the Swiss Post Stamps and Philately Unit in Berne applied cancellations with a machine custom-designed for the wooden stamp that uses special stamping ink.
The information above has been sourced from Swiss Post’s publication Focus On Stamps.
Specialized Section
Some remarkable Cancellations and Postmarks - 6
A Rare Renouf Type 9a Duplex Cancellation “WORKING PARTY=313”
This Branch Office was opened in January 1870 to service working parties of soldiers involved in road building and construction between Murree and Abbottabad Head Office in North India. D.R.Martin in his book “NUMBERS IN EARLY CANCELLATIONS 1855-1884” writes: Working Party (Rawul Pindee) 1870-71: British Troops in hot weather on hill road Murree to Abbottabad”. According to Martin it is cancellation N0. 9III. This is the only Renouf type 9a cancellation which was issued for the site of working and not for an already established town or city.
Late Mr. Ernest Oeheme of India Study Circle wrote in INDIA POST (N0.80, April-June 1984): “The account was placed with TRET Sub Office which was subordinate to Abbottabad Head Office. The Office was opened at a cost of Rs. 40 per month. The sanction for this amount was given under the financial Department Order N0. 3778 dated 11th October 1870.
For 6 ½ months in Summer: One Deputy Postmaster on Rs. 25/month, One Peon (to deliver and collect letters on Rs. 7/month and stationery allowance: Rs. 2/month
For 5 ½ months in Winter: The same above, with addition of extra Peon was employed due to work load at Rs.6/month Totally Rs. 40 were spent per month.
Mr. Max Smith (Postal History Expert of India Study Circle) writes in his letter to me:
“According to the Indian Postal Guides of 1870-1874, Trete (which was changed to Tret under the Hunterian revisions in 1877-78) was a place on 40-mile “Rawul Pindee to Murree branch line” of the Punjab Military Horse Van Dak, open in summer and served by Hill Carts. Tret was 25 miles from Rawul Pindee and had a Dak Bungalow and a Post Office, subordinate to Murree Head Office.
Looking at today’s maps, Murree is 40 miles north of Islamabad (Rawalpindi) and Abbottabad is about 50 miles NNW of Murree. There is a similar, very hilly road from Abbottabad to Murree, although there is nowhere the name of Tret on either of the two roads.
Opening and maintaining these roads will have been a difficult job for the Sappers and Miners, so there will have been many troops working on both of them for several years. But I would have thought that any temporary offices provided for them would have been subordinate to Murree Head Office. And I can see no reason why Tret should ever be subordinate to Abbottabad. It would not make sense unless Murree itself were also subordinate to Abbottbad and clearly that was not the case in the 1870s. Beyond this, I think any other conclusions would be a guesswork!”
Although it is stated that this Post Office was in function for about two years, it is surprising that there are said to be less than 5 covers with this cancellation which have survived into this day and therefore should be considered to be one of the rarest cancellations of British India.
- Dr. Avinash Jagtap - email : abjagtap@hotmail.com
BRITISH INDIA BAZAAR CARDS
- Naresh Agarwal
( A PERIODIC PHILATELIC REVOLUTION AND MIRROR OF SOCIAL HISTORY )
Stamps are considered as mirror of art, culture, history, religion, mythology and other aspects of any country or society but it is not only stamps but other postal material and stationery also share their part for the same purpose. Various philatelic materials depict and project various such aspects through the quotes, slogan, text or pictorial advertisements, vignettes printed on them and also through cancellations, postmarks, labels and private text and sketches drawn / written on them.
Postcards are popular because of the wide range of subjects, with just about every subject imaginable being at some time has been portrayed on a postcard. History itself can be tracked on postcards, be it historical buildings, famous people, art, culture, streets, bazaars, economical development, social atmosphere etc.
POST CARDS AND POSTAL CARDS :
Normally, the term “Postal Card” referred to cards that were printed and sold by a governmental body with postage paid indicia preprinted on them. The term “Postcard” referred to cards which were privately produced with postage prepaid and were not sold by govt. body. However, today the cards issued by govt. bodies are also called Post Cards.
BRITISH INDIA KGVII 3P IILLUSTRATED 1903 BRITISH INDIA ILLUSTRAED POSTAL CARD WITH
BAZAAR POST CARD 1905 PREPRINTED POSTAGE PREPAID INDICIA
The practice of having picture on either side of the post card was first started in London in 1840 when the maker of card wrote the postcard to himself only followed by first regularly produced, privately made /non-postal postcard, where postage had to be affixed was introduced in Austria in 1869.However, in U.S., the private card known as Lipman card adorned with a small border and labeled "Lipman's Postal Card was first produced in the Philadelphia in 1861 which was in market until 1873 when the first U.S. Government Postcards appeared.
HISTORY OF INDIAN POSTAL CARD IN BRITISH INDIA :
In July 1879, the Post Office of India introduced a 1/4 Aana postcard that provided postage from one place to another within British India. This was the cheapest form of post provided to the Indian people to date and proved a huge success.
