Wishing you all a very Happy & Prosperous New Year !!

Date of Issue – 1 January 2011

This souvenir sheet to be issued by Taiwan Post, is printed in intaglio combined with offset. For the first time ever, the sheet is hot stamped with optical variable film to highlight the fireworks displays and the play of light and shadow on the Ferris wheel.

Shimla January 2011 Issue # 37 Vol. IV

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 –

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

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

 

Dear Reader,

With this issue I wish you all a very Happy & Prosperous New Year. Now Rainbow Stamp News enters fourth year of publication. The most memorable and precious part of these three years was interaction with philatelists from different places who became regular email friends and helped me to spread philatelic fraternity among collectors in India and abroad by their contribution in this newsletter. It has been my endeavor in the last three years to bring philatelic community closer and provide them regular updates from the world of stamps. I thank all my contributors and Readers for their great contribution to Rainbow Stamp News. I am sure, I shall be able to continue this newsletter in future and provide you more news and articles on philately.

The time for an International event is coming closer and philatelists are waiting for INDIPEX 2011. We do hope that it will be a memorable event for Indian Philatelic Community.Recently a National level Stamp exhibition SINE, concluded in Delhi, giving an opportunity to meet philatelists from different parts of the country and it was attended by collectors and prominent philatelists from different parts of the country.

A new trend has started of organizing   the exhibitions  by private clubs and philatelic societies at State & National levels. It is a big step to promote this hobby in our society. But it is a very difficult task to organize a big show with limited finances without the support from Deptt. of Posts. In every private exhibition there is always a big problem for the organizers to arrange the frames. The cost of repairing and constructing new frames is very high. This must be considered by the organizers. So, instead of organizing a big exhibition, an exhibition for a particular class should be organized with limited number of frames and it must be taken into consideration that no exhibit is left un-displayed as the exhibits are the main part of the exhibition and the exhibits should be given top priority without any fail. If the exhibits are not displayed due to shortage of frames, it causes lot of disappointment and resentment among the participants. This is obvious on the part of participants as they want their exhibits to be displayed in the exhibition if they had sent their entry. When the exhibits are judged without being displayed, the exhibitors are always unsatisfied and disappointed as their exhibits do not get any recognition by fellow philatelists.   Organizing private stamp exhibitions is praiseworthy but  if the frames are reduced to limited number with the display of high class exhibits, it will definitely be a more successful exhibition.

This is all for this month……Till next issue….Happy Collecting !! A very Happy & Prosperous New Year!!

                                                                                                                                                          …. Jeevan Jyoti

Contents

Recent Indian Issues

In The News

Interview

Beginners’ Section

Specialized Section

Something of interest, also for non-philatelists

New Issues from Other Countries

Reader’s Right

The Lighter Side

Philatelic Clubs and Societies

Blogs & Websites on Philately

Promotional Section

Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters

Editor’s Mail Box

 

   

 

 

                  

Recent Indian Issues

10 Nov KAP Vishwanathan – Rs 5

14 Nov Children’s Day – 4 stamps each of Rs 5 + MS

15 Nov Laxmipat Singhania – Rs 5

16 Nov Comptroller & Auditor general of India – Rs 5

28 Nov C. Subramaniam – Rs 5

1 Dec Kamlapat Singhania – Rs 5

3 Dec Indian Musicians – 3 Stamps of Rs 5 each

6 Dec Sri Sri Borda

11 Dec Prafulla Chandra Chaki – Rs 5

15 Dec India – Mexico Joint Issue – Rs 5, Rs 20 + MS

21 Dec Crafts Museum – 2 stamps of Rs 5 each + MS

22 Dec Yashwant Rao Chavan & Bhausaheb Hiray – two stamps of Rs 5 each

23 Dec Bhai Jeevan Singh & Central Bank of India – two stamps of Rs 5 each

24 Dec National Council of India & Dr Triguna Se- se-tenant pair – Rs 5 each

See detailed list of India Post Issue Programme 2010 at

http://www.indiapost.gov.in/philatelycalendar2010.htm

Special Cover – Postmark

17 November : Epilepsy Foundation – Mumbai

20 November : 8th World Congress for Oral Implantology & AAID Global Conference, 2010 – New Delhi

2 – 3 - 4 December : Rajpex 2010, Jaipur – 3 special covers

1 December : Donate Skin, Gift a Life ! – Mumbai

12 December : Saint Shri Harvansh Singh Nirmal - Mumbai

New Picture Postcards

India Post, Central Region (TN) has issued a set of 3 picture postcards to commemorate millennium celebrations of the Brihadeeswarar temple at Thanjavur. Set of three cards is priced at Rs. 15 (Rs. 5 each). An advertisement for the forthcoming INDIPEX 2011 Exhibition with logo is also placed on all three cards.

http://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/2010/12/brihadeeswarar-temple-cards-by-india.html

New Maxim Cards

Mr Vipan Kumar Thakur of Chandigarh and Boben J E of  Trivandrum have prepared maxim cards on Pigeon & Sparrow. View all cards by clicking following link :

http://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/2010/12/maxim-cards-on-pigeon-and-sparrow.html

Private Stamp Booklets

Three Private booklets released in Kerala

1. Stamp Booklet on Rathosav. Which includes Block of 4 stamp of Puri Rathyatra and 1 MS.

2. Stamp Booklet on Pigeon. Which includes block of 4 stamps of Pigeon.

3. Stamp Booklet on sparrow. Which includes block of 4 stamps of Sparrow.

In The News

World’s Smallest Christmas Card

Nanotechnologists at the University of Glasgow have produced what they believe to be the world's smallest Christmas card. The card has an image of a Christmas tree etched on a tiny piece of glass and measures 200x290 micro-metres. Invisible to the naked eye, the card is so small that 8,276 of them could fit on an area the size of a postage stamp. The point behind the creation of the card was to show how accurate nanotechnology is, according to the university's school of engineering.

Stamp on Cloth ( Khadi ) & Personalised Stamps to be launched by India Post during INDIPEX

A unique stamp printed on cloth is all set to grace the collections of philatelists world wide. In a bid to popularise philately (study and collection of stamps and related items), India Post has decided to release a stamp printed on Khadi. A first such stamp in the country, it will bear the image of Mahatma Gandhi.

"We will issue the special philately stamp on February 12, the inaugural day of week-long world philatelic exhibition —Indipex 2011 — that will be observed in India and Japan this year. President Pratibha Patil will inaugurate the stamp," Harpreet Singh, director, Indipex 2011, said. The stamp will be released at the national museum amid thousands of eminent philatelists from different countries."The stamp, with the denomination of R100, will be released on a single sheet and we are hoping that it would be in great demand," said an officer of department of post's philatelic bureau. This will be 2nd souvenir sheet issued by India Post. The fist was issued in 1997 depicting Mother Teresa in the denomination of Rs 45. The stamps issued in souvenir sheet are not issued in regular sheet of multiple stamps by India Post.

