Saturday, September 29, 2012

Rainbow October 2012

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Date of Issue : 1 October 2012

In many parts of the world, October is pink. This is the month when various organizations arrange fund raising activities to benefit breast cancer research and to promote awareness about the disease. 2012 sees the first Aland charity stamp. The Aland Cancer Society receives part of the selling price.

Shimla   October 2012   Vol.V   Issue # 58

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

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

Ms. Jeevan Jyoti, c / o Mr. Ajay Srivastav, CCF, GHNP & Pin Valley National Park, SHAMSHI, Kullu -175126. (H.P.) India

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

Dear Readers,

I am pleased to release October 2012 issue of Rainbow Stamp News. In this issue you will find  articles on some new interesting subjects and I hope you would like them.

Recently India Post issued a set of four Maximum Cards during LONDON 2012 Olympics. These Maximum Cards printed on glossy paper are of poor quality unsuitable for applying cancellation on the picture side as it gives unclear and bad impression. Such cancellations on glossy paper are wiped out very easily and fade with the time. This  shows that philatelic items issued by India Post do not match with International standards in quality in any way.  India Post must improve the quality of  printing and paper of the philatelic items  so that these items become durable and could get global appreciation and recognition.

October is the month of festivals in India. Greetings to all my readers for this festive month. Have a Great Celebration and wonderful time with your family and friends…..

More in Next Issue ………Happy Collecting !!

                                                                                                                                                              -- Jeevan Jyoti

 

Contents

· From the Desk of Naresh Agarwal

· Recent Indian Issues

· In The News

· Interview

· Some remarkable covers - Dr. Avinash B. Jagtap

· Beginners’ Section

· Specialized Section

· New Issues from Other Countries

· Reader’s Right

· The Lighter Side

· Philatelic Clubs and Societies

· Blogs & Websites on Philately

· Literature on Indian Philately

· Editor’s Mail Box

· Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters

image From the Desk of Naresh Agarwal

REFORMING INDIAN PHILATELIC SOCIETIES

Philatelic societies or clubs are generally known as group of like minded people who collect and study stamps and related material. They have regular meetings, exchange stamps/ material, share information/knowledge and at times organize some displays/shows where they display their collection and other displayable material to themselves and to general public too. Philatelic clubs and societies are birth place for a philatelists and are schools for stamp collector where they learn and graduate to a philatelist. These are also discovery houses for many philatelic gems. Which means in absence of these, a collector remains mere a collector and never come to the scene and hence, along with him philately dies.

Stamp collection has a long history and so the formation of philatelic clubs. The earliest known mention of a stamp club is in Queensland named as “Queensland Philatelic Society” formed in 1892.There after there has been formation of various philatelic clubs and societies all over the world including a few in India with “The Philatelic Society of India” established in 1897 in Calcutta followed by Empire of India Philatelic Society that was formed in Bombay.

Philatelic societies in India have served Indian philately for long and helped in promotion of philately in a big way. There have been big names in the recent list of such clubs and societies such as South India Philatelist’s Association, Hyderabad Philatelic & Hobbies Society, Baroda Philatelic Society, Gujrat Philatelic Association, Jullundur Philatelic Club, Jamshedpur Philatelic Club, Chhattisgarh Philatelic Club, Dakshin Kanadda Philatelic Association etc. In general, philatelic societies, clubs and associations have their roots almost at all the corners of India and have promoted the hobby amongst the people of all ages at all such places..

The aim of such societies have been promotion of philately amongst its members and public in general. They also promoted specific branch of philately so as to help philately graduating from mere simple stamp accumulation to a well researched organized subject based collection covering various aspects of philately. These societies have also earned reputation and names for themselves and for their members internationally as these have helped all generations of philatelists to come on the scene from time to time by grooming and producing them.

