Rainbow April 2020

     

STAY HOME ! SAVE LIVES!

Help stop coronavirus !

   

Dehradun April 2020  Vol. XIII  Issue No. 148

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 the editor: j.jyoti9@gmail.com

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

Fight against Covid - 19

Salute to  Corona Warriors of the world!

Dear Reader,

I am pleased to release April 2020 issue of Rainbow.   The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic has spread across 200 countries has become a disaster for the people.. This issue is dedicated to Corona Warriors of the world who are working day and night to fight the disease.  Let’s all cooperate and make the mission successful to fight with Covid -19. For the philatelists , this time can be utilized to re-arrange their collection and plan to start a new theme. Many philatelists are doing so.. This will keep them stay home and maintain social distancing. In this issue, read some special articles related to present situation and a series on ‘Disinfected Mail’ by Mr Naresh Agrawal which has been started from this issue. I hope the readers will find the series very informative and get new ideas for new medical themes  related to health. .

This is all for this month ! More in next issue.

Stay Home ! Stay Healthy and lock-down yourself with philately !

Happy Collecting !

                         

Contents

§  From the Desk of Naresh Agrawal

§  Recent Indian Issues

§  In The News

§  Thematic Watch

§  Philately Promoter of the Month

§  Doon Philatelic Diary

§  Beginners’ Section

§  Specialized Section

§   Rose Philately

§  New Issues from Other Countries

§  Philatelic Clubs and Society Blogs & Websites on Philately

§  Current Philatelic Magazines & Newsletters

LOCKED WITH PHILATELY

CORONA VIRUS has shaken the world with its  worst characteristic of uncertainly and   the ability to spread through human to human contact. It has so far caused enormous deaths and infected lacs globally. It has now practically forced almost all the people of the world to get locked in to their houses.  I pray to God for  safety of the world from this virus and  complete eradication of this virus from this mother earth.

Well , looking at the other aspect of this forced in-house locked situation, people have received the opportunity to utilize this period in different manner. In India from 24th Night of March 2020, a lock down of 21 days has been imposed forcing people/families to stay inside their homes and not to move out. I discussed with various philatelic friends of mine regarding what they were doing to utilize their time at home. A few are still working from home but they have enough time to spend with their families and to do some person in- house works like checking and re-arranging papers and files  where as some  are utilizing this time for their philatelic development. Of course some are getting bored but based on the discussions held ,I suggest those friends and readers to do the following during this period :

CHECKING THE CLOSED BOXES AND STOCK BOOKS

We philatelists have enough material lying closed in boxes, in albums and stock books but we are not aware of what exactly is lying there. This is the time to take out the boxes and stock books from deep inside the almirah, cupboards, trunks and clean the dust and dirt. Take out and check, you will certainly find some good material which has escaped your attention with time. Some time some precious gems are found. As there is time and time , it is advice to check your boxes, and find out the stuffs available with you.

SORTING AND RE-ARRANGING THE COLLECTION :

Due to lack of time , the material which is procured regularly, remains unarranged . This is best time to check the albums, stock books and arrange the material as per your need i.e. chronologically, year wise etc. Re-arranging the collection gives new dimensions and look to your collection and also gives you new ideas to how to go ahead with collection.

SEPARATING AND SPARING THE EXTRA SURPLUS MATERIAL :

We normally as a regular practice keep on accumulating whatever comes in our way and just store it in our boxes or stock books. This is perfect time to look in to that accumulation again and again and sort it out. We shall certainly find some extra and duplicate material which can be spared and  exchanged. This sorting will also help in deciding the material required for completion of collection, themes, exhibits etc..,

RESTRUCTURING / UPGRADING YOUR EXHIBITS

Philately is fast changing. New materials are being explored and appreciated. The  quality and quantity of both philatelic and thematic texts is also changing. In thematic philately  there is a change of generations say from 1st generation to the 5^th generation asking for more research, better development, variety of material etc.. hence, one  needs to restructure his exhibit from time to time which undoubtedly a time taking job. This is that time when it can be done easily without much stress.

GIVING PRIMARY SHAPE OF EXHIBITS TO THE COLLECTION / MAKING NEW EXHIBITS

Collections remain collections lying either in stock book or albums or in boxes. But this spare and totally leisure time give you an opportunity to give air to the collection and to give those a shape of an exhibit.

RENEWING RELATIONS :

Normally every one remains busy throughout the day and won’t find time to talk to old friends and relatives. But this is the time when one can talk to philatelic friends and renew the relations. Both  you and the person at other end are free. This will not only renew but strengthen the relations.

MAKING NEW PHILATELIC FRIENDS   

                                                                                                                             

Availability of ample time gives an opportunity to give calls to your forgotten friends and relatives. This also gives an opportunity to contact new people and develop friendship with them.

READING AND STUDY OF PHILATELIC ARTICLES :

The best thing philatelists can do is to utilize this leisure time for reading philatelic magazines, articles, journals, research papers etc.. This will not only update your philatelic knowledge but also help in upgrading the collections and exhibits.

WRITING ARTICLES/RESEARCH PAPERS ON PHILATELY

Apart from reading, this is the best time to write down your experiences, your research and to share your findings with others. First hand write ups can be done in this period which may further upgraded later.

CHECKING AND READING OLD PHILATELIC MAGAZINES

As I could see, over the time I have accumulated number of different philatelic literature, magazines, journals but were lying packed become dusty and never read for long time. And so would be with most of the stamp lovers / philatelists. One can take out all the stored magazines /journals and go through those. Often philatelic gems in form of articles are found in such old magazines.

SETTING PLACEMENTS OF STOCK BOOKS,BOXES ETC.

Placement and easy availability of material when  required is very essential because due to lack of this, we fail to check any material when required. This not only hamper the instant joy of philately but also become a hurdle in development of any collection or exhibit.. In this period one can not only check the boxes and stock books but also label those  and place these in proper fusion at proper place for easy accessibility.

All in all, locked down is in fact getting locked with philately as this is best time to get involved in philately, to upgrade and enjoy philately.

Naresh Agrawal : email - nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in

Recent Indian Issues

16 March 2020 : UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India – II – 2 x Rs 5 + 3 x Rs 12 + MS

Natural Sites

1. Western Ghats 2. Nanda Devi n Valley of Flowers National parks 3. Nanda Devi n Valley of Flowers National Park 4. Manas Wildlife Sancturay 5. Great Himalayan National Park

In The News

Canberra Stampshow 2020 AWARDS

Indian Winners

 

Piyush Khaitan, Madhukar Jhingan, Sandeep Mujrani, K. Sridhar, Lokeswara Rao Madiraju

Heartiest Congratulations to all winners !

Large Vermeil Medal

Indian Crash Mail by Piyush Khaitan

Indian Aerogrammes by Madhukar Jhingan

Vermeil Medal

Aerogrammes by Prashanth Shet

Large Silver Medal

Air India by Sandeep Murjani

Indian Slogan Postmarks by Ruchira Karnik

Advertising Postcards of India by Dinesh Sharma

Silver Medal

GB Numeral Cancellations by Lokeswara Rao Madiraju

Silver Bronze Medal

An Aid to Marine Navigation by K Sridhar

Nelson Eustis Memorial Prize for the Best Aerophilately Exhibit goes to Piyush Khaitan's Indian Crash Mails

Change in forthcoming International Stamp Exhibitions

London 2020 Newsletter No. 16: 18 March 2020 

Exhibition Dates 

Please forgive my silence over the last week or two, but trying to find a way of managing the London 2020 exhibition that both is safe and secure, as well as being financially robust, has been a major challenge. 