During Indipex, which will be organized jointly by India Post and Philatelic Congress of India, the department will also issue unique personalized stamps called ‘My Stamp'. "A personalized stamp is a postage stamp where a picture or photograph can be added to the stamp," said Singh. Those interested can get their snaps clicked during the Indipex. These snaps would then be printed on stamps and can be used along with real stamps, Singh said.

He also inaugurated a letter writing and stamp designing competition on Sunday at India Gate premises, which saw participation of more than 3,000 schoolchildren. The winners of the stamp designing competition, the theme of which was ‘save the tiger', will have their designs displayed at Indipex.Six best designs will be printed as official government stamps and issued on the Children's Day, said India Post sources.

UK stamps could lose Queen's head

Buckingham Palace is to hold urgent talks with ministers over its fears that the Queen's head could vanish from British stamps following the Government's sale of the Royal Mail.

There is no stipulation in the Postal Services Bill, which privatises the service, that the image should be included on future stamps. The monarch's head has been on every stamp since the Penny Black of 1840.The Bill could result in up to 80 percent of the Royal Mail owned by a foreign company. The leading bidders in the Royal Mail sell-off are expected to be Dutch and German operators. The British stamps are the only ones in the world that do not carry the country's name - just the portrait of the sovereign.

The current standard stamps, drawn up in 1967 by Arnold Machin, are considered a design classic and a defining icon of Britain recognised around the world.

Half a rare German postage stamp fetches a fortune

Half a rare German postage stamp which dates back to 1872 has fetched some 261,000 euros ($347,500) at auction in the southern German town of Bietigheim-Bissingen. A spokeswoman for the auction house said a German collector paid the high price for the well-preserved half-stamp, which originates from the northern German town of Syke, because it was so rare.

"Stamps were in short supply in Syke between 1872 and 1874 so it was decided that they should be cut in half as a makeshift solution," she said. "But because this was only done for a short period, very few letters actually bear these halved stamps."

Europa 2011 – Year of Forests

The Europa 2011 is declared as Year of Forests. The first Europa stamps of this year will be issued by Greenland on 17 January 2011.

 

 

New Logo on Europa stamps 2011

 

On the 2011 Europa stamps a new logo will be seen. A small square and black & white element has been added in front of the word Europa.
This new logo can already be seen on the 2010 Europa stamp issue of Switzerland. The Swiss post has the copyright rights on the Europa logo. In 2011 this logo will be featured on each official Europa stamp issue.

The present Europa logo is in use since 1993. That year PostEurop took over from the CEPT the Europa stamps issues.

Read more about Europa Stamps

Forthcoming Philatelic Exhibition

INDIPEX – 2011

The world philatelic exhibition will be held in New Delhi from 12th to 18th Feb. 2011, to commemorate the centenary of world's first airmail. It will be organized by INDIA POST in Collaboration with PCI and under Patronage of FIP and under auspices of FIAP (Federation Inter Asian Philately). The list of Indian Jury members is given below :

Sunder Bahirwani - Secunderabad, A.P.

Ms. Damayanti Pittie - Mumbai
Mehta Dhirubhai - Mumbai

Mr. Dastur Vispi - Mumbai
Mr. Dilip Shah - Jabalpur
Mr. Ajeet Raj Singhee - , Hyderabad
Mr. Yogesh Kumar - Baralie (U.P.)

The details of INDIPEX 2011 can be found on following websites -

http://www.indipex2011.com/ & http://www.filatelista-tematico.net/india2011.html

See final list of exhibitors in INDIPEX 2011

PHILANIPPON 2011

World Stamp Exhibitions are held all over the world every year with aims to develop philately, opening world-renowned stamp collections to the public and promote stamps of the member countries of the F edration Internationale de Philatlie (FIP). In Japan, World Stamp Exhibition takes place once every ten years and held in 1971, 1981 and 1991, and 2001, and will also be held in 2011. The theme of PHILANIPPON 2011 is “Stamps Link the World”. It will be a rare opportunity for the first time in 10 years in Japan to promote philatelic culture in Japan, publicize Japanese stamps overseas and nurture cultural exchange and international friendship through stamp collection.

Date : July 28 – August 2, 2011

Venue : Pacifico Yokohama, Exhibition Hall.1-1-1.1 Minatomirai Nishi-ku,

Yokohama 220-0012, Japan

Patronage : Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP)

Auspices : Federation of Inter-Asian Philately (FIAP) http://www.philanippon.jp/english/

STAMPS OF INDIA NATIONAL EXHIBITION

Stamps of India national exhibition was held from 10 – 12 December 2010 at NSIC Exhibition Ground, New Delhi, jointly organized by Stamps of India & Bhartiya Daktickit Sangstha Kolkata. The venue of the exhibition, NSIC Exhibition Ground was the best suitable place for this exhibition. The frames used in the exhibition were of high standard and the exhibits were well displayed in the frames so that exhibits sheets could not be affected or spoiled in any manner.. In this National Exhibition total 770 frames were exhibited by 266 participants from all over the country including youth category. The exhibits were judged by a big team of Jury members of different specialized philatelic fields.

In award ceremony 12 gold,56 silver and 73 bronze medals were awarded. Mr. Shanti Sukhani presented the Jury report. Mr Dipok Dey, Mrs Savita Jhingan and Jury Mr Sahdeo Sahoo gave away the prizes to the winners. The award of best thematic collection went jointly to “Sports in modern world” of Mr Dinesh chandra Sharma and “Images of summer Olympic” of Mr Jaggannath Mani of Bangalore. Mr Kishor Chandak of Solapur was honoured with Grand prize and jury felicitation. He was awarded for his 8 frame exhibit on “Cancellations of pre stamp era” a totally research work.A National Grand Prize was given to Rajesh Jhunjhunwala. National Grand Youth Prize was awarded to Subhankar Tripathi.

Mr Kishor Chandak of Solapur was honoured with Grand prize and jury felicitation.

There was shortage of frames so the exhibits were changed on 12^th to exhibit maximum number of frames. The exhibition was visited by philatelists and collectors from every part of the country. This certainly gave a big chance to the collectors to meet and interact with each other. at a common platform. The stalls of dealers were crowded with collectors, searching for their required items. The number of medals and frames were limited so some exhibits were deprived of awards and display. But it was a great effort by team members of SINE to hold such a big show with limited finances and without any support from India Post. Due to some unavoidable reasons any special cover could not be released during this big event. But a big Get-Together of Philatelists from different parts of the country at this exhibition was wonderful.