1. Recognition of philatelic societies by FIP or other parent federations.

2. Recognition of philatelic societies by India Post

3. Sponsoring or adopting philatelic societies opting by big business and industrial organizations

4. Societies with high tech. communication facilities

5. Generating a common fund for societies at national level

6. Forming a new body/federation to control of philatelic societies (not philatelists)

at national level

7. Affiliation of societies with the federation

8. A separate study circle for societies

9. Dissolution of junk, inactive and unproductive national federations

10. Local post offices to provide space for society activities

11. Connectivity of societies with philatelic bureaus

12. A common constitution / rules and regulations for all the societies in India

13. Building a common fund and sharing of fund for common cause

14. Common national advisory committee of societies

15. Connectivity with educational schools….Post office to co-ordinate

16. Professing philately as sport

17. Honoring philatelists and philatelic writers

18. Purchase assistance and connectivity with dealers

19. Formation of separate philatelic wing based societies

20. Inter society connectivity internationally

21. Issuance of philatelic journals /bulletins ( subsidized or free)

22. Forming panel of experienced judges

23. National Philatelic redressal forum of societies

24. Inter society activities

25. Common stock of display and publicity material

Hence, a serious effort has to made from all direction and all corners of India to give a new height to philately as success of this move will produce a good number of new philatelists at local, national and international level.

 

Recent Indian Issues

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· 25 July 2012 London Olympics 2012 – 4 stamps + Miniature sheet

· 26 July 2012 50 years of Customs Act - 1962.

· 31 July 2012 Durga Prasad Chaudhary – Rs 5

· 4 Aug , 2012 Armed Forces Medical College - Rs 5

· 29th August 2012 Husain Ahmad Madani – Rs 5

· 25 September 2012 Motilal Nehru – Rs 5

Recent Special Cover and Postmark

27 July 2012 OLYMPHILEX INDIA 2012 London Olympics 2012 , Bangalore

28 July 2012 Biodiversity

View : Special  Covers 2012 by India Post

In The News

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The Indian National Flag unfurled through Philately by Sekhar Chakrabarti

A new book by noted philatelist Mr Sekhar Chakrabarti, "The Indian National Flag unfurled through Philately" (ISBN: 978-93-81523-39-1has just been published by Niyogi Books, New Delhi.

This book in the form of possibly the first and only authoritative book on the history of the Indian National flag, exposed through philatelic articles, till date.... This book is a must-read for those who are interested in Indian history and those who are curious about the Indian National flag, its background, development and true meaning...

For details Contact : Niyogi Publishers - website : http://www.niyogibooks.com/

 

Stamps that make other’s life happy

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Aland Post will issue a charity stamp to create awareness about breast cancer on 1st October 2012. The stamp features an Amazon, A female warrior without her right breast. The spear held by the woman is in fact a stick used by breast cancer patients in connection with their rehabilitation, and the spearheads is a symbol created by the designer Carina on behalf of her networking group ‘Warriors of Light’. Instead of woman’s right breast we see a tattoo with many different symbols representing important issues to consider when going through cancer treatment : food, music, dancing, animals, laughter, friends,, love the sun and sleep. Some of the symbols appear on the woman’s tattoo Each symbol has a specific meaning; for example, the symbol combining the snake and the sigma sign signifies that the sum of two parts is greater than the whole.

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98 Years Old Bottle Mail : History of mail re-discovered

Normally with invent of new technological systems, sending message or mail takes literally no time. But in the initial years of sending messages, lots of innovative methods were used which included bottle mail too.Recently, a Scottish fisherman Andrew Leaper, found a bottle containing a message or bottle mail in Shetland sea while he was skipping his fishing boat. This drift bottle contained a post card which promised a reward of six pence to the finder - was released in June 1914 by Captain CH Brown of the Glasgow School of Navigation. Which was found after 98 years in safe condition.

It was in a batch of 1,890 scientific research bottles which were specially designed to sink to help map the currents of the seas around Scotland when they were returned. Only 315 of them have so far been found. Mr Leaper, 43, who found the bottle east of Shetland, explained: "As we hauled in the nets I spotted the bottle neck sticking out and I quickly grabbed it before it fell back in the sea. He further added that that was very exciting to find the bottle and he couldn't wait to open it. The story of scientific drift bottles is a fascinating one and harks back to an area when in the beginning those were used to understand the complexities of the seas. It is amazing that nearly 98 years on bottles are still being found and returned to the Marine Laboratory in such fantastic condition.