In line with UK Government guidelines, it is now impossible for the exhibition to happen in May 2020. We have consulted with all our major partners in the planning of the show: 

• Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) 

• Federation of European Philatelic Associations (FEPA) 

• The venue, the Business Design Centre (BDC) 

• Stamp World Exhibitions Ltd (SWE) 

• Philatelic Traders’ Society (PTS). 

All of these have been incredibly supportive of trying to find a solution to the unprecedented challenges we are facing, both logistical and financial. Although we have not fully defined all the details, the exhibition will go ahead at the same venue on the earliest feasible dates available: 

19 to 26 February 2022. 

I’m sorry that I have not been in a position to communicate this message any earlier, but I hope you will understand the scale of the problems that we are trying to resolve. Frank 

-Walton RDP FRPSL Chairman, 

London 2020 Organising Committee 

chairman@london2020.co

Termination of BULGARIA 2020

We would like to inform you that since 13th of March 13,2020, "a state of emergency" has been officially declared in the territory of BULGARIA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The borders have been closed, activities of state institutions and public organizations have been suspended or minimized almost to rock bottom level. 

Only food stores, bank offices and branches and pharmacies operate in the country by now. The activity of restaurants and hotels is blocked. The intense spread of the disease excludes gathering of people, travel and other activities, so necessary for the proper preparation and organizing of the World Philatelic Championship - the Exhibition "BULGARIA 2020". Experls predict that not only in Bulgaria, but probably all over Europe the peak of COVID- 19 will be reached by the midst of September 2020. 

All this forces us to announce and declare the termination of the organizalion for the holding of "BULGARIA 2020". We really did a lot - the Bulgarian Postal administration, supported by numerous other contributors, but unexpected circumstances appeared over which we have no control. We do hope however that when the COVID-19 pandemic will be in the past and people return to their normal life and work BULGARIA will be again a kind host  of a World Philatelic Exhibition under the auspices of FIP.

18 March 2020      

-Spas Panchev                                                         

President of Union of Bulgarian Philatelists

Status of other International Stamp Exhibitions

Mar 19-22:  Auckland, New Zealand, NZ 2020 37th Asian International, held as National

May 2-9: London, UK, LONDON 2020 International Postponed to Feb 19-26, 2022 by the organizers but yet to be agreed by FIP as dates are too close to HUNFILEX 2022 in Budapest, Hungary from Mar 31 to Apr 3, 2022.

Aug 6-11: Jakarta, Indonesia, INDONESIA 2020 World Stamp Championship Postponed to Nov 5-10, 2020. FIP will review global situation in Jul 2020 and decide if exhibition can proceed as planned.

Meanwhile organizers added 500 more frames to the exhibition and extended the date of applying for participation to June 2020.

Oct 23-27: Taipei, Taiwan, TAIPEI 2020 38th Asian International Postponed to Jun 4-8, 2021

Sep/Oct/Nov: BANGLAPEX 2020, Dhaka, Bangladesh Postponed and New Dates to be Announced

Commissioner for CAPE TOWN 2021 Philatelic Exhibition

Mr. Shakil Ahmed has been appointed as Indian National Commissioner for the Cape Town 2021, FIP Specialized World Stamp Exhibition to be held at Cape Town, South Africa from 17 to 20 March, 2021.

Exhibition Classes: Traditional, Postal History, Aerophilately, Postal Stationery, Revenue, Thematic, Open, Modern Philately, One Frame, Philatelic Literature and Picture Postcards only)

Contact information:
Shakil Ahmed
Dargah Bazar, Balakrishna Road,
P. O. Buxi Bazar,
CUTTACK-753001, ODISHA
Email: ahmedshakil99@gmail.com
M): +91-9437225760 / +91-7008025663

IBRA 2021

International Stamp exhibition and stamp Fair IBRA 2021 will be held in Essen, Germany from 6-9 May 2021. For details visit : www.Ibra2021.de

Temporary Service Suspension

The U.S. Postal Service received notice that various postal operators are no longer able to process or deliver international mail or services originating from the United States due to service disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result, the Postal Service is currently unable to accept items destined for India at any Post Office or postal facility location, effective April 3 until further notice. Customers are asked to refrain from entering items addressed to India into the USPS system effective immediately.

These service disruptions affect Priority Mail Express International® (PMEI), Priority Mail International® (PMI), First-Class Mail International® (FCMI), First-Class Package International Service® (FCPIS®), International Priority Airmail® (IPA®), International Surface Air Lift® (ISAL®), and M-Bag® items.

For any returned item bearing a customs form, the Postal Service will, upon request, refund postage and fees on mail returned due to the suspension of service. For all other returned items not bearing a customs declarations form, the Postal Service will, upon request, refund postage and fees on mail returned due to the suspension of service, or the sender may remail them with the existing postage once service has been restored. When remailing under this option, customers must cross out the markings “Mail Service Suspended — Return to Sender.”

Unless otherwise noted, service suspensions to a particular country do not affect delivery of military and diplomatic mail.

CORONAVIRUS (COVID -19) : NOT A MATTER TO PLEASE

-Naresh Agrawal


Whole world is now facing acute crises caused by the spread of yet another new virus named NOVAL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19), at first considered to be a severe contagious disease, then looking in to the geographical analysis an epidemic but then it evolved in to a pandemic which spread throughout the world. A large number of people died of disease caused by this virus. Spreading from surface to surface, it has put the whole world in trouble. It forced people to go for quarantine for days together to check the spread of this virus which is said to have a life span of 12 to 16 hours as gathered but is still uncertain. We are still living under the threat of this virus which as gathered would take a few more weeks to get fully checked and contained. India is going through a complete lock down of 21 days right from the night of 24.03.2020. I pray god, to help us to get rid of this unseen cruel enemy as early as possible and appeal to all to be very careful and protective maintaining social distancing and all the protection and disinfection norms .

We know, mail is the postal material which travels long distances and is carried and handled by various persons under different conditions right from the sender to the addressee. Climatic, geological and biological conditions all around the world differs from place to place and time to time. Sometimes, there are some epidemics or contagious, infectious and communicable diseases spread in some area which are likely to be transmitted through the mail to cross their local boundaries and borders. Also sometimes there are chances of some viruses getting attached to the mail which are then carried and spread to wherever the mail goes and whosoever handles it or the mail in contact with the mail adds to the threat.

Epidemics have been attacking world from time to time in one form or the other, with one name or the other and have caused trouble. Calamities and the mass destruction of lives goes back to biblical times. In the past, say for almost last 500 years and even now, the paper mail has been considered one of the major carrier of epidemics throughout the world as its quantity and movement has increased tremendously. And so, there are strict and regular measures employed to check the same. Different sanitation , quarantine, disinfection and decontamination methods, rules, laws and acts were made from time to time by different governments, authorities and administrations. Quarantine is still in existence and is being appreciated and applied at times. However, with the development in medical sciences, there has been change in treatments given to the mail adhered to in past because of lack of knowledge regarding the cause of disease. Also different methods have been adopted utilizing latest technology to handle good quantity of mail in limited time with assurance of disinfection.

Well, while talking about the affect of COVID-19 on movement, transmission, handling and delivery of mail; it has certainly affected the same but as the possibility of virus remaining stuck to the mail for long time, I could not see very highly appreciable effect on this aspect looking in to severity and huge area affected by this virus. It has been mainly carried by the infected human bodies. The actions taken by some of the postal administrations round the world is temporarily either stopped receiving or forwarding or delivery of postal packages/parcels from certain countries or they stuck to sanitization of the packages/parcels coming from specific countries before their further transmission. Certain postal administrations stopped delivery of the mail to the addressee to check the fear of addressee getting contact with virus, if the mail piece is affected. Also they stopped delivery to check safety of their mail handling and delivery personnel. 