The award of best thematic collection went jointly to “Sports in modern world” of Mr Dinesh chandra Sharma and “Images of summer Olympic” of Mr Jaggannath Mani of Bangalore.

A special cover in the limited quantity of 100 was mailed from Kolkata to New Delhi by speed post on December 11, 2010. These will be auctioned in February 2011 to raise funds, a picture of the special cover can be viewed at http://www.stampsofindia.com/ChaloDelhi/sine.html

See complete Award List -

http://www.stampsofindia.com/ChaloDelhi/awardslist.htm

Glimpses of SINE - http://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/2010/12/glimpses-of-sine.html

EXPONET

Virtual International Philatelic Exhibition

http://www.exponet.info/

Exhibit on Ramayana by Dr Eli Moallem, Israel

http://www.japhila.cz/hof/0661/index0661a.htm

World’s First Airmail..

On Feb. 18th 2011, the Centenary of the world's first Airmail will be celebrated. India’s noted aero philatelist Mr Pradip Jain has recently donated the 1911 World's First Airmail Flown carried cover to the Smithsonian Postal Museum which is supposed to be the world's best postal / philatelic museum showcasing the treasurer of philately world and is regularly visited by thousands of visitors .

http://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/2010/12/worlds-first-airmail.html

Members’ Directory from Mobile Philately

Mobile Philately is now making a directory of its members along with Identity Cards. For Mobile Philately Directory & Identity Cards members are requested to send their details through email to Deepak Modi : modi.philatelist@gmail.com Blog : www.mobilephilately.blogspot.com

2 Central Base Post Office Philatelic Exhibition-2010

A one day Philatelic Exhibition was organised by 2 Central Base Post Office, 99 APO  at  211 Field Workshop Coy, Barrackpore Military Station on 20 December 2010. The exhibition was  organised mainly for the Troops and their families. Several eminent philatelists of Kolkata were specially invited to exhibit their valued collections. THE EXHIBITION WAS A GRAND SUCCESS.

 

India Post to launch e – Stamps

INTERVIEW

Prof V.S. Yalvigi is a very senior philatelist from Bangalore. At the age of 80 Plus he is still passionate about philately and continues this hobby with great interest. Prof Yalvigi is an example of a great stamp lover .He takes lot of interest in preparing special covers for specific dates as collection of Palindrome date cancellation is his specialized field of philately. Prof Yalvigi retired as a Professor of Botany from Bangalore University. He started his career in 1951 from Raja Ram College, Kolhapur and after that joined Bangalore University in 1965 and retired in 1989 as Professor. Besides stamps he collects Coins, Currency Notes & paper cutting. Prof Yalvigi has compiled a Pictorial Album “ Gandhiji in Mint & Print “ containing Gandhi’s Notes, Coins, Interesting photos and Gandhiji’s brief life history, year wise starting from his birth year 1860 to 1948 his death and some of his preachings. This is about 300 page album awaiting publication. It is a great pleasure to publish an interview with Prof Yalvigi who is enjoying the hobby at the age of 80 plus with lot of enthusiasm and passion. His deep interest in Stamps & Coins, proves that the hobby makes a person always young !! - Editor

Interview with Prof.V.S.Yalvigi

Q1. You have a passion for palindrome dates . What made you to collect special postmarks & covers related with palindrome dates??

1. Yes. This craze for Palindrome started in 1999. I came across a letter with the Cancellation 9-9-99. This letter inspired to think about such dates etc. It struck me that this can happen only once in a Millennium. So I started collecting these Palindrome Date cancellations, viz: 01-01-01,02-02-02, & so on. I thought if I can complete this up to 12-12-12- (for Twelve years) it will be a great achievement. This is how it started. And I hope with the Best wishes of you and other Philatelists I will reach the goal.

Q2 Do you collect covers &  postmarks with other specific dates too ? What pleasure do you get in collecting covers & postmarks with special dates ?

2. Yes I do. It is a great pleasure to collect Cancellations of Special dates, because that happens only once in our LIFE TIME. Viz: 9-9-99,31-12-00, 1-1-01,20-2-02, & 22-2-02 etc.

Q3. What are your other philatelic interests?? How and when were you introduced to this hobby ?

3. Since last 40 ( Forty) years, I am in this hobby of collection of Stamps, Covers, & cancellations & other Postal articles of special interest- Specially Mahatma Gandhji.This inspiration is due to my education in my younger days 1-10^th Standard in National High School- Karnataka High School, Dharwad. Here the teachers were also of Nationalistic mind and involved in Satyagraha Movement etc- 1940 -1947.

Q4. What is your most favorite branch of philately?? Why do you like it most?

4. Thematic-Personalities- Mahatma Gandhi , Freedom fighters, etc

Q5. Are you satisfied with the services of Philatelic Bureaus in India ? How the services could be improved??

5. Lot of room for improvement- Conducting Exhibition as often as possible This will encourage the younger generations- Student community. & others to collect stamps etc & create more numbers of Philatelists in the country.

Q6.You might have spent a long time with this hobby. What difference do you find in today's and yesteryear's hobby....??  What is the role of Internet in promoting this hobby?

6. Earlier I was dependent on the stamps from the delivered Postal articles. These collection were used to be smudgy and dirty .Now it is so easy to get them in Mint condition from the Philatelic bureaus, and Post offices. The greatest boon of the present world is “THE INTERNET” . not only provides the latest information but also provides the Picture Images of the article. What a pleasure to see these things!

Q7.What is your opinion about the philatelic items issued by India Post in terms of quality & design?

7. Lot of improvement is seen. Stamps, Mini sheets are very attractive, sizes are also bigger than the earlier Issues.

Q8.What is your opinion about the selection of topics to issue postage stamps in India???

8. I have the following suggestions:

a. Themes should be Universal

b. Indian themes should be equally divided for all the States of India & their specialties.

c. Stamps on Personalities should be issued after their Death only.

d. In year if 12 stamps are to be issued it should be divided equally- personalities, Nature, Places of Historical Importance and others.

9. What would you like to see more on Indian stamps ? In your opinion what topics are left on Indian stamps by India Post and need to be considered for future issues?

9. Stamps of Future: Indian Philately needs stamps of diversified nature The themes should include historical places like Palaces of Ex Maharajas, Nizam & Nawabs, Nature- Plants of Useful & harmful types, village surroundings and articles of Agricultural use. Themes covering

Political & sports etc.

10. Describe philately in your own words....What do you feel personally about this hobby ? How do you keep yourself active with this hobby??