First Olympic QR-code Stamp

Sochi 2014: Innovative new stamp and 500 days out marks the countdown to the Games

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September 19 - The Sochi 2014 organizing committee has launched the first Olympic QR-code stamp for the Games.

The innovative stamp was coordinated with the Publishing and Trading Center "Marka", the Russian Post Office and was supported by TOP Sponsor Samsung Electronics and features the Sochi logo as well as a matrix code linking viewers back to the Games’ website.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, head of Sochi 2014, said, "Today we have taken a step into the future with the launch of Sochi 2014 stamp with QR code incorporated, which is the first of its kind both in the history of Russia and the Olympic Movement.

“The new stamp will really add some sparkle to the Sochi 2014 Philatelic Program and build on a range of distinctive and innovative Sochi 2014 souvenirs, such as 3D credit cards, coins and the Games Mascots!"

The new stamp has a face value of 25 rubles and is 37x37mm in size and was issued in a sheet of 9 stamps and there will only be 60,000 sheets in circulation.

The launch was carried out at the trade gallery of Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung Electronics and participants were shown how the stamp’s code works to promote the website and they were able to take photos in front of the background of a stamped envelope.

Read More…

USPS Recycles Customers' Old Electronics

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If you purchased a new iPhone 5 yesterday and are wondering what to do with your old mobile phone, then a trip to the post office is in order. Yes, the post office. The United States Postal Service (USPS) expanded its recycling program and now allows customers to trade in their old electronics for cash, including cell phones, at one of 3,100 retail locations nationwide," according to Melissa Hincha-Ownby on the Mother Nature Network website.

Read More…

Forthcoming International Exhibitions

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SHARJAH 2012

The Emirates Philatelic Association is going to organize the 28th FIAP Asian International Stamp Exhibition (Sharjah 2012). The Exhibition will be held at Mega Mall, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates from 20 - 25 November.  It will be a 6-day exhibition includes all FIP/FIAP classes.

Mr Rajan Motiram Jayakar (email : rajanjayakar@yahoo.com ) is the National Commissioner for India . Mr V S Dsatur is member of Jury and Mr Rajesh Kr Bagri is member of Apprentice Jury from India.

Read More..

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THAILAND2013 - Word Stamp Exhibition

THAILAND 2013, International Philatelic exhibition will be held in Thailand from 2 to 14 August 2013 in Bangkok, under the patronage of FIP. The World Philatelic Exhibition will take place from 2 - 14 August 2013 at the Royal Paragon Hall 1-3, 5th floor, Siam Paragon, Bangkok. Mr. R D Binani as Commissioner for India, his address :33-B Rowland Road, Kolkata 700 020  E mail : binanipm@gmail.com Mob:9830073058

www.thailand2013.com

AUSTRALIA 2013 Melbourne / Australia 10.-15.05.13

www.australia2013.com

Mrs Damyanti Pittie is the national commissioner . For details contact : dm_pittie@mtnl.net.in

BRASILIANA-2013

WORLD STAMP EXHIBITION - It will be held in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 11th to 17th November, 2013. It will be organized by the Brazilian Enterprise of Posts & Telegraphs (ECT) and the Brazilian Federation of Philately (FEBRAF), with the patronage of the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP). The official website is under construction and will be released shortly.

http://www.brasiliana-2013.blogspot.com/

Mr. Rajesh Kumar Bagari nominated as Commissioner for BRAZIL 2013.

Email rkbagri.indipex2011@gmail.com or bagri@iname.com

Auction

ITS Postal Auction No.58 – Last Date: 6.10.2012
Scans of some lots are available at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/its_offers/

Indian Thematic Society
http://indianthematicstamps.webs.com/ OR http://itsstampnews.blogspot.com/
Emails: indianthematicsociety@gmail.com OR surajjaitly@hotmail.com

HYDERABAD PHILATELIC & HOBBIES SOCIETY

50 YEARS OF CELEBRATIONS : HYPEX – GOLD – 2013

The Hyderabad Philatelic & Hobbies Society is celebrating its 50 years of service to the Philatelists, Numismatists & other Hobbyists, in 2012. As a part of the celebrations, HYPEX – GOLD - 2013, a Philatelic and Numismatic Exhibition will be held from 04 January – 06 January 2013 at Secunderabad (Hyderabad). During this exhibition, a grand meet of Dealers and Collectors is proposed to be held followed by a palmare cum dinner get together wherein doyens of Philatelic & Numismatic fields will be invited.