1894 : EAST INDIA POSTAL CARD 1905 : INDIA POSTAL CARD
The establishment of a large postal system spanning India resulted in unprecedented postal access where a message on a postcard could be sent from one part of the country to another part (often to a physical address without a nearby post office) without additional postage affixed. This was followed in April 1880 by postcards meant specifically for government use and by reply post cards in 1890.The postcard facility still continues to this date in Independent India.
The British occupation of India lasted just under two hundred years, and by the beginning of the last century, life there was being recorded on postcards (known as picture postcards) to be sent by the thousand back home to England. Families stationed in the subcontinent sent home amazing images of India showing its art, culture, architect, defense, social and economic conditions or of cities such as Calcutta or Delhi or Madras or Mumbai imaging the ‘daily life’ of ethnic Indians along with pictures of famous landmarks, scenic views, photographs or drawings of celebrities and so on. These cards had mainly one full side with image ( photographic or painted or sketched ) printed in multi color or light printing with single color.
BRITISH INDIA BAZAAR POSTCARDS :.
British India period around the start of 20th century spanning mainly from the year 1900 to 1930, saw a great revolution in changing trends of postal cards which were in immense use during that period. When there was great impact of British rule and culture and on the other hand it was India and Indian culture which was struggling to survive. Such post cards gave new direction to postal culture and gave new dimensions to the utility of this mode of postal communication. Apart from those which had pre paid printed stamps issued by postal administration, that period saw a new culture of substantial use of private printed pictorial postal cards. Such post cards were developed mainly by the merchants, businessman and traders of major cities of all over India who advertised their products or business through text or pictorial matters printed on the either side of the post cards or postal covers which used adhesive postal stamps ( 3Pies/4pies Edward VII and George V period ) affixed on them for payment of postage. This period is also known as classic post card because of the image printed on it.
1904 & 1905 : BRITISH INDIA BAZAAR CARDS
1905 & 1906 : BRITISH BAZAAR CARD
Such post cards and covers of this era were in fact illustrated advertising postcards and envelopes from various merchants in larger cities (Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Poona City etc.) promoting their products. These private printed post cards mainly showed printing of various pictures/ glimpse of various products being introduced in the market and glimpse of various fascinating selection of patriotic, religious and socially relevant themes showing places, women in different postures and moods, various phases of human life, mythology based pictures of various religions, patriots, celebrities, rulers and warriors, and many other which were either printed by individual merchants / traders giving specific quotes and pictures or were also available in market with some standard pictorial printing done on either side of the cards. Such private printed post cards which were also on common sale in the market for usage even by non- merchants. Because those cards were mainly used by the merchants of bazaars of India for their business transactions and communication; for promotion of their goods and products to customers and suppliers; the cards were known as Bazaar Cards.
NOMENCLATURE :
The Bazaar cards as nothing but private pictorial printed post cards printed by individual concerns with their product advertisement in text or picture or were available in open market on public sale. In practice ,these cards were mainly used by merchants, traders and businessmen usually for their business and trade purposes such a daily prices exchange and other information sharing; these were initially termed as Bazaar Bhaw cards, Advertising Cards, Merchant cards and Business Cards. At some places at some times these were also called Aditya Cards, Swadeshi Cards, Printer’s Cards, Message Cards, Regular Cards, Market Cards Bazaar Propaganda post Card etc. etc.. But later only in 1987/88 the terms Bazaar Card was coined by one philatelist Mr. Dipesh SEN of Deccan Philatelic Club, Pune which was widely accepted by philatelists and collectors. Hence, the name Bazaar Cards came in to practice.
A PHILATEIC STUDY :
POSTAGE /POSTAL CHARGES :
As these were private printed post cards, the postage had to be paid as per then prevailing postal rates by way of affixing postal stamps. During the period when these cards were in maximum usage that is 1900 to 1930, the postal rates were same as that for postal cards i.e. ¼ anna or 3Pies or 4 pies. One can find stamps of . Edward VII and George V and also Queen Victoria. There was no extra charge for such private printed post cards. Such postal charges prevailed all over India as these cards were used all around in India.
1906 : Postage Stamp Overprinted ¼ anna 1907: Indore state ¼ anna postage stamp
1904 AND 1906 BAZAAR CARDS SHOWS POSTSAGE AS 3 PIES
CANCELLATIONS AND POST MARKS :
Though postal cancellations were being put as usual as on other mails mainly CDs but in some states, as they used their own stamps they had their own cancellations too like Gwalior sate had Cobra snake typical cancellation. Various different postmarks were also used during that period.