The main reason behind this is the short life of the virus. Further, high temperature also kills this virus or inactivates it. It is thought that transmission of this virus through mail, mainly letter mail is not possible to the extent to have any large check or measure. Yes, the affected mail piece can cause infection to the postal worker who in turn can become a virus carrier.

To appreciate the services and support of medical professionals and social workers, Iran postal administration unveiled a commemorative postage stamp in support of their fight against the Coronavirus, while continuing to be dogged by accusations of a cover-up and gross negligence over the crisis.

Solomon Island 01.08.2016

Togo 30.12.2015

Let’s just have an overview of the actions taken by various postal administrations throughout the worlds due to spread/ threat of this virus which created a global crises of flow of letters and parcels.

The major setback in the postal operation globally due to the spread of this deadly virus is the stop of global flows of letters and parcels. The virus originated from China is now spread throughout the world. Suspension of air services to various countries has certainly checked the spread of this virus but has in turn hampered the postal services.

U.S. Postal Service during this period informed that it experienced significant difficulties in dispatching letters, parcels and express mail to China, including Hong Kong and Macau

because airlines suspension of their flights to those destinations and added that that would be resumed only after availability of sufficient transport capacity. And so stopped accepting mail from other countries that transited via USPS to China, Hong Kong and Macau. The Postal Service further said that that had only affected transit mail and not letters and parcels posted in the United States. It also said it could no longer guarantee timely delivery of priority mail to China and Hong Kong. 

In another, separate note by Singapore Post it was said to its global counterparts that it was no longer accepting letters, parcels and express mail items destined for China because of the lack of sufficient transport capacity.

Even UPU in its statement said that the suspension of flights because of the virus “is going to impact the delivery of mail for the foreseeable future.” UPU further added that it was carefully monitoring the operational situation, and was in constant contact with postal operators to ensure any backlog was cleared in the shortest possible time. 

As China was the first affected countries as the virus originated from there, the Chinese mail service, China Post reportedly disinfected all its postal offices, processing centers, and vehicles to ensure the virus doesn't travel via the mail and to protect postal staff. However, it added that as the virus does not survive for long on the objects, it was therefore safe to receive postal items from China. And suggested that letters, parcels and express mail could be delivered via non-face-to-face methods. Yes, the mail transits through China is also affected.The affected countries include North Korea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. 

South Africa’s postal service warned of delays in receiving letters or parcels from China because of flight suspensions. Austrian postal service also stopped sending letters or packages to China but did not stop receiving mail from China. In Sweden, Post Nord also stopped sending letters from there to China.

Royal Mail believed that the delivery of parcels and letters is an important way of keeping the country together and helping many people who may not have the option to leave their homes. It has made a series of adjustments to its parcel handling procedures. It is keeping its ways of working under continuous review. As Public Health England (PHE) has advised that people receiving parcels are not at risk of contracting the Corona virus because from experience it has been observed that these types of viruses don’t survive long on objects, such as letters or parcels. Even the International services remained operational its airline and postal/courier partners across the globe are maintaining regular services. 

Australia Post remains fully operational across Australia during government restrictions on non-essential activity. Post, delivery drivers and Post Offices continued to operate. Customers continued to send and receive parcels and mail, pay bills and use Bank@Post during this time.Though it took every possible action to protect the health and safety of the workforce and customers in relation to the spread of corona virus, in line with Australian government regulations.

Australia Post is experiencing international delivery delays due to the coronavirus .Australia Post is working with partner airlines and other postal operators to move items as quickly as possible. However due to the ever-changing situation, delays may occur in all destination countries.

Let’s have a brief instant look on various epidemics / pandemics in the recent history:

Following is the overview of history :

430 to 426 BC : Plague of Athens during the Peloponnesian War, disease molded national fates

1918-1919 : Spanish Flu : Global Pandemic global : Excess of 50 million fatalities.

1960 : H.I.V. /AIDS : Most stubborn viral assault of modern times : affected around 70 million people affected by end of 2018 as per WHO with 32 million deaths

1968 : The Hong Kong flu : That pandemic managed to spread globally : Global total in excess of one million.

2003 : SARS : Claimed almost 800 deaths from 8,000 reported cases mainly in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

2009-2010 : Swine flu : An H1N1 virus in the category of the Spanish flu : Infected hundreds of millions worldwide. But far less impact than that of previous pandemics.

2013 : Ebola : Swept through parts of West Africa between 2014 and 2016: Killed 11,300 people,

2015 : MERS : For instance, MERS claimed some 858 lives from 2,494 reported infections, mainly in 2012, and mainly in the Arabian Peninsula, according to the WHO. The outbreak then reoccurred in South Korea three years later.

Final note as a philatelist :

Though we never want such pandemic to spread and harm the world but being a philatelist we always look forward for what it has left for us to cherish in way of philatelic stuffs and study. Marco philatelists usually find much for their philatelic study and collection in form of different markings, notings and instructions on the mail piece. In various such episodes of virus attacks in the past, there have been much to explore and collect philatelically. But here in this case of CORONAVIRUS , I don’t think there is much for collectors to accumulate and study as of now. I have not so far heard of or seen any postal administration to go for disinfection of deliverable mail pieces such as letters. Yes, there are certain postal administrations which have lead to disinfection of parcels and packages but what type of disinfection methods have been adopted and whether any remarks/ labels or marking done or not is yet to known to us. There are places where the mail has either been forwarded, re-directed, diverted or put on hold due to suspension of air services or other reasons. 

Sometimes the delivery has been stopped or different methods of mail delivery has been adopted to check the spread of infection. Unusual mail deliveries and even mail collections have been adhered to at several places. Mail dispatch and / or delivery also got delayed during last few weeks. Such mail pieces might have some markings, instructions, annotations, labels etc. which are of course collectible by philatelists like me but let’s see what is there in store for us. 

I still see there is lot to come in form of collectible material, quarantine applications, medical checks, medical cards might be of interests for philatelists to either display for thematic philately or social philately. I still believe that some disinfected markings on letters will certainly find place. 

-       Naresh Agrawal - email : nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in

Observations / Experiences / Facts

- Jeevan Jyoti

A good Thematic Exhibit is just like a complete book on a particular subject or theme explained through a variety of philatelic items.  The exhibitor must know the art to skip every possible non philatelic item. The story line must be explained in short text as a viewer / jury has  limited time to see the exhibit. Long and lengthy text should not be given instead the space should be used to display some important philatelic item . In my opinion the  critic session in the exhibitions is of no use. As different experts in the jury give their different opinions because they are all not expert in thematic field. Sometimes they give rather confusing and contradictory statements. If one follows them blindly , the exhibit could be spoiled. Sometimes even jury overlook several important items in the exhibit due to shortage of time. The art is how you display that it can catch the eyes of the jury as well as visitors in the very first sight. The best way is to follow the latest rules and prepare the exhibit...someday it will be recognized definitely...

The idea of this column is to give correct guidelines to all the lovers of Thematic Philately...Enjoy your theme and enjoy  philately.....The medals and awards are not important.... As these are not the correct evaluation of your exhibit.. .Wait for the right person to judge your exhibit ..!!

Sharing here some more slides of a seminar on Thematic philately held during China 2019 World Philatelic Exhibition Wuhan !. In these slides learn about how to display overprints, Varieties, stamp booklets, prestige booklets and perfins !

Thematic Philately Guidelines - 3

ARTICLE 4: CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION

4.1. Thematic Treatment

4.1.1. Title and Plan

The title defines the overall concept, which then is structured through the plan. Inconsistencies

between the title and the plan indicate either an inadequate breakdown of the title or an

inappropriate synthesis of its structure in the selected title.

The plan page, that provides an insight into the theme, has to be shown at the beginning of the

exhibit. Failure to do so will result in the automatic loss of three points.”