10. Philately is known as “ King of hobbies” It is. This hobby does not involve any hazards etc, especially for younger generation. So Children can take up this stamp collection and develop into a great hobby. In a few years time each will have a very valuable collection. This collection teaches the history, geography, science and what not? It will be a great fund of knowledge & pleasure!

My own collections which are almost forty years have become treasure of knowledge and money, as some of them are not only rare but not available in the world.

I retired as Professor of Botany from the Bangalore University in 1989 almost twenty years back. Since my retirement this Philately has kept me busy and active. But for this hobby my life would have become miserable. It is not just collection but my taking part in Seminars & Exhibitions of District, Regional, State, National & International levels. I feel happy whenever my theme “ Gandhiji in Print & mint” is displayed in these exhibitions. I have taken part in more than 100 exhibitions so far. This hobby has kept me active & busy even today at age of 80 plus. I have tried to create my own themes like INDIA POST 150 years, AMAR JAWANS, Mahatma Gandhiji & Post offices etc etc, I have designed Special covers- PALINDROME DATES, like 1-1-1, 2-2-2, 3-3-3.---it will be completed with 12-12-12 in the year 2012 These covers have the above date cancellations by the Post offices for authenticity Note such dates come once in a Millennium only. This collection of Postal cancellation is my unique theme!

Prof Yalvigi may be contacted at e-mail : vsyal2001@yahoo.com

Beginners’ Section

Estimating the value of old Postage stamps…

The value of old postage stamps is a question that never seems to die. If you’ve been involved in stamp collecting, you’ve probably encountered this question numerous times. The scenario is almost always the same: someone inherits a collection or finds one from a relative of some sort and wants to know if they are worth anything. Almost without fail, there’s a major look of disappointment to the inevitable response of “It depends, but probably not a lot.”

There seems to be an assumption amongst the uninitiated that old is somehow equivalent to rare and valuable, and that is simply not the case. Just because a particular stamp is old does not mean that it is rare or valuable. In fact, most of the time the exact opposite is true: the stamp is quite common and not valuable at all. The real problem is that this is not ALWAYS the case. There ARE rare and valuable stamps out there, and some of them might just reside in collections that have been forgotten and passed on to someone who does not know what the collection might be worth.

As with almost everything else in this world, the value of any particular postage stamp depends on supply and demand. If a stamp is rare AND there is demand for it, then the stamp will be valuable. It should be noted that this is the case whether a stamp is old or not. Age has no relevancy when it comes to determining the value of postage stamps. The only reason that there are more valuable stamps that are old than are new is that the scarcity of those stamps increases with time due to loss from a number of factors, including normal usage as postage, loss from damage thru poor caretaking or accident, theft, and just plain being misplaced and lost.

Most postage stamps were issued in quantities that are sufficient to satisfy the demand for them in perpetuity. This even includes stamps that were issued early in the history of postage stamps. The truly rare stamps were mostly the result of varieties that were issued without notice to collectors or in small quantities due to low anticipated demand. The latter is why the top values of most sets are worth far more than the common values that were used on daily mail.

Now, back to the original question… it takes knowledge and experience to determine the value of old postage stamps (or newer ones for that matter). This remains true even if you provided the person that wants to know with a catalog. Many stamps that are worth fabulous sums of money look almost exactly like stamps that catalog at minimum value. Even highly experienced collectors often have to rely on experts to tell them whether a particular stamp is really the stamp they think it might be.

If you happen to be one of those people that has inherited a collection or accumulation of old stamps and don’t have a clue what it’s worth, do yourself a favor: start with the assumption that it’s probably not worth anything. This way, you won’t be disappointed when you find out that the stamp collection your grandfather gave you isn’t going to pay for that new house. If the opposite turns out to be true, then so much the better! Chances are, however, that if the collection was really worth that much, you would’ve known about it long before your relative passed on to the next life.

Please also realize that no stamp collector or stamp dealer, no matter who they are, will be able to tell you how much that stamp collection is worth without first seeing the collection and spending some time on it. You should be prepared to compensate that collector or dealer for their time and knowledge in helping you, even if they don’t ask for it. Chances are that collector or dealer spent a lot of time and money to gain the experience and knowledge that will allow him to give you an informed opinion of the worth of your new stamp collection, and he should be regarded the same as any other professional who provides opinions.

Finally, if it should turn out that your new stamp collection doesn’t have much value monetarily; please don’t consider it a bad thing. Perhaps that collection might just give you the most valuable thing of all: a relaxing and very rewarding new hobby. After all, it is likely your predecessor got many hours of enjoyment and relaxation from building the collection. You might get just as much enjoyment from adding to and caring for that same collection.

- Philatelic Titbits

Members of Philatelic Advisory Committee of India Post

Mr. Ronalds Nelson, G3. No1 Second Avenue,7th Main Road,Sandeswaram Nagar,Velechery,Chennai 600 042. Cell : 09841017154 Email:  sipagold@gmail.com

Mr. J.M. Dhor (Jaipur) 999 Dhor Building, Gopal Ji Ka Rasta, Jaipur - 302003. Ph. 141 -2578900 e - mail : dhorjatanmal@yahoo.com

Mr  Dilip Shah, 799 - GOL BAZAR, JABALPUR - 482002, M.P.  Off : 0761-424456 Fax :0761-312047 e- mail  : rajesh_id2001@yahoo.com

Mr. Manik Jain, M/s Philatelia, One Moti Sil Street, Kolkata 700 013. Telephone: (033) 2228 8549, 2228 7777, Fax: (033) 2228 8888

Mr. Vispi S. Dastur, D.J. Jasavala & Co., Charted Accountants, E/1 Rustom Baug,  Gr. Flr., Byculla, Mumbai- 400 027. Tel:- 23721062 e-mail: xerxes@vsnl.com

Specialized Section

THE STORY OF PIGEON POST

By Naresh Agarwal

PIGEON POST IN SOUTH AFRICA

It will be surprising but true that even today pigeon post service is being used in South Africa by trading firms. Carrier pigeons are being used to transfer data between offices because bosses believe it is quicker than broadband.

A company in Durban, South Africa is using the bird to transfer data on a memory card to a call centre 50 miles away - which is much faster than using broadband. Their computer experts said it took six hours to transfer four gigabytes of encrypted data from Durban to a call centre 50 miles away near Pietermaritzburg.

The 11-month-old pigeon carried a memory stick with data more quickly than Internet

Staff at Unlimited Group, a financial services company, today attached a memory card to the leg of a pigeon called Winston who took just over an hour for the trip.