1. CDS,SQUARE (DLO) & RECTENGULAR (REFUSED).CANCELLATIONS / POST MARLKS OF 1905
2. 1905 : TWIN COBRA- SNAKE CANCELLATION GWALIOR OVERPRINT
1906 : FRANKED WITH STATE POSTAGE STAMPS 1905 : CROWNED CDS CANCELLATION
DIFFERENT CANCELLATIONS AND POSTMARKS SHOWN BY THE ABOVE BAZAAR CARDS
Stamps :
Some states used their own postage stamps like Indore state, Hyderabad and many other during the transitional period. But mainly King Edward VII 3 pies stamps were used. However, Queen Victoria 3 pies stamps were also in use.
1. 3 Pies KEVII STAMP AFFIXED ON 1905 BAZAAR OVERPRINTED GWALIOR
2. 3Pies KEVII STAMP AFFIXED ON 1904 BAZAAR OVERPRINTED ¼ ANNA
1905 : BRITISH INDIA BAZAAR CARDS SHOWS KING GEORGE VII 3 PIES STAMPS USED AS POSTAGE
To be contd…..
1854 ONE ANNA DIE II CONSTANT VARIETY
By Markand Dave
Even after about 160 years since the first lithograph stamps were issued all over India, from time to time variety and errors are reported by the serious philatelists. Author would like to report a constant variety on 1854 one Anna Die II stamp.
The variety is “ONL ANNA” For “ONE ANNA” One of them is shown on a cover from Calcutta, cancelled B/1, Martin type 7. Another example is cancelled C/111 for Pondicherry, Martin type 6 Bottom and left frame lines are showing weak in all cases.
A few more examples are reproduced along with the text, thus arriving at a conclusion that this is a constant variety The position on a sheet is not known and, how many sheets carried this error is also not known and I hope that my philatelic friends will take this opportunity of further study
Revenue Stamps & Stamped Papers
Receipts
Revenue stamps (sometimes also known as ‘fiscal’ stamps) were/are issued by various countries, counties, cities & municipalities to pay for various taxes and fees. Putting a revenue stamp on an article, receipt or document indicated that the appropriate fees had been paid (or in some cases to indicate that the item was tax or duty free).
Many people that collect postage stamps also collect revenue stamps. While many revenue stamps look like postage stamps, they are a totally separate category and generally have nothing to do with postage stamps as such (except in some countries, mostly British colonies, where stamps did double-duty and they are marked ‘Postage & Revenue’).
A revenue stamp is used to collect taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, and many other items. A revenue or tax stamp or fiscal stamp is usually an adhesive label. Usually business establishments purchase these stamps from the government and attach them to taxed items as part of putting the items on sale; or for documents, as part of completing the form. Revenue stamps look like postage stamps and in some countries and at different times it has been possible to use postage stamps for revenue purposes.
The use of revenue stamps goes back earlier than that of postage stamps which were first used in 1840. The stamps used to implement the Stamp Acts of the 18th century were revenues. Their use became widespread in the 19th century, partly due to the success of the postage stamp and partly for streamlining government procedures. A revenue stamp present on a document or item indicated that the necessary fees for the item had already been paid. Revenue stamps are less frequently seen in the 21st century, as the rise of computerization has provided the ability to use numbers to track payments accurately.
There are a great many kinds of revenue stamps in the world issued by both national and local entities, and it is likely that many are still not recorded, especially of the Indian Princely States.
While revenue stamps sometimes look like postage stamps, they are intended for use on documents and taxed items like match boxes, cinema tickets, playing cards, etc., and are usually ‘cancelled’ by different methods. Some countries such as Great Britain have issued stamps valid for both postage and revenue, but this practice is now rare. Many different methods have been used to cancel revenue stamps, including pen or pencil marks, punching holes, perforation, inked hand stamps, embossing or simply tearing.
From around 1900, United States revenue stamps had to be mutilated by cutting, after being affixed to documents in addition to being cancelled in ink, and special ‘stamp mutilators’ became a part of office equipment.
Revenue stamps were once widely collected by philatelists and given the same status as postage stamps in stamp catalogs and at exhibitions. After World War I, however, they declined in popularity, may be because they were excluded from catalogues, as the number of postage stamps issued rose rapidly and the revenue stamps got crowded out. The nadir of revenue philately was during the middle years of the twentieth century. A Stanley Gibbons children's stamp album from the 1950s even warned in its introduction: ‘Since Philately is the collecting of stamps that are employed in connection with the Posts, do not put in your album fiscals, telegraph stamps, tobacco-tax labels and other such strange things as are often found in some collections.’ This definition of philately would not be recognised today. More recently, revenue philately has become popular again and now has its own FIP (Fédération Internationale de Philatélie) Commission and is an approved category in FIP endorsed stamp exhibitions.
Many catalogues have been issued by specialist publishers and dealers but it is true that revenue stamps are still not listed in some of the most popular catalogues, for instance the Stanley Gibbons and Michel catalogues, unless they are both revenue and postage stamps. However, both the standard Scott and the Scott Specialised United States catalogue feature US revenue stamps.