For further details, please write to: HydPhilSociety@yahoo.co.in or contact

Shri Sunder Bahirwani, President, HPHS, Phone: 09985357370

Shri Agarwaal, Shri Prakash, Chairman, HYPEX-GOLD-2013, Phone: 09346777206

Shri B K Nagpal, Secretary, HPHS, Phone: 09885031013

Interview

It gives me immense pleasure to publish here interview of Mr Nikhilesh Melkote, Pride of  our Philatelic Community   is the first philatelist to enter KBC ( Kaun Banega Crorepati ) in its very first season’s 6th episode. Mr Nikhilesh is an ardent thematic philatelist from Bangalore with a wonderful collection on flags, “ Flying Colors” and some others such as Cricket. He was once a well known philatelist at junior level winning many International awards at a very young age…But after joining Banking career he gave a break to philately . At present he is Regional Risk Manager, ICICI Bank, Bangalore. In spite of his busy professional engagements, he spares sometime to be in touch with philately . Presently he is member of Karnataka Philatelic Society .

Mr Naresh Agarwal Interviews Nikhilesh Melkote with special reference to India’s one of the most popular TV programmes “ Kaun Banega Crorepati” hosted by Millenium Star Mr Amitabh Bachchan !!l  Here I also wish to share that I have long association with Nikhilesh Melkote as we have been pen - friends since school /college time in the 80’s and we have been sharing our philatelic achievements and activities over the years…It is really nice that Nikhilesh answers some of the questions asked by Mr Naresh Agarwal which readers would certainly appreciate !! - Editor

Mr Nikhilesh Melkote may be contacted at email : nmelkote@hotmail.com

image   Interview with Nikhilesh Melkote…

1. How did you enter in to the world of stamps and what made you to move ahead and embrace this hobby?

In 1971, when I was about 7 years old, I was visiting my neighbour, a retired army official. One day he received a letter, with a stamp on it. I was fascinated by this, & he explained to me that this was a letter from a far away country named Hong Kong, and because of the stamp it had travelled all the way to India. He gave me the stamp, and told me to collect more stamps, as I could learn a lot from this hobby. I started collecting by tearing off all the stamps from letters received at home, & also asked my Dad to get me more from the letters received in his office. 2 years later, we moved from Bangalore to Mysore. Opposite my school there was a building where Mysore Philatelics club used to meet, & I walked in one day & joined it. This was the turning point, as I met there Mr. K Lakshminarayanan, founder of the club, who guided and moulded me. He asked me to concentrate on a particular theme instead of general collection. He later became Secretary of PCI. I consider him my first philatelic guru.

(I have lost touch with him since he moved to the USA. If anyone has his contact details please help me to re-connect with him).

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“Young Nikhilesh with his collection and awards”

2. What are your major philatelic interests. Please tell us about your achievements in this field.

My main interest is in Thematics - Flags was my first theme, and I have exhibited this at various levels, from local to international. For my exhibit titled Flying Colours, at Junior level I had won several awards, the main ones I recollect are Large Silver at KARPHILEX (State level), Large Silver + Special Prize at INPEX 1986 ( in senior category ) , Jaipur (National) & Bronze at MLADOST 84, Bulgaria (International). I won Silver - Bronze at AUSIPEX 84, Melbourne & Bronze at INDIA 89, New Delhi.

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Prize distribution of INPEX 1986, Nikhilesh Melkote receiving Spl Prize in Jaipur from Mr Ram Niwas Mirdha, then Union Minister of Communications

I also used to write in journals and magazines, & this brought me recognition. I wrote an article titled "Vexicology through Philately" which won a Gold Medal + 2 special prizes at INJUNPEX, 1979, held at UN Headquarters, New York.

Now I am collecting Cricket & also Portuguese India (which I have not exhibited so far.)