FIRST ORGANIZED PIGEON POST SERVICE OF THE WORLD ( Pigeon-gram Air Mail service )

The first organized pigeon airmail service was started in 1896 between New Zealand and the Great Barrier Island. The sinking of the SS Wairarapa off the Great Barrier Island, with the loss of 134 lives; was a catalyst for the service. News of the disaster did not reach New Zealand for 3-days and as a direct result a pigeon-gram service was set up between the two islands.

PIGEON-GRAM STAMP

The first message was carried in January 1896 and took less than 1.75 hours to reach Auckland. Up to 5 messages were carried by each pigeon with the record time for the journey being held by a pigeon called ‘Velocity’ taking only 50 minutes and averaging 125 kmph

NOTICE PUBLISHED IN THE OBSERVER ON 15^th May 1897

MAP OF PIGEON AIRMAIL ROUTE

Airgraph : An advance stage of microfilming of messages and images projected using magic lantern on to a screen and transcribed by hand on the receiving end read. During Airgraph service, the microfilms were reprinted to almost ¼ size at receivers end and delivered. This Airgraph 1943 shows a privately printed Xmas message with news article about this French Airgraph precursor.

FRENCH POST OFFICE NOTICE DATED 16^th Nov. 1870 INFORMING THE OPENING OF

SPECIAL DESPATCH BY CARRIER PIGEONS FROM TOURS

Office of the Original Great Barrier Pigeongram Service,Marotiri

Special pigeon-gram stamps were issued costing 10 pence each with the fee being paid in cash before the pigeon was released.

Commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the wreck of the S.S Wairarapa 29^th Oct. 1894 In March 1897 an innovative solution was instigated – the pigeon post, a world first.

WORLD WAR AND PIGEON POST ( WAR PIGEONS )

THE PIGEON AS WAR HERO

In modern times the carrier pigeon has been used to great effect during wartime. In both the first and second World Wars the pigeon saved hundreds of thousands of human lives by carrying messages across enemy lines. Pigeons were carried on ships in convoys and in the event of a U-boat attack a messenger pigeon was released with details of the location of the sinking ship. In many cases this lead to the survivors being rescued and lives saved. Mobile pigeon lofts were set up behind the trenches in the First World War from which pigeons often had to fly through enemy fire and poison gas to get their messages home. The birds played a vital role in intelligence gathering and were used extensively behind enemy lines where the survival rate was only 10%. In the II World War pigeons were used less due to advances in telecommunication telecommunications, but the birds relayed invaluable information back to the allies about the German V1 and V2 Rocket sites on the other side of the Channel.

CARRIER PIGEONS - WWI

In the 20th century, pigeons were used extensively in both great wars to carry messages, and as a result of their bravery and heroism, tens of thousands of human lives were saved. The last messaging service using pigeons was disbanded in 2004 by the police force in the state of Orrisa, in India.

PIGEONS IN WORLD WAR I

As man-made communication systems were still crude and unreliable, pigeons played a vital part in WWI as they proved to be quite quick, safe and reliable way of sending messages in the heat and disorientation of battle . Over 100,000 pigeons were used in the war with an astonishing success rate of 95% getting through to their destination with their message.

French soldier with pigeons carried on his back

Pigeons would have been found just about anywhere on the Western Front. At the Ist Battle of Marne in 1914, French troops stopped the German advance on Paris as their pigeons advanced with them carried in 72 pigeon lofts which advanced along with them - but many of the pigeons were 'on duty' carrying messages and could never have known where their loft had moved to. Incredibly, all the pigeons at the Marne returned to their lofts - despite the fact that they would have flown 'blind' not knowing where their lofts were.

A B-type bus from London converted into a Pigeon loft for use in Northern

France and Belgium during the Great war

AN APOCRYPHAL TALE ABOUT PIGEON IS AS FOLLOWS :

CHER- AMI A brave war pigeon of WW1 who saved 194 soldiers by delivering message to their head quarter at 25 Miles away flying in 25 minutes in the gunfire and over the battlefield. He was shot at his chest and lost his one leg too. He was awarded “THE CROIX DE GUERRE WITH PALM”

In October 1918, as the war neared its end, 194 American soldiers found themselves trapped by German soldiers. They were cut off from other Allied soldiers and had no working radios. The only chance they had of alerting anybody about their desperate situation was to send a pigeon with their co-ordinates attacked to its leg. The pigeon's name was Cher Ami. When released it flew 25 miles from behind German lines to the Americans headquarters. Cher Ami covered the 25 miles in just 25 minutes. The pigeon was, in fact, shot through the chest by the Germans and at leg too, to which the message was tied, but continued to fly home. With the "Lost Battalion's" co-ordinates, the Americans launched a rescue and the 194 men were saved. Cher Ami was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palm for its astonishing flight. He delivered as many as 12 messages during the wartime.

As with other pigeons, it would not have known where the American's nearest headquarters was - its natural homing instincts took over.

WW1 PIGEON MESSAGE FROM US NATIONAL ARCHIVES

During WWI, the American army kept several thousand homing pigeons. The fledgling British Air Force kept more than 20,000 for an unusual mission—intelligence gathering. Each pigeon, with a message holder attached, was placed inside a basket that was attached to both a parachute and a rigged balloon. When the wind was right, the balloons would be released. The rigging freed the basket over enemy territory, and the parachute gave the pigeon inside the basket a gentle landing. A message asked anyone who found the basket to supply intelligence information, put it in the message holder, and, for a promised future reward, free the pigeon to fly home. The Germans caught some of the birds and responded by shooting anyone they caught who sent a pigeon aloft with information.

Innocent and Efficient Participants in the War – pigeons at war, from the War of Nations pictorial supplement, New York Times, December 31st, 1919. The captions read: "London motor bus pressed into service on the Western front as a traveling loft for carrier pigeons." (top left); "Carrier pigeons being released at a remote point of the line in order to carry a message to French  Headquarters." (top right); and "British  motor cyclists taking carrier pigeons  to first line trenches, for sending back with messages when other means of communication are too slow or dangerous or lacking." (bottom)

To be continued……

Naresh Agarwal may be contacted at e mail : nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in

Something of interest, also for non-philatelists….

By Dr Avinsah B. Jagtap

Indian Rupee Coin - not only a tender, but also a standard weight

The postal charges in British India depended upon the weight and also on the distance the letter had to traverse from the place of its origin to its destination. In the beginning the whole letter was composed of long sheets, which were folded in such a way so as to serve also as a wrapper on the back of which the weight of the entire letter was entered, possibly in the immediate vicinity of the hand-struck stamp, either *PAID” (in Red) or “BEARING” (in black). The entry in manuscript was made in “Tolas” or “Ounces”. One Tola was equivalent to 0.4114 Ounces (Avoirdupois Units), which in turn were equivalent to 11.66 Grams.