The requirements for a correct, logical and balanced structuring into divisions and sub-divisions

are defined as follows:

Correct: The plan should be accurate, scientifically reliable and sound

Logical: The sequence of the main chapters and their subdivisions must follow a rational

order, without superfluous or misplaced chapters

Balanced: The same importance should be given to the different sections in accordance with

the thematic significance and the available material coverage of all major aspects necessary to develop the theme.

4.1.2. Development

The correct assembly and position of the items, including the individual ones on each page, is

demonstrated by a well understood, correct, and fluent thread of development. Misplaced items

make development confused and hard to understand.

The balance is demonstrated by giving the appropriate depth and size to the various thematic

details, according to their significance within the theme. This also applies to philatelic studies.

4.2. Knowledge, Personal Study and Research

The GREV considers “philatelic and related knowledge”, that can be seen as the result of two

components:

·  A “concept” related knowledge. In almost all classes is of postal and philatelic nature: issues, usages, printing processes, rates, routes, services, and so on. In thematic philately this “concept” is of a thematic nature: cars, bridges, history, nature, sport, etc.; hence “thematic knowledge” is that which is based on personal study and research and sound knowledge of the subject studied.

·  “Philatelic knowledge”, that relates to the material used to support the concept. This component is

common to all classes.

4.2.1 Thematic Knowledge, and its related Personal Study and Research

Thematic knowledge refers to the overall knowledge of the theme as expressed in the choice of the items, their correlation and the degree of appropriateness of the accompanying text; the correct thematic use of material is reflected by the degree of appropriateness to cover specific thematic details.

Thematic knowledge is also demonstrated by the use of material that has a thematic qualification, which is not immediately obvious and needs to be discovered by the exhibitor. Thematic knowledge assumes the absence of thematic errors and avoids pretexts for introducing material not directly related with the theme or unnecessary borderline items.

The level of thematic study and research is evaluated by taking into account the availability of previous studies of the theme, in order to assess how much the treatment took advantage of available thematic and philatelic literature, catalogues and documented research. These will thenbe compared with the personal research and study shown in the exhibit.

4.2.2 Philatelic Knowledge, and its related Personal Study and Research

The full compliance with the rules of postal philately concerns, for instance, the presence of items that are unsuitable for collecting purposes because of their state (e.g. cut stamps or cut postal stationery, improper maximum cards)

The presence and balanced utilisation of all the different philatelic types of material should be obtained by presenting items of all periods and from the largest number of countries, within the possibilities of the chosen theme.

The suitability of the postal documents considers their philatelic appropriateness, including the number and the justification of borderline items, if any, as well as the selection of items of real philatelic significance rather than of extravagant pieces

Personal philatelic study and research are demonstrated by the presence of:

material which has not yet been researched for that theme, or where there has been very little research refers to an uncommon area of collecting

·  philatelic studies presenting a true, well documented, philatelic in depth analysis and which are not just an excuse for showing an accumulation of more pieces without any serious philatelic foundation.

4.3 Condition and Rarity

The condition is based on the usual overall criteria for evaluation in philately. For modern

material good condition is an essential requirement. Booklets should be presented complete

with stamps.

Cancellations must be clear, and allow the stamp design, where thematically relevant, to be

clearly visible.

The rarity is based on objective criteria such as recognised absolute scarcity and difficulty of

acquisition.

It is essential that varieties, proofs, essays, are rarer than the issue itself, in order to increase

the philatelic level. The same applies to blocks, strips, etc.

It is obvious that items which, despite being very rare, have no or insufficient relationship to the

theme, should not be included in the evaluation of this criterion.

4.4 Presentation

The efforts of the exhibitor are demonstrated by the arrangement of the items and the text on

appropriate exhibition pages. Presentation will be evaluated on the basis of:

clarity of the display

clarity of the text

the overall aesthetic balance of the exhibit.

ARTICLE 5: JUDGING OF EXHIBITS

The thematic jurors must complete an evaluation form in order to be guided towards a thorough

and consistent judgement.

The presence of faked, forged or repaired items, which are not clearly marked as such, will cause the downgrading of the exhibit by the Jury, according to the report of the special Expert Team appointed at each exhibition.

Reprints must be presented as such. Weak or faded postmarks must not be redrawn on piece;instead a copy of the postmark should be redrawn and presented next to the Collectors are therefore recommended to have any doubtful item expertised before selecting it for the exhibit and the original of the certificates should be included behind the sheet, in the same transparent protective cover. In case a photocopy is used, the same has to be certified by the Federation. Alternatively, the commissioner may bring the original certificate for use if needed. Irrelevant of how the certificate is made available, at the end of the philatelic text concerning the item certified should be put the abbreviation “e” in bold thus (e).

Philately Promoter of the Month

This column is dedicated to great philatelists who are promoting selflessly the hobby of stamp collecting in their own way and making a bridge between philately and our daily life.

Dipok Dey – Pioneer in philately promotion

Dipok Dey needs no introduction to the philatelists. He is a renowned veteran philatelist and artist from Kolkata.  He is the pioneer in promoting philately around the globe.. A grand old man of Indian Philately has designed many stamps and special covers . He is the first Indian to design stamp for United Nations Postal Administration . Shri Dipok Dey has been instrumental in organizing several stamp exhibitions and workshops. I am sharing here some posts posted by him on FB.He may be contacted at email : kaushikbabu01@gmail.com

Every Saturday he used to conduct a regular philatelic workshop at Kolkata GPO- children with their parents participate in workshop.

His first philatelic design- Inaugural Special cover of Postal Museum and Phiatelic Library, Kolkata GPO 1979.

UN stamp on Child Survival Revolution(left) designed by Shri Dipo Dey was released on 22 November 1985.

Stamp and FDC of Satyajit Ray-designed by Shri Dipok Dey . He designed Most of the philatelic products on Satyajit Ray.

Coil Stamps

Coil stamps are a horizontal or vertical strip of stamps, usually rolled into a coil, thus earning their name. Historically, there have been two main users of coil stamps. One user is a stamp vendor who sells stamps by machine and would use coil stamps so that a specific number of stamps could be purchased by the user. Mass-mailers are the other main user of coil stamps. They use the stamps so that their automatic machinery can apply the stamps in rapid fire to hundreds or thousands of letters.

The first attempts at mechanically vending or affixing stamps used regular perforated sheets of stamps that had been separated into long strips of stamps. This caused problems because the perforations on the sides would mess up the machines, and the perforations between the stamps would sometimes separate at inopportune times.

The United States Post Office tried to solve these problems by selling imperforated strips of stamps for this purpose. Vendors could then add their own perforations to the stamps for their specific reasons. These private perforations are highly collectible and there are several resources available for determining the company that sold or used the stamps.

Early coil stamps were manufactured from strips of stamps pasted together. For example, a pane of 100 stamps arranged as 10 rows of 10 stamps would be cut apart to make 10 strips to 10 stemps. Typically, every 10th stamp of one strip would be pasted to the 1st stamp of the next strip, yielding a 100 stamp strip. The pasted area of the stamps would remain and would sometimes be used to mail letters. Some of these pasted pairs of stamps have survived and are very collectible.

With the advent of the rotary press, a continuous stream of stamps could be printed. The round die used to imprint the stamps has a seam where the curved stamp plate is joined together so as to be continuous. This results in a faint line on the strip of stamps, since ink tends to accumulate in this tiny seam. The seam is called a joint line, and the two stamps adjacent to this seam are called joint line pairs. These types of coil stamps are also in demand.

There are two orientations of coil stamps -- horizontal and vertical. The vertical coil stamp is where the stamps are arranged top-to-bottom and have the perforation between them. Usually, but not always, this means that the stamps have no perforations at the left or right, yet have perforations on the top and bottom of each stamp. The orientation is reversed for horizontal coil stamps.