Some Types of Revenue Stamps According to the Duty Paid:
Court Fees
One of the earliest uses of revenue stamps was to pay Court Fees. Fiscal stamps were used in the Indian feudal states as early as 1797, almost 50 years before the first postal stamp, the Penny Black, appeared in 1840. Although India is only one of several countries that have used tax stamps on legal documents, it was one of the most prolific users. The process has its disadvantages due to the prevalence of forgeries, which costs the issuing government loss of revenue. Fig-1 shows a 1 anna Akalkot Court Fee stamp, mint. Mint stamps from Indian Princely states are rare.
Fig-1
Documents
The tax on documents, also commonly known as ‘stamp duty’, is one of the oldest uses of revenue stamps. Governments would enforce the payment of the tax by making unstamped documents not enforceable in court. The tax would apply to contracts, tenancy agreements, wills, etc. They could be in the form of stamp papers, embossed stamps, or adhesive stamps. Fig-2 shows an embossed revenue stamp on a cheque from the Princely State of Gwalior.
Fig-2
Receipt stamps are revenue stamps which were used as acknowledgement of various payments. Fig-3 depicts1861 British India receipt stamp surcharged HALF ANNA on 1 anna, Fig-4 Proofs of Alwar KM Type 31 imperforate & Dewas Junior state revenue stamp and Fig-5 St. shows Vincent bisected 3d revenue stamp
Fig-3
Fig-4
Fig-5
Tobacco and Alcohol
Tobacco and alcohol are taxed in many countries by the use of excise stamps. For instance, the producer may buy stamps from the government which are then affixed to each bottle of alcohol or packet of cigarettes, to show that tax has been paid. Often the stamp will be fixed across a seal so that on opening the pack or bottle the stamp is destroyed. Fig-6&7 show cigarette and wine tax stamps from U.S.A.
Fig-6 & Fig-7
Sales Tax
Some articles that required sales tax to be paid had a pre-paid tax stamp affixed to them. Fig-8 shows a sales-tax stamp of value 9 cents from the state of Ohio, USA.
Fig-8
Entertainment Fee
Entertainment fees were levied on various forms of entertainment by affixing stamps on the tickets. Fig-9 shows ½ anna entertainment tax stamp of Pudukkottai State.
Fig-9
To be contd….
: Col Jayanta Dutta - email : doctorjayanta2009@gmail.com
New Issues from other countries
The 150th Anniversary of the International Committee of the Red Cross stamps from Hong Kong
To mark the 150th anniversary of the ICRC, Hongkong Post issues a set of commemorative stamps portraying in vibrant colors and simple designs the four pillars of ICRC action, namely, protection, assistance, prevention and cooperation, to commend the ICRC for its humanitarian contributions.
Established in 1863, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance. The ICRC also endeavors to prevent suffering by promoting humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles. The ICRC is at the origin of the Geneva Conventions and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, assisting countries all over the world to implement the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which protect wounded and sick members of the armed forces, prisoners of war and civilians in times of armed conflict.
Laser Industry stamp from Lithuania
Lithuania Post released a new postage stamp from the series "Science Achievements". The stamp is dedicated to the laser industry. The stamp designed by the artist Evelina Paukstyte features laser waves.
A laser is a device that emits coherent light (identical wave length, phase, and polarization). Usually lasers emit parallel beams of monochromatic light (one wavelength). Lasers are used in a variety of applications: science, medicine, industry, home, entertainment, and for military purposes.
In 1974, the barcode scanner was introduced. This was one of the first applications of the laser in daily life. Scientific investigations conducted at Vilnius University and the Institute of Physics gave stimulus for the establishment of companies working in the area of laser technologies. Graduates of these education and science institutions wished to put their knowledge into practice. As a result, the companies established in the years 1985-1995 (still functioning) naturally took over scientific investigations. The demand for lasers has increased when the need to speed up production processes and improve efficiency has arisen. Lithuanian laser companies receive the largest part of income from lasers produced for scientific investigations.
Wedding 2013 stamp from Ireland
On February 14, 2013, An Post issued its latest and ever-popular Wedding stamp. The word "wedding" comes from the root meaning to "gamble" or "wager". The Anglo-Saxon word "wedd" meant that the groom would vow to marry the woman, but it also meant the sum of money, or barter, that the groom paid to the bride's father for her hand in marriage. Even today, where no money changes hands, it is still customary for the father of the bride to "give away" his daughter on the wedding day.
The phrase "Tie the knot" which is often used to describe the wedding ceremony or to refer to couples that are getting married, also has historical meaning. It originates from Roman times, when the bride wore a girdle that was tied into knots, which the groom had the fun of untying.
The stamp, which is specially designed for use on wedding stationery, is based on a photograph by Harry Weir and shows a couple lighting their wedding candle during their nuptials. The stamp is sold as a self-adhesive pair.