3. Philately is an educational hobby and is a big source of knowledge? What is your opinion?

Philately has been unquestionably rated as the world's most educative hobby. Stamps & postal stationery are windows to the world - through them you can be transported to every nook and corner of the globe. It is a fascinating journey, which enriches your knowledge. If encouraged to take it up at a young age, children will definitely benefit from philately.

4. You were the first philatelist to participate in popular TV show “KBC” . We wish you to share with us your experience of Kaun Banega Crorepati? How philately helped you in the show?

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Nikhilesh Melkote, with Amitabh Bachchan on hot seat in the first edition of KBC on 6 December 2000.

In 2000, I was lucky to be selected to participate in the first season of KBC. Well, I can claim that my general knowledge is good mainly due to philately. One concrete example of how this hobby helped on the hot seat is ... One Question asked by Big B was "What is a gathering of Scouts & Guides called ? ". I thought about it, and got a mental picture of a Malaysian stamp in my Flags Collection. I remembered that it had the Scouts Flag on it, and the words "Jamboree" in small letters. So without hesitation, I replied "Jamboree" .. and got the jubilant voice of Big B saying "Bilkul sahi jawaab!"

5. As we know you participated in many International exhibitions with your collection on flags titled as “Flying Colors” and won awards as a Junior participant during your school and college days . Why did you give a break to this hobby later ? When the “Flying Colors“ will fly again? Do you want to be active again in this hobby?

I joined a banking career in 1987, which has kept me very busy. Somewhere down the line, I felt winning awards is not everything, and the fun element of enjoying collecting was diluted. So, I must clarify that I have not given a break to the hobby - I definitely continue to collect, and also interact with philatelists. I have only taken a break from participating in competitive exhibitions. As I said, I am trying different topics like Cricket, and specialised country collection like Portuguese India. Who knows when I may get motivated to exhibit again, maybe after retirement..

6. “Philately in the past” and “Philately in future” ..Your comments ?

In the past, philately was totally different, and children and youngsters had a lot of incentive to take it up, as there were fewer alternative hobbies/distractions. It is a great challenge to convince the present generation to take up the hobby. The future will be more difficult, as I fear that the postal system as we know it today may become obsolete. We may have to tell our grandchildren- "In our days we used to affix stamps & post letters in a postbox" and they may not believe us!

7. While moving from “ Philately in future” to “Future of philately”… what do you think, what shape philately will take with the extensive usage of internet, e-mails, mobile phones and other upcoming communication systems?

I am worried about the future of philately. I confess that even I have not written a letter and posted it, for longer than what I can remember. Stamps and philatelic material are in danger of becoming antiques. My worry is that, they will become more expensive and out of reach of the common man. I fear that there are very few active clubs left, and these are also not doing enough to promote philately at the grassroots level, in schools and colleges.

8. We see a lot of professional philatelists or commercial people in philately rather than pure stamp collector. In other words philately seems to have been highly commercialized these days. How do you look at this scenario and what are your suggestions?

Yes, I totally agree. Many people have taken to philately as an "investment" or with the sole purpose of winning awards. I have nothing against them, as it does continue to be and will be a very good investment option. But monetary gains/ awards should be by-products. We need to encourage pure stamp collecting for fun and knowledge.

9 .You are member of Karnataka Philatelic Society which we believe is still active. But we have seen now a days that the societies appear and disappear rapidly. What are your suggestions to the philatelic societies to be stable and serve / run properly?

Again people like me are a culprit here - I am a life member of KPS, but not attended a meeting for maybe 4 -5 years! There are many excuses.. getting up early on a Sunday morning & ignoring family for the only day of the week which we get free etc. I am a living example as to why clubs/societies close down. So I am the wrong person to answer this!

There are dedicated philatelists, in KPS and also in other pockets in HP, like Ms. Jeevan Jyoti who are striving to keep the hobby alive. May their tribe increase.

10. You have been in close association with various eminent philatelists like Dr. Sita Bhateja. How did this association helped you. What do you suggest our senior philatelists and the upcoming ones in this regard?