Around 1980, the US Postal Service added a plate number to every few stamps in a coil. The plate number identified the printing plate used to create the stamps. This number created a new collectible craze, as collectors sought after these plate number coil (abbreviated "PNC") stamps. Generally, collectors prefer that plate number coil stamps are contiguous strips of stamps with the center stamp being the one with the plate number. You typically see them as strips of 3 stamps (PNC3) or 5 stamps (PNC5)

Self-adhesive stamps, which have die-cut and no perforations, can be sold in coils as well. Currently, many post offices are selling "liner-less" coils, in which the self-adhesive stamp sticks to the next lower layer of stamps, much like how adhesive tape lightly sticks to itself on a roll of tape.

Coil stamps are an interesting variety of stamps to collect.

Doon Philatelic Diary

RAPHAEL, Dehra Dun

 

-Abhai Mishra

RAPHAEL (earlier Raphael Ryder Cheshire International Center for the Relief of Suffering) was established at Dehra Dun in 1959 by Group Captain Lord Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire and his wife Baroness Sue Ryder. They both were WW-II veterans and humanists. Initially it was for Leprosy patients but later it accommodated specially-abled and TB patients also.

Major General Ranbir Bakshi, MC (Rummy), who settled in Dehra Dun became associated with Raphael in 1973. Lord Cheshire handed over the administration of Raphael to General Bakshi in 1991 during his last visit to India. In March, 2006, I was asked by the then CPMG to design a special cover for Raphael. It was an unknown subject to us so I along with Rajesh Verma paid a visit to Raphael which was situated at the east side of Dalanwala across the dry river. We met General Bakshi there and were deeply moved by his compassion towards specially-abled people and Leprosy/TB patients. Though he was 94 at that time yet he showed us the centre personally.

We designed the cover with a photograph of General Bakshi sitting and chatting with the inmates. The background was a painting drawn by one of specially-abled child showing the center. At the lower left corner was the message by Mahatma "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others". The cover was released on 5 April 2006 and soon after General Bakshi died on 25 September 2006..

: Abhai Mishra - email : abhai_mishra@rediffmail.com

Beginners’ Section

Maharaja—AIR INDIA Mascot

-Swamynathan R.

A part of Air India’s campaign to distinguish itself from its peers, the jovial and rotund Maharajah first made his appearance on an in-flight memo pad in 1946. He was conceived by SK (Bobby) Kooka, who was then a Commercial Director with Air India and sketched by Umesh Rao, an artist at J Walter Thompson in Bombay.

Early Maharaja on Air India’s Letterhead and Memo Pads

Back then, India was known as the “Land of the Maharajas” and Air India was its only international carrier, flying to destinations such as Cairo, Prague, Damascus, Zurich and Istanbul. So Kooka wanted to create an illustration for Air India’s letterhead and memo pads given to passengers on board Air India flights that would symbolise graciousness and elegant living.

It was somewhat along these lines that his creators, Kooka and Rao, gave him a distinctive personality with an outsized moustache, aquiline nose and the quintessentially striped Indian turban. Eventually, the regal figure became Air-India’s mascot for its advertising and sales promotion activities.

​​            Later Kooka used it to decorate the newly opened offices of Tata Airlines and the first Air India International time table. It showed the Maharaja perched on a flying carpet—an enchanting image that promised a magic mystery trip to the land of the occult and ostentation. This Magic Carpet later the title for the Air India staff magazine and also a logo to the magazine.

              

Then the maharaja evolved with getting draped in a variety of attires over the years over the years depending on what he was advertising. Jal Cawasji, the art director of Air India, and his team did the art director of Air India, and his team did the drawings and Kooka gave the words.

For the next few years, the Maharajah was ingeniously used by India’s national airline to introduce new flight routes. His funny antics and quirky puns also allowed Air India to promote its services with subtle humour and unmatched panache.

First Flight Cover with the image of Maharaja for Bombay -Tokyo(1955)

Maharaja on Bombay –Toronto First Flight Cover

​           

Kooka once said, “We can call him the Maharajah for want of a better description. But his blood isn’t blue. He may look like royalty, but he isn’t royal. He is capable of entertaining the Queen of England and splitting a beer with her butler. He is a man of many parts: lover boy, sumo wrestler, pavement artist, vendor of naughty post cards, Capuchin monk, Arab, Chinese…

In 1960’s with the introduction of 707 International Jet service, Air India realised that it was necessary to have a corporate logo as every company in USA has acorporate image. Luckily for Air India, the Maharaja mascot was already there symbolizing its services and was adopted as Air India’s corporate image.

Introduction of Boeing 707 and Maharaja adopted as a Corporate Image of Air India

Other than AIR INDIA’s flight services, the Maharaja associated itself to other areas. Some examples as follows:

1.    Air India Mail and Cargo services

2.    The Maharaja has been a great patron of philately with the popular first flight covers.

3.    Maharaja associating with AIR INDIA organization’s events

        

         

​As such, the Maharajah came dressed in various garbs, but his trademark twirly moustache and his roly-poly stature remained — until 2017 when he lost of a bit of his flab and traded his traditional attire for blue jeans, trainers and a low-slung satchel to align himself with the modern times.

Unsurprisingly, the Maharajah has won numerous national and international awards for Air India for originality in advertising and publicity.

Interestingly, at one point in time, the mascot’s regal connotations triggered a controversy with politicians expressing doubts about using such a symbol to represent a nation with socialist aspirations. As a result, Air India did away with the Maharajah in 1989. But there was such a hue and cry from various quarters that the popular mascot had to be brought back. The Maharaja survived the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines and posed a Namaskar image.

                          

Namaskar from Maharaja(relevant in today’s Covid19 pandemic where Social Distancing is the norm and world over “Namaste is accepted than Handshake”

So, like all great men, the Maharajah has had his critics. But the millions of travelers who love him far outnumber them. For many of them, the inimitable mascot is a real person, almost like a friend who reaches out with warmth and hospitality, even to the farthest corners of the world.     Long Live Maharaja !       

Swamynathan R. : email - swamyxyz@yahoo.com

Specialized Section 

British Indian Victorian Wrappers

-Col J Dutta & Dr Anjali Dutta

Wrappers are perhaps the least popular of philatelic items amongst collectors. At one time there was a practice of collecting a cut out of the imprinted stamp from the newspaper wrapper. Fig 1

Fig 1

This practice has now generally fallen out of favour and newspaper wrappers are now collected intact. Because of this past practice there are many newspaper wrappers which are now rare or even unique as complete wrappers and some wrappers are rare even as cut outs. 

Charles Knight (15 March 1791–9 March 1873) an English publisher, editor and author is believed to be the first person to have proposed the use of stamped newspaper wrappers. The proposal was made by him in 1834 in a letter to Lord Althorp, Chancellor of the Exchequer. The matter was mentioned during a debate in the House of Commons on 22 May 1834. Matthew Davenport Hill MP, brother of Sir Rowland Hill, was advocating a payment of a penny for a newspaper sent by post and stated: "... to put an end to any objections that might be made as to the difficulty of collecting the money, he would adopt the suggestion of a person well qualified to give an opinion on the subject (he alluded to Mr Knight, the publisher). That gentleman recommended that a stamped wrapper should be prepared for such newspapers as it was desired to send by post, and that each wrapper should be sold at the rate of 1d by the distributors of stamps..." 

On 8^th October 1855 the Board of the Inland Revenue announced that they “…are now prepared to receive paper to be delivered at the Head Office, Somerset House, London, for the purpose of being impressed with Stamps for denoting the several rates of postage…” And so it became possible for publishers to obtain Stamped to Order newspaper wrappers in Great Britain from this time. 