Prior to 1818 there were several Rupee coins in circulation in different parts of India. Their weights also varied between 10.2 and 11.6 Grams also their silver contents differed. For example, in Bengal Province there was Sicca Rupee with a weight of 11.08 Grams, whereas in Madras it weighed 11.1 Grams. In the year 1835 The East India Company declared the Madras Rupee coin with the standard weight of 11.66 grams and the net silver contents of 91.7% as the Official Rupee Coin of the East India Company.

The minimum weight of the letter was fixed at 1/4^th Tola or 2.92 Grams by the British Indian Postal Authority during the years 1837 - 1866. During this period special thin sheets with weight “1/4 Tola per sheet” embossed on them were made available in the market.

It was a genial idea, to proclaim Rupee coin not only as a standard coin for trade but also as a standard Tola weight, especially for weighing letters, because the Rupee coin was readily available. Yet, despite the adaptation of metric system by India in the year 1957, the precious metals like gold and silver; and their ornaments are still being weighed in Tolas!

The Official Rupee of East India Company, minted in 1824, with portrait of King Wilhelm III

1829. Pre-Philately Letter from Nuddea to London with the hand-struck stamp ”NUDDEA/POST.OFFICE/PT.PD. “6a/SA.WT.”2”(Tolas)/”8 Sept,1829”, where “SA.WT.” mean “Sicca Rupee Weight”

1834. Pre-Philately Letter from Porto Novo via Madras to London, with manuscript entries: “2 ¼ Tola”/Ship Postage 12 as/ Inland Postage as 15” and date “4. Novr. 1834”

1846. Pre-Philately Letter from Coimbatore to London with the dispatch stamp “COIMBATORE/(ms) 7 August 46/ Paid (ms) Rs 1 A(s) 5”and the weight of the letter “3 & 5/16Tolah”

Dr Avinash B. Jagtap may be contacted at email : abjagtap@hotmail.com

New Issues from other countries

Argentina

13 Nov Christmas - $1.50

Canada

Baby Wildlife Definitives

Canada Post recently issued 4 definitives featuring cute Baby Wildlife.From nose - rubbing Arctic hares and a steel-faced baby red fox, to fuzzy baby geese and a cheeky Polar bear cub who is definitely ready for his close-up, these stamps provide a rare glimpse into nature's nursery.

7 Jan 2011 Lunar New Year – Year of Rabbit

Croatia

6 Dec 2010 New Year ( Magic Tree)

 

This postage stamp is the result of Croatian Post's annual "Create a stamp and win a prize" competition. Aimed at schoolchildren, This year, the theme of the competition was "a tree in winter" and the best work was used as the motif of this year's New Year stamp. The selection committee received a total of 1,614 works from 213 schools in Croatia, and selected a painting by Marta Bilandzija, a seventh grade pupil from Slavonski Brod, as the best. The stamp has a face value of HRK 1.60 and was printed in 100,000 copies.

Greenland

7 January 2011 Europa 2011 Forests – 2 val

Luxembourg

7 Dec Christmas 

Malaysia

13 Dec Traditional Past Time Games - 6 Stamps in se-tenant pair + MS

Pos Malaysia has issued a stamp collection featuring the Upin and Ipin cartoon series using the glitter sticker technique, the first in Asia with perforations. The producer of the animation series, Les Copaque Production, has designed the main characters playing traditional games such as wau (kite) using a special printing technique. The series, released in conjunction with the 2010 Stamp Week, is the last Malaysia stamp issue of the year. Upin and Ipin is a Malaysian television series of animated shorts which features the life and adventures of the eponymous twin brothers in a fictional Malaysian kampong.

Mexico

15 Dec India Mexico Joint issue – MS

Monaco

29 Jan 2011 4th International Cat Show - .87 €

Monaco Post will issue a stamp dedicated to the 4th International Cat Show organised by the Monaco Feline Association. It will take place on January 29 and 30, 2011 at the Rainier III Auditorium. Over 400 outstanding cats and a wide variety of different breeds will be on show. The cat on the stamp is an Egyptian Mau.

Poland

30 December :  I love You

Sri Lanka

15 October 2010 Louis Braille Birth Bicentenary – Rs 5

Taiwan

1 Jan 2010 - 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China S/S

Fireworks displays, kaleidoscopes of color and light, look dazzling and spectacular against the inky night sky. These artful renderings of high-tech sound and light effects really wow people and bring them great joy. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China, Chunghwa Post (Taiwan Post) is releasing a souvenir sheet on January 1, 2011.

The sheet includes four stamps, each depicting a firework sight fused into a river nightscape. From left to right: the Double Tenth Day fireworks display in Taipei (NT$5), Taipei 101's New Year fireworks display (NT$5), the Lantern Festival fireworks display on Kaohsiung's Love River (NT$25), and the Dragon Boat Festival fireworks display in Taoyuan County's Longtan (NT$25). The background of the souvenir sheet features a fireworks display by the Taipei Ferris Wheel, which conveys a sense of universal celebration.

The souvenir sheet is printed in intaglio combined with offset. For the first time ever, the sheet is hot stamped with optical variable film to highlight the fireworks displays and the play of light and shadow on the Ferris wheel.

UAE

4 November : Sea Birds of UAE – MS

Reader’s Right

Editor’s note- The aim of this stamp newsletter is to provide instant information and facts on philately to the readers and not to hurt anyone’s feelings. Readers may express their views, anguish and resentment through this column on philately. The platform is not used for any vested interest to cause derogatory to philately. When writing your views be sure that it should be related to philately only. It should not be used to express personal feelings between persons or groups in any manner.

The Antiquities & Art Treasures Act 1972

The Culture Ministry has recently prepared draft guidelines regarding the “Auction and sale of relics of national importance”. The ministry is now seeking suggestions and objections from the public in this regard.

This is being done in the wake of the auctioning of Gandhi memorabilia in the USA recently. The Draft is considering inclusion and exclusion of items of national interest.

This opportunity should be a wake up call for the philatelic community. Indian philately too has suffered due to the auctioning of valuable philatelic material abroad. Rare and irreplaceable Indian items have appeared on the Auction lists of foreign Auctioneers and then just disappeared. Many of the Roll of Honour Philatelists of India have happily enchased their collections abroad after they had garnered enough Medals both in India and abroad.  Unfortunately this has been done by the doyens of the Indian philatelists .  On the flip side, we have had innocent philatelists and dealers who have been hauled up to jail and had their materials confiscated under the Act.