Readers’s Right
Philately under the cloud
In the editorial of Vadophil (Issue no. 131-132, Jul.-Oct. 2012), it was stated that “Organized Philately is often linked to a three legged stool; the three legs are philatelists, trade and postal administration”.
Geometrically, three legged stool is very stable even if three legs are of un-equal lengths. In terms of philately, legs could be interpreted as contribution to the promotion of philately.
We need to review the third leg of stool i.e. Postal Administration, which is most important but unfortunately having a cracked leg. A while ago Department of Posts released a glossy and colourful philatelic magazine “Phila Post” with a great funfare in Delhi. Many philatelists from Gujarat and elsewhere from India and, of course, PCI members attended the meeting. Loud announcements were made on the future course of action to promote philately in India and regular release of the magazine through philatelic bureaux all over India. After couple of issues magazine had gone in hibernation.
During GUJPEX-2011, state level philatelic exhibition held in Vadodara, a plenty of unpleasant matters came to light. During the Valedictory function, except for the Sr. Jury member, none of other jury names were acknowledged. Senior Philatelists who conducted a workshop on philately, quiz programs etc. were ignored. Normal courtesy demands that they should have been honored with mementoes for their contributions. Even they were not invited to seat in the front row as gesture of courtesy.
And the height of adamant attitude of Department of Post was to ignore services of members of Baroda Philatelic Society who supported, co-operated and helped the Department of Post towards organising the ‘GUJPEX -2011” from the day one of announcement of event and till the last day of exhibition. None were acknowledged personally or even during vote of thanks at the valedictory function. Volunteers of Baroda Philatelic Society stood by the department as if the event is organised by Baroda Philatelic Society, who even helped in erection of frames, mounting and dismounting of exhibits even after such step motherly approach by the Dept. of Posts at the end of exhibition. For what ? For the sake of love for Philately ?
Recently Vadodara East Division organised District Level Philatelic Exhibition “VADOPEX 2013” at Vadodara from 10th to 12th January 2013. During the planning of this exhibition Baroda Philatelic Society was approached by the Chairman of Exhibition in the first week of November 2012. At that time Baroda Philatelic Society had requested the officer to convey the message about the grievances and unhappiness of members of the society who had unpleasant experience during the last GUJPEX-2011 to the concerned authority. It was never conveyed to higher authorities and the society members were kept in dark about this. It reduced the enthusiasm among the members of Baroda Philatelic Society towards Vadopex 2013. Organisers of Vadopex 2013 remain silent till last week of December 2012 for reasons best known to them and in the end of December 2012, hardly 12-15 days before the inauguration of Exhibition, sent entry forms and one page announcement letter about Vadopex 2013 to couple of philatelists of Vadodara. Phone calls were made to philatelists to participate in the exhibition and personal approaches also made to collect entries for exhibition but members of Baroda Philatelic Society were not in mood of participating in the exhibition due to unpleasant and adamant attitude of the organisers. The Prospectus of Vadopex 2013 reached us separately by Post on second day of Exhibition!!! Even the PDA account holders were also not properly communicated about the event.
Surprisingly for the first time in history of philately, two types of prospectus were seen. One was showing text “The exhibition is organised by the East Division with the active support of Philatelic Association of Vadodara.......” and another with white ink obliterating this text !!!
For us, 10th January 2013 will be known as Black Day in Philately. Vadopex 2013 held in the city of Baroda was inaugurated without presence of members of Baroda Philatelic Society. Even there was no advertisement about the event in local news papers or TV Channels and media personal did not attended the event. Fifteen frames were exhibited in Adult Class, 26 frames were exhibited in Youth/School class, 27 frames were exhibited in Invitee Class from non members of Baroda Philatelic Society and, some frames obtained from outside Baroda.
Appointment of members of Jury for the exhibition is also a mystery and reason behind appointing them is best known to Department of Post. Jury members appointed for Vadopex 2013 have never judged any philatelic exhibition even as an apprentice jury. Family member of one of the jury was a participant in competition class and has been awarded a Silver medal ! Is this justified ? Is this as per India Post Regulations for Judging ? This is a serious matter and need a serious attention by higher authorities of Philately Division of India Post.
Though the event was of three days, three special covers were released on very first day. Why one each special cover was not released on each day of exhibition? Traditionally, on each day, one special cover is released during the exhibition to attract more visitors on each day. After the introduction of ‘My Stamps’ at INDIPEX 2011 International Exhibition it has become a tradition to provide my stamps facility at district level philatelic exhibitions which not only attracts philatelists and visitors but also generates good revenue for the Department of Posts, but at Vadopex 2013, no such facilities of ‘My Stamps’ were provided.
There was another surprise. Stamps issued to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda are still not available at many philatelic counters. But sheets were taken to the venue of the exhibition, in spite of the fact that very limited supply was received by Vadodara Philatelic Bureau. Thus depriving other philatelists of neighbouring towns. We are awaiting explanation from Dept. of Posts, Vadodara.