Fig 2 is an example of a Stamped to Order newspaper wrapper produced for Nestle, Andreae & Co in 1858 (17.11.58) and used to Switzerland in 1859. 

In 1861 the United States of America was the first country to produce newspaper wrappers for sale at a Post Office to the general public. A 1c newspaper rate was introduced on 27^th February 1861. The actual date of when this wrapper was first issued is unknown. Fig 3 is an USA 1861 newspaper wrapper produced by George F Nesbitt & Co. The design depicts Benjamin Franklin, the first Postmaster-General of the United States.

Three years later New South Wales became the second country to issue newspaper wrappers when it's first wrapper was issued on 14 March 1864.

Fig 2

Fig 3

A further four years elapsed before the next postal authority, the North German Confederation, issued newspaper wrappers on 1 November 1868 in two values in two different currencies.  After this other countries followed in rapid succession. Victoria on 8 September 1869; Great Britain on 1 October 1870; Romania on 15 October 1870 and so on. 

Around 1894 British India decided to introduce the wrapper. On 15^th February 1894 De la Rue submitted designs in form of die proofs on verbal instructions received on  8^th February 1894. The portrait of Queen Victoria by Von Angeli was selected in place of the design of a young Queen that had held sway on stamps and postal stationary. These designs did not get the approval of the authorities. Fig 4

Fig 4

On 12^th July 1894 new designs were submitted and these were approved. The half anna was printed in deep green on buff paper and one anna printed in brown also on buff paper. Fig 5

Director-General’s Circular dated 15^th April 1895 informs of the issue of the Indian stamped wrappers for newspapers and packets which, according to this notice, were issued sometime before 1^st May 1895. Fig 6

Fig 5

Fig 6

Both wrappers are known overprinted SPECIMEN in block capitals 14½x2 mm.

The imprinted stamp cut out and used on an envelope like an adesive stamp is known. Fig 7

Both wrappers were overprinted On H.M.S. or On Her Majesty’s Service for official use -  Fig 8.

Fig 9 shows a half-anna wrapper used from Aden to Zanzibar. Like in India, the wrapper paid the rate for printed matter weighing up to two ounces (56.69 gms). It is doubtful if they were ever officially issued to Aden post offices. It was a sub office of the Bombay Postal Circle and it was probably carried to Aden by a traveler from India and used there. There is no reported use of the one-anna wrapper in Aden. The wrapper shown is one of the three known used from Aden.

Fig 7

Fig 8

Fig 9

Wrappers used from Burma (now Myanmar) which was then part of British India are rather difficult to come by. Fig 10 and 11   

Fig 10

Fig 11

Both wrappers were overprinted for use in three of the six Convention States namely Gwalior (rather rare), Jind and Nabha. Fig 12

Fig 12

The wrappers has been claimed overprinted C.E.F. in 1900 for use of the Chinese Expeditionary Force. Mr Sandeep Jaiswal and I have not come across any wrapper used by the CEF.

We are grateful to have received from Mr Sandeep Jaiswal a wrapper sent from the Chitral Relief Force on 13 July 1895 bearing cancellation of F.P.O.I No 1. It is addressed to London. The half anna wrapper was for internal rate for mail weighing 4 tolas (46.6 gms). It was permitted at ½ anna under privilege rate for the military.  

Fig 13

Both the wrappers were overprinted for use in Zanzibar. Overprinting was done in blue and black and details can be found in the work of George T Krieger. Fig 14 & 15

Fig 14

Fig 15

Conclusion & Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the help we received from Mr. Sandeep Jaiswal who freely shared his knowledge and an image from his collection.

References

1. Manik Jain, Encyclopaedia of Indian Postal Stationery, Philatelia, 1973, p 64, 103.

2. Dr PS Dixit, British India Postal Stationary News Paper Wrappers, Vadophil, No 136-137, Oct 2013-Jan 2014, p 2-4.

3. George T Krieger, Zanzibar-Overprinted Postal Stationery of India 1896-6, Postal Stationery, No 332, 2003, p 116-120.

4. Edward F Deschl, Indian States Postal Stationery Listing, Published by the author, 1994 p 263, 281, 296.

5. Pratisad Neurgaonkar, Postal Stationery of British India 1856-1947, Published by the author, 2009, p 34, 42, 46.

-       Col Jayanta Dutta : email - doctorjayanta2009@gmail.com

Bharat Ratna Musicians -2

Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar

Sitar Maestro

-Cdr G.Sriramarao,I.N (Retd) 

Pandit Ravi Shankar KBE, Sitar Maestro was an Indian Musician and a composer of Hindustani classical Music. He was the best-known proponent of the Sitar in the second half of 20^th century and influenced many other musicians throughout the world as well as a vocalist.

 Born on 7 April 1920 in Varanasi, he was the first Instrumentalist to be honoured with Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award in 1999. He was also member Parliament, Rajya Sabha from 12 May 1986 till 11 May 1992. He spent his youth as dancer touring India and Europe with the dance group of his brother Uday Shankar. He gave up dancing in 1938 to study Sitar playing under court musician Allauddin Khan.After finishing his studies in 1944, Shankar worked as a composer, creating the music for Apu Triology, by Satyajit Ray, and was music director of All India Radio, New Delhi from 1949 to 1956.

Pandit Ravi Shankar being awarded Bharat Ratna by President KR Narayanan

                  In 1956 Ravi Shankar began to tour Europe and the Americas playing Indian Classical Music and increased its popularity there in the 1960s through teaching, performance, and his association with Yehudi Menuhin and Beatles guitarist George Harrison.

                   In addition to the India’s highest civilian award he received three Grammy awards for his outstanding work. Dubbed the “Godfather of world music” by George Harrison of the Beatles. For the film Gandhi, he shared with George Fenton an Oscor for best original score in 1983.

                   George Harrison produced and participated in two record albums, Shankar Family and Friends and Festival of India, both composed by Ravi Shankar. He was posthumously awarded two Grammy awards in 2013, one for life time achievement, another for The Living Room sessions Part 1 in the world music category.

                   His main companion for decades was dancer Kamala Shastri . He also had a relationship with New york concert producer Sue Jones, with whom he fathered singer Norah Jones. Son ‘Subho’ Shankar was also a musician who often toured with him. He passed on the Baton as it were to his daughter Anushka. He died on 11 December 2012.

                  

India post honoured him by issue of a stamp of Rs.25, a mixed sheeetlet with another 7 famous musicians, and a sheetlet of 8 stamps in 2016.

Rs 25 stamp of Pandit Ravi Shankar issued in 2014

First Day Cover on Pandit Ravi Shankar and Vocalist Bhimsen Joshi both Bharat Ratnas and 6 other famous musicians with a beautiful cancellation

A Sheetlet of nine stamps issued on Pandit Ravi Shankar

 

                        

India Post also issued a definitive stamp of Rs 3 on Pandit Ravi Shankar under the series of Makers of India.

            In addition to Bharat Ratna received in 1999 and Five  Grammy Awards 1967, 1973, 2002, 2013, and Grammy Life Time Award 2013 also received .

Sangeet Natak Academi Award 1962

Padma Bhushan 1967, Sangeet Natak AcademiFellowship 1975

Padma Vibhushan 1981

Kalidas Samman from the Govt of Madhya Pradesh for 1987-88

RamanMagsaysay award 1992

Commander of the Legion of Honour of France 2000, Honorary Knight Commander

 of the order of British Empire(KBE) for Services to Music 2001

Honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters

Sangeet Natak Academi Puraskar an award of the Sangeet Natak Academi which is the highest recognition given to practicing artists

Honarary Doctor of Laws from the University of Melbourne, Australia 2010

Honorary doctorates from many Indian Universities

And many many more……………

Special folder issued by the Post Master General Andhra Pradesh on the occasion of issue of eight stamps on Musicians 

The above consisted on all the eight stamps and some of the musical instruments used by these musicians

The above page has stamps issued on four Indian Musical Instruments Rudra Veena, Flute, Pakhavaj and Sarod and some of the famous Musical Cancellations.