The mandarins in the Ministry are unaware that just being more then a hundred years old just not makes a stamp or philatelic material valuable. Their ignorance comes to fore when Temporary Permits have to be applied for sending even mundane and common stamps to International exhibitions. In fact many of the Indian philatelists do not participate in Internationals due to the cumbersome process it takes to get permission, and the threat of getting the exhibit confiscated always hangs like a Damocles sword on their heads.

Philatelists and philatelic bodies should write to the Minister of Culture and create a pressure group so that this act is amended logically. We cannot expect the holy cows of the PCI to do this, they are like Ostriches,  happily buried up to their necks in the quagmire  that  they have made of Indian philately, hence every philatelist should take it upon himself to write. 

- Anil Dhir , Bhubaneshwar  e-mail : anildhir2k5@hotmail.com

Philatelic Exhibitions…

For a stamp collector or a philatelist, philatelic exhibitions at any level (District, State, National or International) are important as they get an opportunity to meet fellow friends, philatelists, stamp dealers. Philatelic Exhibitions provide opportunity to the philatelists to enter their exhibits for competition.
Recently held national exhibition (SINE) in New Delhi was an exhibition which attracted People of philatelic Fraternity form all parts of India. From the point of view of organization, the standard of exhibition was appreciable to certain extent. Organising Philatelic exhibitions is a Herculean task particularly in India, where infrastructure and financing is the biggest constraint. Almost all exhibitions whether organized by the Government or Private organizations have received criticism of improper display (poor system of exhibiting or Lack of space or not displaying the exhibits partially or whole) of exhibits.
I like to participate in all kinds of philatelic exhibitions and I have enjoyed participating in most of the possible exhibitions from District level to World level. But it is difficult for me to understand the real objective of organizing exhibitions. Even if all the exhibits are displayed in the frames, do you see the people seeing the exhibits?
In any exhibition at any level more than 90% people are busy in the bourse section of the exhibition. You will hardly see people going through the exhibits carefully and jotting down the notes which may help them to improve their exhibits. It is very essential to see and examine various exhibits for the philatelists (particularly thematic philatelists) who want to achieve higher awards at philatelic exhibitions.

Being a thematic philatelist I have always been disappointed as only very few good quality thematic exhibits can be seen in the Philatelic exhibitions held in India at any level and in any part of the country. Most of the philatelists forget that the thematic exhibiting is narrating the chosen subject with the help of philatelic material, not writing a book. Some of the thematic philatelists who got higher award at SINE found saying that they can show 8 frames easily to do better next time. I would only suggest to such philatelists to think several times before doing so as they will end up spending hell lot of money and time and ultimate dissatisfaction. If you are a thematic philatelist try to gain enough knowledge and philatelic material to enable you to prepare a high class exhibit at world level, as there are very few thematic exhibits from India which get a Vermeil or higher award at International exhibition. Getting a gold medal at World level must be your aim while enjoying your subject.

The role and objective of any philatelic exhibition should be to promote philately in an appropriate manner. The philatelists must get an opportunity to be educated rather than just winning awards. The standard of judging must be high and according to guidelines so that each exhibits get award as per the merit. The exhibition organizers must ensure that young students attend the exhibition. If we don’t attract youth towards the philately, the organization of exhibition is simply useless.
The organistion of SINE 2010 was a good effort but it could have been better. It is expected a better exhibition next time.

- Dinesh Chandra Sharma, Lucknow e-mail : olymp_sharma@rediffmail.com

SINE…The National Stamp Exhibition..

It was a great experience for me to attend the Stamps of India National exhibition, which is in fact the first National exhibition I have attended. I was quite impressed

a) with the way the New frames for the exhibits are manufactured with glittering stands, which in fact made the exhibits look good

b) the way in which the philatelic items were examined and accounted for when we handed over our exhibits.Even the shops of the dealers were made very attractive, It gave me an opportunity to meet  many good friends and many senior philatelists.

However I was bit disappointed due to the following short comings, though as far as I am concerned convinced myself that these things happen in an exhibition of this level.

They advertized that nearly 1000 frames will be provided but many exhibits could not be displayed due to shortage of space. In fact the exhibits were changed on the third day so that some more can be exhibited.The frames are good but of a bigger size leaving space on top and bottom thereby I am sure the judges could not read the introductory pages, and could not really study all the exhibits. By making the frames of the correct size to fit in 16 A-4 pages and reducing the level of the frames by just one foot, the judges could have got a better opportunity to study the exhibits.

I have not written the above to criticize but with a view that if these points can be kept in mind exhibitions of this nature will be a great success .I suggested to organizers when I received the exhibits that they must give a copy of the synopsis page (which they should ask the exhibitors to provide as an additional copy) so that the judges can read the same before they study an exhibit. The impression I got is that they most of them being old could not read the synopsis page as they are at a height, nor could study the exhibits well - and so could not really appreciate an exhibit. I also told that if it is not feasible, give an opportunity to the concerned exhibitor to explain his exhibit to the jury just for 5 minutes(though I fully appreciate that an exhibit should be self explanatory) but it will be self explanatory only provided someone takes pains to read the synopsis page and study the exhibit.- well it may not be feasible due to shortage of time, but a copy of the synopsis page can definitely be given..

I was happy to see that they awarded some silver and Gold medals - I am sure the exhibitors should have attempted to at least get the medals electroplated so that they look like silver and Gold, though I did not understand the philosophy of all medals to look alike and they will mention the level of medal in the certificate..

- Cdr Gandikarao Sriramarao , Vishakhapatnam e-mail : sriramarao@gmail.com

Editor’s Note

Exhibitions organized by any organization or Government must be appreciated especially organized at private level. As it makes a small philatelic community to meet each other at a common platform and gives opportunity to display the exhibits which collectors prepare with lot of pains and time. There are always shortcomings in exhibitions of every level. But it is a pity that often many good exhibits go un- noticed by the judges and remain unrecognized especially in the Thematic Category. This cannot be denied by anyone.While discussing the exhibits at SINE, a philatelist remarked…..… “ Only the exhibitor knows what he/she has prepared or wants to convey through the exhibit… no one could understand unless explained by the exhibitor….” I noticed the point and found it very true…and just felt that the exhibits can be best evaluated through its CD only, through which the exhibits could be seen and read with crystal clear image and text……To examine an exhibit thoroughly standing at frame for few minutes is not possible at all.  Proper evaluation of exhibits will remain a topic of discussion in every exhibition…..As a big variation is seen in the awards as per quality of the exhibits in each and every level exhibition……

New Blogs & Websites

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

Phila Mirror : http://philamirror.info/ - It is a very informative site. Regular updates on Indian & foreign stamps and news from the philatelic world are given on this site. This is a very useful site for every philatelist.