Don’t you feel that district level philatelic exhibitions are merely for the submission of Annual Reports to the higher authorities and audit purpose and just to waste the philately budget sanctioned by Philately Division? The district level philatelic exhibitions are absolutely necessary but they should be planned well in advance and senior philatelists and local philatelic organisations should be taken into confidence and involved right from the beginning.
It appears that Department of Post has shrunk from the responsibility of organising philatelic events. During last one year there was no philatelic activity in Vadodara even on Philately Day which was celebrated everywhere with a great enthusiasm with the support of philatelists and philatelic organisations across the country.
Now you can understand the cracked up third leg of the stool. Patch up will not serve the purpose. It has to be replaced.
It is also important that we philatelists need to be united when such treatment is received. Our fellow philatelists should also support each other. Somewhere feeling of brotherhood is missing. (for personal benefits ???)
We are not writing this with a bias or prejudiced mind. We always have respect for authorities and we are always available to extend our whole hearted support for the cause of philately but it pinches us when some people for the sake of their personal ego and with a adamant attitude plays with sentiments of philatelists. We expect respect and acknowledgement of our services. Nothing more....
Fresh wind is required to disperse the cloud and bring the philately under a bright sunshine. When I say “fresh wind”, I mean change or more precisely, overhaul of the system. We need to look for a good carpenter so that the stool can stand on its three legs well balanced.
The King’s hobby will only survive if we pray “God Save the King”. Having said that let us say “God save this hobby”.
Jai Philately.
Prashant H. Pandya
Editorial Published in Vadophil, Issue No. 133 (Jan. 2013)
Letter to Editor, Rainbow Stamp News
Once upon a time 'Philately' was used to be considered as "the source" for knowledge and authentic information on subjects depicted on stamps and other related publications associated with a new stamp release such as brochure, information sheet, etc. There are a lot of history and geography that could be learnt as well. Stamps represent historical events, people and places. It is globally accepted as an easy stepping stone to learning as much or as little about World or local history as a collector wants. Stamps make learning fun for a budding collector who might not even realize that while pursuing the hobby he is learning. This is why philately used to be prescribed as most powerful hobby to impart general education to the young-stars.
Commemorative Stamps are expected / supposed to have great pictures on them, presenting great works of miniature art.
But it appears Dept of Posts, is bent upon to kill this hobby by not caring to the minimum requirement of “Trustworthiness” in depictions/illustrations and in providing correct information. I am disappointed to find that there is no consistent policy to improve the quality of commemorative postage stamps being issued from time to time honouring great personalities. Among the worst aspects of the flood of new stamps from India is the poor research carried out by the designers/proponents of such stamps. Now-a-days, stamps (the face value) are so expensive that most collectors should at least be able to expect that in exchange for their money they would receive stamps with accurate designs and inscription.
Let me give some examples here from the recent mail I received from the Dept of Posts against my PD A/c .
Scant Justice to History;
100 years of Indian Science Congress. Date of issue, 3 January 2013
In the brochure it is written and I quote;
"...the first Prime Minister of India attended the 34th Annual Session of the Indian Science Congress and the first Session after independence, held at Delhi from 3-8 January 1947, as a General President...." unquote.
Do they need to know when did India achieve independence?
Silk Letter Movement. Date of issue 11 January 2013
The information sheet mentions at least in two different places "the Provisional Government of Azad Hind"
What a travesty of history! 'The Provisional Govt of Azad Hind' was established by Netaji Subhas Bose in Singapore during World War II in 1943. While the first Provisional Government of India-in-exile, officially known as ’Provisional Government Hind’ (not by the name of Azad Hind) was founded in Kabul, Afghanistan during World War I in December, 1915 by Raja Mahendra Pratap during which the 'Silk Letter Movement' was evolved.
Before I conclude, I may assure all the discerning collectors that there are innumerable such mistakes/ misinformation published by India Post for which they never thought it proper to apologize or initiate/taken any corrective action. Perhaps, you will recall that the writer of this letter earlier pointed out how often they pronounced their own name in their own publications as "THE DEPARTMENT OF POST" and "THE DEPARTMENT OF POSTS" ,perhaps without knowing who they are!
Yours faithfully
Sekhar Chakrabarti
The Lighter Side
WORLD'S LARGEST FIRST DAY COVER ...
The QEII Diamond Jubilee FDC issued in Papua New Guinea is the largest in the world. It measures 12.6 inches by 18 inches or 20% larger than the 1982 record of an FDC that commemorated the ‘200th Anniversary American Eagle Portrait’ which measured 11 inches by 17 inches (Banian Masiboda)
A big FDC donated by Post PNG Limited through the efforts of its manager, Banian Masiboda and Elijah Thereveso of Post PNG Philatelic Bureau.