Stamps and cancellations for preparation of the above pack are from the collection of the writer of this article.

Cdr . G.Sri Ramarao -  email : sriramarao@gmail.com

                                DISINFECTION OF MAIL

Mail is the postal material which travels long distances and is handled by various persons right from the sender to the addressee. Climatic, geological and biological conditions all around the world differs from place to place and time to time. Some times there are some epidemics or contagious, infectious and communicable diseases spread in some area which are likely to be transmitted through the mail. Also some times there are chances of chemical or bioterrorist attacks by so called militants through the mail system, some times some viruses get attached to the mail which are then spread to wherever the mail goes and whosoever handles it or the mail in contact with the mail adds to the threat. 

Russia 1844 cover with disinfection slits, punch holes –Kerki Quarantine 

Interception and disinfection of mail at frontiers were some of the measures taken to control the spread of such contagious / infectious diseases or epidemics in earlier times. In times of spread of epidemics such as plague, cholera, small pox, typhus, yellow fever etc., which at some period were quite frequent at different parts of the world; the letters coming from suspected areas were subjected to special “treatment” ( sprayed, gassed, scorched, baked, irradiated, detained and soaked in the pursuit of cleanliness ) by health authorities for their disinfection. 

Such treated letters were marked on the outside accordingly. Those markings were effected by variety of means such as wax, paper seals, hand stamps, affixed labels and manuscript notes. Those had the dual function of explaining the often noticeable traces of the treatment and reassured the recipient that the letters were safe to open.

HISTORY OF MAIL DISINFECTION :

Long before during 14th century the causes of the sources of spread of epidemics were identified and the damages of dissemination of infection had been seen. To minimize the spread of plague ( probably the first identified epidemic) Venis and Genua prohibited the access of all those infected or under suspicion of being infected .

It was the Republics of Venice and Ragusa, (Dubrovnik) which first enforced quarantine from the 1370s. The same States introduced the ‘perfuming’ of mail from the Levant with sweet-smelling herbs and flowers a half-century later : a treatment which left no discernible traces.

In 1374 a well known ordinance was issued in Visconto Bernabo of Reggio near Medona which brought in to being a complicated but a fantastic system of protective measures against contagion and set a practice followed allover for about next 500years.In 1377 the quarantine was evolved and put in practice officially in 1383.

             

1419, FROM VENICE TO AFRICA, remarkable early letter written in Latin, folded to minute size and then pierced through and sealed with string through all portions for security, with the string secured by wafer and impressed seal (probably of the merchant’s guild), one small portion with blurring and discoloration which might be evidence of disinfection with vinegar

In 1438, Venice moved far ahead of other places in creating and adopting sanitation methods as it created the supervisors of the health of the land under its megistry of health and endowed it with the large powers specified by the sanitary code. Ships and men were detained, cargo was unloaded in lazarettos, and susceptible articles were fumigated. When the state of health warranted, a reduction in quarantine period was correspondingly recommended.

           

04.09.1666 Frankfurt : Main to Genoa Letters show scorching for disinfection in 1666/67 against Plague

The process adopted did not have any scientific basis but the practice dates from before an understanding of the cause of contagious diseases, and the fumigant was as likely to be based on folklore. So, during this period the mail covers were smoked or drowsed with vinegar in Venice.

In the 18^th and the 19^th centuries not only the ports, but land frontier stations along the important  trade routes served as barriers against the spread of epidemics. At the quarantine stations or at the military cordon posts; persons, merchandise, goods and mail were detained, isolated and decontaminated according to the regulations in force there at that time. The limited knowledge of that time was used to  the utmost to check the spread of plague, typhus, small pox and later cholera. Thus an intriguing practice – decontamination or disinfection of letters was instituted throughout Europe and other parts of the world which continued nearly for 350 years.                 

Letter dated Jan. 30,1805 sent form Alexandria to Marseille with disinfection slit and trace of supplementary disinfection of vinegar fumigation.

After the end of the 18^th century, plague had not much effect in Europe (other than Russia and the Balkans)  though there were outbreaks some times some where particularly in the Ionian Islands. But yellow fever seldom attacked Caribbean , which had occasioned disinfection of mail coming from there, visited ports in Spain and Italy in 1805, resulting in a resurgence of the treatment of mail, even in Northern European countries.

                          

                                    

                                    

 Disinfected Entire of Oct. 1819 Habana to Barcelona

In 1831, the western world faced a new threat i.e. cholera, which had escaped from India routed to Europe via Persia and Russia in the contamination of water sources resulting in adopting practices of treatment of mail in many countries like Germany, Australia etc.. but by the mid-1840s disinfection was little used, except in eastern Europe against plague.

   

Letter dated 10.05.1832 from New York City   to Paris with specific disinfection marking

                                        

Malta 1847 entire letter from Constantinople to Livorno, Italy, showing French P.O. in Constantinople date stamp “CONSTANTINOPLE/ TURQUIE”, “LIVORNO/ C/ VIA DI MARE” maritime cancel, and fine “PURIFIE AU LAZARET/ MALTE” disinfection cancel.

                                     

 Italy Disinfected mail  Torres. Lorenzo to Anzio 1854

SERVIZIO DI SANITA’ MARITTIMA handwritten on entire letter to Health Authority at the Port of Anzio to attest authenticity – the Towers were used to monitor the Roman coastline, enforce a sanitary cordon when necessary and impose quarantine on suspect vessels Please wait

Image not available

 An epidemic of cholera in Egypt in 1884 resulted in a brief renewal of measures especially in Italy, but most countries anticipated the verdict of the 1893 International Sanitary Congress, that ‘letters, news-papers and books should be free of all restrictions’ – but only against cholera. The Americans still disinfected mail against yellow fever and bubonic plague on isolated occasions, most notably in Hawaii, and the Russians redoubled their efforts against Persia and the Far East in the 1890s when both plague and cholera raged, until 1911.

                                              

EUROPE   Austria Ibraila. 10.10.1868, Cover to Corfu endorsed ‘’Via Costantinopoli’’ have Two disinfection slits and minor acidic ink erosions and small portion of paper loss at base

                                        

13.10.1885 entire London to Messina with ‘slit’ for purification purposes.

In the 20^th. Century, mail was very sensibly treated to prevent transmission of smallpox at different parts of the world.

                                               

1902 postcard from Port Said to Malta with light strike of “DESINFECTE/ LAZARETTO. MALTE” date stamp, franked on the picture side with pair 2m (toned) tied by PORT-SAID.

In 1955, Americans were accused of using the mail as a means of bacterial warfare by the Soviet-controlled regime in East Germany using the idea as propaganda in a district where there was an outbreak of paratyphoid fever.

The anthrax scare in the U.S.A. in September 2001thought to be  an act of bioterrorism resulted in experimenting and adopting new methods of mail disinfection  i.e. by irradiating the mail to kill the micro organisms of the disease  also some  actions in Europe and Australia to check the possibility  spread there.

QUARANTINE   :
 

Quarantine is voluntary or compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. Quarantine was applied to humans, cattle, goods, mail, packages etc. Though quarantine refers to forty days but  could be as long  until the person was healed properly with no threat to others, and might be very short, such as in the case of a suspected anthrax attack, in which persons were allowed to leave as soon as they shed their potentially contaminated garments and undergo a decontamination shower. Or had a shower in a decontamination tent.