Indian Stamps for your Virtually : http://indianphilately.blogspot.com/ A nice blog has been created by Mr Kumar Kamaleshan Nair of Trivandrum. The regularly updated blog gives details about Indian stamps. The blog is beautifully designed by Mr Nair.

Join Mobile Philately & Stay Updated - http://mobilephilately.blogspot.com/ It is a blog by Mr Dipak Modi of Jalna, Maharashtra. 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.

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

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

http://www.stampshopy.com/ - A new site on Indian Stamps and other philatelic items.

http://indiastampsdetails.blogspot.com/ - A new Blog on Indian Stamps by Sundar R. of Salem, Tamilnadu

http://ronlovestamps.blogspot.com/ - A new blog by Ronny Wong of Malaysia. The blog gives updates and discussions on philately related topics

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

 

Philatelic Clubs & Societies

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

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

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

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

Ludhiana Philatelic Club

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

Philatelic Society of Rajasthan, Jaipur

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

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

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

The Lighter Side

December Issue of Rainbow….

As usual and as ever , The Dec. issue of Rainbow

Touched the hearts with its nice ,Strokes and beautiful throw

Beautiful colors spread around , It is pleasant to have a glance

The fighters moving swiftly,Demonstrating the sky dance

Hats off to Mr. Chakraborti, For his marvelous thought

Who showed the aerobatics in sky,In beautiful colors he brought

Our new Israeli philatelic friend ,Has done it very correctly

He brought the Ram and Ramayana,To the world through philately

Hats off to Dr Eli Moallem, For such a nice collection

We Hindus are really indebted, To him for his nice selection

Issuance of 75 ILC’s in a single day, Will be the biggest collectable set

Every keen collector would certainly, Like to have this wonderful asset

The rose man of India has yet again, Come up with another shower

Displaying Gothic Cathedral’s beauty, Without the fragrance of flower

Malaysian philatelist Ronny Wong, Spoke every word to the point

His thoughts cheered up every one, There is nothing to get disappoint

Dr Jagtap introduced us with, A less known chapter of history

About the great warrior Chittorians , Spoke on their bravery and the glory

Dr. Jagtap has spoken widely, Every single word is very right

You really have worked hard, Given us this Rainbow delight

My heartiest best wishes to you, For bringing up such a nice issue.

-Naresh Agrawal email :  Nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in

Promotional section

Variety of Max Cards on Pigeon & Sparrow

Mr Vipan Kumar has prepared a set of 16 different Max Cards on Pigeon & Sparrow. He may be contacted for purchase & exchange at e-mail : philavpnthakur@rediffmail.com

Permanent Pictorial cancellations from Gujarat

Mr Vijay Modi of Himmatnagar, Gujarat has collected all permanent pictorial cancellations from Gujarat. He may be contacted for purchase and exchange at e-mail : vijay_idom@rediffmail.com

Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters

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

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

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

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

e ZEP Newsletter http://www.ezep.de/zpj/zpj.html Editor : Dieter Leder

email zpj@arcor.de website www.eZEP.de

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

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

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

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

E –Mail : akshayborad@hotmail.com

Editor’s Mail Box

Dear Madam,

On behalf of GPA,  please accept my greetings on completion of 3rd year of your very delightful  & colorful plus  informative e-bulletin on philately.

With regards,

V.P. DHAKY,  Secretory General,  Gujarat Philatelists' Association,  AHMEDABAD

Naresh Agarwal, Bilaspur (C.G.)

Well , I have gone through the Rainbow Stamp News . It’s really nice. I have no words to express quality of rainbow which is for me better then the best. Comments given by Mr. Jagtap on Rainbow are just very very  true and  speaks all about your dedication and hard work.
I congratulate you for  the success of Rainbow. The appreciation, the love and the comments given by the readers all over is the biggest award for Rainbow. I thank you for the comments you gave  for the comments of Mr. Jagtap.

Dr. Hemant V. Kulkarni, Milwaukee USA

I wholeheartedly concur with the thoughts expressed by Dr Avinash Jagtap of Switzerland.Her total devotion to the hobby she cherishes with an aim to enrich the knowledge and joy for the entire Philatelic community deserves a special salute.

M.Rajendran. Trichirapalli

I am one of your regular reader of your Rainbow Stamp News magazine for the past 2 years. It is very good and very informative both about India as well as foreign countries. Your news letter now in new format is very informative.

K. Veeraghvan, Pattukotai

I am happy to learn that Rainbow Stamp news completes 3 years in the service to the philatelists in India and worldwide. I see the intensity and hard work that you and your team have put in to create the news each time and month. I wish you and your team a happy journey in the world of philately and service to us. I also wish that your good service should continue forever.

Maheh Reddiar, Bhatinda, Punjab

I am regularly watching your website, very good work from your side, for the promotion of Indian philately, I hope you can do this a long year and happy to know it completed three years, I will give you all support and happy to share experience with you.

Ilyas Patel, Ahmedabad

First of all heartiest congratulations on completion of three successful years of Rainbow Stamp News. I am aware that it is a very difficult task to sustain for three consecutive years with philately news letter and that too with superb design and enriched contents each month. You have progressed with productive information on philately and that is commendable. Bravo. Keep it up.

Atul Agarwal, Aligarh

First accept my heartfelt greetings for completing three great years of Rainbow news letter. Really, you are doing a wonderful job for promotion of Philately.

Many Thanks !!

Thank you very much for your kind words and expressing your love and appreciation for the Rainbow. I am highly indebted to all my well wishers who have given me strength to continue my journey . It is your love and appreciation that has enabled me to present Rainbow with a variety of articles and news every month……..Many Many thanks for all your mails !! ….Editor

RAINBOW STAMP CLUB

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

Name…………………………………………

City/Country………………………………..

E-Mail………………………………………..

Postal Address…………………………….

Collecting Interests……………………….

Brief write up about yourself……………

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

·Courtesy- News and Image Resource to this issue - Stamps of India, Deepak Modi –Mobile Philately ; Mansoor B.- Mangalore, International Stamp News ; , Shrikant Parikh – Ahemedabad; Sreejesh Krishnan - Trivandum ; Ashwani Dubey & Sandeep Chaurasia – Gorakhpur ; Sirnivasan Thevarayan, Klang – Malaysia; Vishal Sanganeria – Guwahati ; Souvik Roy - Calcutta

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, Director, Great Himalayan National Park, Shamshi, Kullu (H.P.) PIN 175126 India

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

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

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

A Request to Readers & Contributors-

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

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

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

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

Till Next Month …..Happy Collecting…………………………………………………………………

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