- Alyssah Xeniah C. Alcala – Lucena City, Philippines
Website : http://www.freewebs.com/alvier/
1. Welcome to the World of Indian Philately - http://www.indianphilately.net/
An exclusive website created by Mr Prashant Pandya dedicated to Indian Philately .The philatelists can register for “ Online Philatelists’ Directory ” on this website.
2. Philatelic Journalists Forum - http://philatelicjournalistsforum.blogspot.in/ “The Philatelic Journalists” is an initiative by a few enthusiast philatelists, who love the hobby to the deepest.
3. Indian Philatelists’ Forum - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indianphilatelists/
This is an electronic discussion forum dedicated exclusively to Indian Philately that allows members to engage into meaningful discussions on all aspects of Indian Philately. Membership to the forum is open to all philatelists who have interest in Indian Philately. Members can share and discuss their ideas, knowledge, research, collections, events, exhibitions, auctions, publications exclusively related to Indian Philately.
4. The best stamps - http://thebeststamps.blogspot.co.uk/ it’s a beautiful blog created by Julian Fernandes of Pune ( Now living in UK) featuring lovely stamps of birds with the photos of the same birds giving a wonderful look !!
5. Robin Stamps Criticism : http://robin-stamps.blogspot.in/ : This blog is about new issues of postage stamps and the critical study of their design
6.This Numismatic & Philatelic Association - http://numismaticphilavellore.site40.net/index.htm - This Numismatic & Philatelic Association is a nonprofit and non trade motive association that aims to promote the hobbies – Philately (Stamp Collection) and Numismatics (Coin Collection) among children, students, interested individuals among the general public and especially for the budding philatelists and numismatists.
7. How to Collect Stamps - http://www.howtocollectstamps.com/ : The Complete Guide To Stamp Collecting
8.GANDHI Stamps & Philately Study Circle : http://gandhistampsclub.blogspot.in/ - A new Blog by Ketan Patel .…. Saving Gandhi Philately by trying to bring awareness and exposing illegal activities in Gandhi Stamps and Philately.
9. Europa Stamps : http://europa-stamps.blogspot.in/ : A blog on Europa, cept, norden & sepac stamps
10. Phila Mirror : http://philamirror.info/ : The Indian Philately Journal
11. Se- tenant Stamps of India - http://setenantsofindia.blogspot.com/ It is a specialized Blog on se-tenant stamps.
12. Flags & Stamps - http://flagstamps.blogspot.com/ - It is a specialized blog on Flag Theme .
13. Glimpses of Modern Indian Philately : http://modernindianphilately.blogspot.com/ - It is a specialized blog on Modern Philately, created by Mr Prashant Pandya .
14. 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.
15. Question & Answers on Philately : 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.
Literature on Indian Philately
View : List of Books 1
Editor ’ s Mail Box
Bharat M Sheth, Mumbai
This has reference to the recent interview that appeared on your blog http://rainbowstampnews.blogspot.in/. I got the information about interview from Mr Pramodkumar Jain of Pondichery (Vice Chairan of Jainism Philately Group).
I would like to state that my interest in philately which I nurtured during childhood in a very small way was made live after a gap of 35-40 years by visiting website mrsudhirjain.com of Sri Sudhir Jain some 3 years back. Though it is in small way only today the restarting of the will pass on to the young generation of the family. I would like to share my response to the interview as under.
It was pleasure to read complete interview. The questions are pertinent and the views/replies expressed in the interview are touching the subject in depth and also taking cognizance of present trend in the philately hobby i.e. increasing motive of investment and money making behind the hobby. Unfortunately this is widespread everywhere in all activities/fields. But the positive aspect is, it helps to boost indirectly the Philately hobby which appears to be losing its attraction in younger generation, who have before them, electronic media of communication and physical movement of letters through courier from one place to another. This obviates the need of postal stamps/covers.
A 46 years nonstop journey (1967-2013) by Shri Sudhir Jain in philately only shows the burning and live interest in the activity and getting innocent pleasure out of the hobby. Not at all easy task for anyone to pursue hobby for such long time due to factors like time, job/family priorities, finance, growing age, health etc. But in the presence of most of these common factors, the hobby is not only pursued but also to motivate interest in this hobby in others is great. The credit also goes to all family members & friends of Shri Sudhir Jain who have been extending moral support for keeping the hobby live during this long journey.
We wish him good health and all the best in his activities.
Sandeep Jaiswal, Editor - India Post
Thank you for the February 2013 issue, which as usual was very interesting with a variety of excellent articles and interview. I particularly enjoyed reading Dr. Avinash Jagtap's article on the Renouf Type 17a obliterator.