                                     

1799 fumigated folded letter quarantine outside Philadelphia at  Health Station situated about 10 miles from main township  which initially an island

                                         

Fumigated  Ship letter dated 16.07.1829 from Havana,Cuba to Boston, held in quarantine for 21 days on     Rainsford Island in Boston Harbor due to Yellow fever in the West Indies.

To be contd….

: Naresh Agrawal - email : nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in

In Memory of Dr Satyendra Agrawal….

Stamps on Roses always remind sweet memories of Dr Satyendra Agrawal and his finest philatelic collection on Roses. He contributed more than 100 articles to Rainbow Stamp News which are regarded as a great reference philatelic work !  We pay our philatelic tributes to him on his 3^rd death anniversary which falls in the month of April !

New issues from other Countries

Jersey

26 March 2020 : Celebrating the Music of Ludwig Van Beethoven 

In 2020, the world celebrates 250 years of Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven was a prominent figure in the transitional period between the classical and romantic musical eras. Considered a revolutionary artist and an artistic visionary, his influence is still felt around the world today, including in Jersey where the Jersey Symphony Orchestra has performed a number of his works over the years. 

Taking a contemporary approach, these six stamps represent a selection of some of Beethoven’s most famous compositions. Each stamp incorporates an excerpt from the musical score of the piece, a key instrument in the composition and a portrait of Beethoven himself. 

The Miniature Sheet incorporates an excerpt from the musical score of Symphony No.5 and a bust of Beethoven’s likeness. Jersey Post have produced 200 special edition 12" transparent vinyl records featuring some of Beethoven's famous compositions. The record comes with a gatefold album cover containing a mint set of six stamps and a Miniature Sheet from our Celebrating the music of Beethoven stamp issue.  

A souvenir coin, with a limited run of 250, has also been produced featuring an iconic portrait of Beethoven on one side and Beethoven's beloved Broadwood piano on the other.

Korea

20 March 2020 . Korean Aircrafts (2nd Series, Helicopters)

 16 April 2020 : 100th Anniversary of Duksung Women's University

Slovenia

13 March 2020 : Decorated Easter Eggs

Spain

20 February 2020 - 12 Months, 12 Stamps - Araba-Alava 

The 12 months, 12 stamps series features the initials of the place name with a range of images displaying the tourist attractions of the province. February's stamp is dedicated to Araba/Alava. 

The first letter is in the shape of the bell tower of the cathedral of Santa Maria in Vitoria-Gasteiz, whose octagonal shape topped by a steeple rises above the city, offering splendid panoramic views of the city to the faithful and visitors alike. This Gothic cathedral was built over the remains of a 13th century church which formed part of the wall protecting the town. 

The wine glass forming the second initial symbolises the land dedicated to growing grapes, highlighting the wine-making riches of the two denominations of origin treasured by the province: Rioja Alavesa and Txakolí from Alava. Rioja Alavesa produces fine fruity red wines made from tempranillo, garnacha, mazuelo, graciano and viura grapes. Txakolí is the characteristic white wine of the Basque Country, it is fruity and low in alcohol with light acidity. It is made from the local hondarribi zuri grape, and produced in the Amurrio, Llodio and Ayala areas. 

The mountainous nature of the area offers numerous hiking trails through the many natural parks dotted around the province, such as Valderejo, Izki, Aizkorri-Aratz, Urkiola and Gorbeia, whose 1482 metre peak has been crowned since 1899 by a famous metallic cross, as we can see in the image of the second initial. 

The background to these symbols shows the amazing landscape of the Valle Salado of Añana, comprising a network of canals, horizontal platforms (eras) and stepped terraces covered in salt. 

The crimson stripe at the bottom of the stamp alludes to the colour of the provincial flag. 

20 February 2020 : Spanish Culinary Capital 2020 - Murcia 

 

Murcia’s farms are the stars of this stamp, which is brimming with colour and vitality. “The garden of the 1001 tastes” is the slogan under which Murcia has claimed this honour, taking over from Almeria, which was last year’s culinary capital. This is the driving force for the series of Spanish Culinary Capital stamps that Correos has been issuing for many years. 

With these stamps, Correos highlights the gastronomy of the Spanish cities that enthusiastically present their candidacy and their best features to be honoured with this title every year. 

In 2020, Murcia will host a range of activities related to food and drink, including workshops, competitions and tastings, which will make it a very attractive tourist destination. 

The jury chose this area because of some of the dishes in its culinary repertoire, such as zarangollo (scrambled eggs with vegetables), roast lamb, michirones (fava bean stew), Murcian salad and paparajote (lemon-flavoured fritters), and its local denominations of origin, including Yecla wines, Calasparra rice and Jumilla pears. 

The stamp features a design highlighting fruit and vegetables. The Murcia region is known as the “garden of Europe” because of the huge volume of exports of these products to most European countries. 

Tomatoes, grapes, cabbages and carrots are the stars of this area, which produces some 3 billion euros of produce every year. 

These products fill the stamp with colour, with the main design featuring a spoon and fork entwined in the shape of a heart. 

The slogan “The garden of the 1001 tastes” completes the design of a stamp that joins a series that has previously featured cities such as Toledo, Huelva and Leon. These images travel the world, providing a little shop window for Spain’s fantastic culinary traditions, in this case, that of Murcia. 

20 March 2020 : Gastronomy

Acknowledgement

- Ananthapuri Stamp Bulletin March 2020 issue edited by Mohanchandran Nair

- Judaica Thematic Society (UK)  April 2020 Newsletter edited by Gary Goodman email - judaicathematicsociety@talktalk.net

-The Hyderabad Philatelist March 2020 issue edited by Prakash Agrawal

-The Hyderabad Hobby Magazine March 2020 issue edited by Prakash Agrawal

Bogs & Websites

Philatelic Congress of India

Indian Philately Digest

       Stamps of India

Rainbow Stamp News

Se-tenant Stamps of India

Flags & Stamps

Europa stamps

        Phila Mirror

       International Stamp News

        Welcome to Indian Philately

Philatelic Clubs & Societies  

Ananthapuri Philatelic Association, Thiruvanthapuram

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

Chandigarh Philatelic Club

Deccan Philatelic Society – Pune, Maharashtra

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

The Hyderabad  Philatelic and Hobbies Society

India Study Circle -  http://www.indiastudycircle.org/

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

Ludhiana Philatelic Club

Numismatic & Philatelic Association of Vellore Fort 

http://numismaticphilavellore.site40.net/index.htm

Philatelic Congress of India - http://www.philateliccongressofindia.com/

Philatelic Society of Rajasthan, Jaipur

Philatelic Society of India , Mumbai : http://www.psi1897.com/
Orissa Philatelic Association, Mail id-: orissaphilatelic@gmail.com

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/

The Army Philatelic Society, Pune

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

RAINBOW STAMP CLUB

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Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters

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

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

-Ananthpuri Stamp Bulletin - Monthly e -stamp bulletin of Anathapuri Philatelic Association, Thiruvanthapuram

-Journal of the Army Philatelic Society : Editor – Col Jayanta Dutta

-India Post – Quarterly Journal of the India Study Circle publishes original articles submitted by members of ISC.

-Deccan Philatelist from Deccan Philatelic Socity, Pune. edited by Col Jayanta Dutta

-The Hyderabad Philatelist from Hyderabad Philatelic and Hobbies Society Editor – Prakash Agrawal

-SIPA Bulletin issued by South India Philatelists’ Association

Courtesy - News and Image Resource to this issue : Stamps of India , Wolfgang Beyer – Germany; Madhukar Jhingan, New Delhi,

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Jeevan Jyoti,  c / o Mr. Ajay Srivastav, Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun – 248002. India  

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                                                                                                                                                          Rainbow Stamp News is edited and published monthly by Jeevan Jyoti from Dehradun    (Uttarakhand ) India for free circulation among philatelists.