Philatelic Clubs & Societies
Baroda Philatelic Society - http://www.vadophil.org/
Deccan Philatelic Society – Pune, Maharashtra
Eastern India Philatelists’ Association - http://www.filacapsule.blogspot.com/
India Study Circle - http://www.indiastudycircle.org/
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/
Numismatic & Philatelic Association of Vellore Fort http://numismaticphilavellore.site40.net/index.htm
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 Army Philatelic Society, Pune
Book Review by Ilyas Patel
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The Indian National Flag unfurled through Philately
By Sekhar Chakrabarti
I have just gone through a very well researched, decently composed and thoughtfully illustrated color book titled “The Indian National Flag unfurled through Philately” written by Sekahr Chakrabarti. Sekhar Chakrabarti is an active philatelist and working on this topic since long. The book is published by Niyogi Books, New Delhi and is priced at Rs 495/-. It is available in Ahmedabad at Natraj Book Store with 10% discount.
This book was given to me by my friend and a vivid collector of Indian National Flag Prakash Jambudi to refer and write a review for it. Being actively associated with him for this theme, I am aware that it is a very difficult theme to develop for want of sufficient philatelic material and even more difficult to write a book for want of supporting literature. In spite of all these difficulties, Chakrabarty has adventured in this field which suffers from many gaps and unanswered issues. His Herculean efforts have resulted in an innovative book with fascinating history of our national flag through the medium of philately. The author did an excellent but a balancing job linking history with philately and put up a brilliant story in a very lucid manner. It is a well known fact that the story of our national flag is also a story of Indian National Movement for total independence. In the process of total independence, the process of evolution of a national symbol such as a flag played a pivot role in public awakening and subsequent mass movements for civil disobedience. In this sense, it is a very good book on philatelic history of our national independence.
The book begins with historical background through Indian Epics and legends and gives brief account about flag and its appearance in our religious scriptures. From there the author takes us on a tour to the age of discovery and arrival of the European flags in India. The author has given exhaustive information about the arrival of the Portuguese, the Dutch, the British as well as the French and their efforts to establish their colonies in India and their respective flags. The author has also touched the flags of our princely states but cleverly in very brief not to deviate from the main topic.
With this brief historical account, the author takes us to the historical background for the evolution of our national flag. The quest for a distinctive Pan-Indian flag covers those who conceived the initial idea of flag making and their respective contribution in this evolution process. Their die hard attempts to symbolize it paved a way for the birth of a Swaraj Flag. From Swaraj Flag to the evolution of our national flag today is precisely covered in chronological order with illustrations of all who contributed to it. The author has not forgotten to mention the topic like flag hoisting and its importance as a matter of national pride.
The author has devoted separate chapters for other aspects of flag; flag related events, its use in sports, at sea, at international forums, in military as well as its legal aspects, etiquettes and protocol. All these chapters are covered with relevant illustrations and brief account of it is given. Being a research scholar he has not forgotten to give chapter wise references to make it a well documented book. The bibliography and detailed index makes it a worth reference book and indicates a dedicated efforts of the author.
Though vexillology is a bit boring theme for philatelists due to limited scope for its development, Sekhar Chakrabarti’s painstaking research and a dedicated pursuit of philately has made his work a very well illustrated philatelic cum historical reference. It is fully colored finely composed and decently printed book worth to refer at a first glance. I personally congratulate the author for his maiden efforts on this theme. With this Sekhar Chakrabarti has also enrolled his name in the elite group of philatelic authors in India. His efforts are worth to be saluted like our National Flag. Jai Hind! Well done and Good Luck.
Promotional Section
Dave & Sons has released the Market Guide - 2013, This is almost a priced catalog of British & Modern India from 1852 - 2012. The catalogue is available with Markand Dave email : markand7@yahoo.com
Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters
Stamp of India Collectors’ Companion - India’s first weekly e-newsletter edited by Madhukar and Savita Jhingan from Stamps of India, New Delhi. E-mail: mjhingan@yahoo.com Website: www.stampsofindia.com
India Post – Quarterly Journal of the India Study Circle publishes original articles submitted by members of ISC.
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/
Journal of the Army Philatelic Society : Editor – Col Jayanta Dutta
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
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. New Post on recent issues, news on stamp activities and Contribution by members are published every day on this blog.
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 ; Mansoor B.- Mangalore Prashant Pandya – Vadodara; Rajesh Kr. Bagri – Kolkata ; Ravindra Wamanacharya - Nashik
All the images of this issue have not been included here. For detailed images related to this issue Please Visit: http://www.rainbowstampnews.blogspot.com/
Address for communication:
Jeevan Jyoti, c / o Mr. Ajay Srivastav, Chief Conservator of Forests, GHNP & Pin Valley National Park, Shamshi, Kullu (H.P.) PIN 175126 India
E-mail – j.jyoti9@gmail.com or rainbowstamp2008@gmail.com
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A Request to Readers & Contributors -
Kindly specify your contribution such as article/News/ Reader’s Right / Beginners’ Section/ Lighter Side etc.
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…..Happy Collecting…………………………………………………………………
Rainbow Stamp News is edited and published monthly by Jeevan Jyoti, from Kullu (Himachal Pradesh) India.
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