I have been very lucky to have as my mentors, some of the legends of Indian philately:

- Mr K Lakshminarayanan, who got me started & introduced me to Thematics.

-(Late) Col L G Shenoi, my father's close friend & neighbour who nurtured me, published some of my articles and also, I had the honour of accompanying him to a stamp show in Netherlands in 1980 for which he was the Commissioner.

- Mr Y R Shah, who encouraged me a lot and also presented me with some valuable items which I could not afford at the time, since I was a student.

- Dr. Mrs. Sita Bhateja, who motivated me to conduct a state level philately quiz , & also act as a TV anchor to interview philatelists on Doordarshan.. (So I had already faced TV cameras because of philately, which also helped me in KBC!)

There are many more, but I have named only a few. Without these great friends, philosophers & guides, I would not have been what I am. . My deepest gratitude to all of them, if they are reading this.

11. We understand you were the one who reported United nations Postal Administration about the mistake in Indian Flag featured on UN Stamp. What was that issue? Please enlighten us ?

Wow.. I had almost forgotten this. The UN Flag Series stamps had an issue with the Indian flag, but I noticed that the Ashok Chakra had only 12 spokes instead of 24. I wrote to them, and the Head of UN Postal Administration was kind enough to write me an apology letter. She said that due to the small size of the stamp, they could not do justice to the wheel. But there was no intention to insult our flag. This letter is also part of my exhibit on "Flying Colours".

12. Last but not the least ..What is your most memorable experience in philately ? which you would like to share with the readers…

My most memorable moment has to be in April 2010, when I personally met my philatelist pen-friend Ms. Jeevan Jyoti & her family for the first time in Kullu. Believe it or not, we have been pen-friends for more than 30 years without meeting each other. I can't remember when I got the first letter from Jyoti who was then in Kanpur. . Was it 1979 or may be 1980? May be she can throw more light on this ! I have another Australian pen- friend with whom I am corresponding for more than 25 years, but not met so far !

J.Jyoti : Probably It was in 1981 – 82 !! Thank you so much  for sharing your views and memories  with the Readers….!!

Some Remarkable Covers - 1

Dr Jagtap - Dr. Avinash B. Jagtap

Having found unceasing interest some 40-50 years ago, I collected stamps and covers which were sent during 1854 to 1947 within and outside India. Although the system and also the volume of covers and post cards which are handled by India Post today has increased many folds, the earlier covers are still of great interest to see the cancellations, remarks brought about in manuscripts. Some of the cancellations are still unique in the sense their use was only for a short duration, they rare unique as their use has not yet been explained.

I shall write about such covers which may not be of great interest to other philatelists or they perhaps would not fetch a surprising price if sold in an auction. Perhaps some other philatelists or readers of Rainbow would have some clues to suggest or they might have similar cancellations or postal remarks on the covers they have in their collection. There is only one thing in life which increases by giving and that is knowledge, for example philatelic knowledge.

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I shall begin with one cover, which looks very simple, bearing QV Half Anna obliterated by Renouf Bombay Circle Type 4, it is a diamond composed of lines parallel to two sides, comprising a number assigned to the post office. Here the number is visible only partly, it is 73, confirmed by the red dispatch stamp “AHMEDABAD CANT/AU” in red on the reverse of the cover, on the back there are other transit mark “BARODA/AU 24/65”and hexagonal sorting mark “S/AHMEDABAD/23AU/65” (Renouf T.60). On the front of the cover there is a stamped remark reading “INSUFFICIENT” (Renouf T. 78) in black and above it the inverted figure “1” in a small square. All stamps on the cover including the cancellation defacing the adhesive were clear to me, but this puzzle remained for years about the inverted figure “1” in a square. I thought that it could be a so-called “Peon Mark” those were so common in those days. Later on I thought of asking Mr. Max Smith (a veteran philatelist living in Bingley, UK, an authority over Postal History and cancellations of British India) who could offer an explanation for this inverted “1” in a square. And my thought did bear a fruit….

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Mr. Smith in his letter wrote to me: “Peon Marks were always applied on delivery to identify the delivery postman themselves or the delivery area in which the letter should be delivered. So in that case, I would expect your boxed “1” to be in the same ink as the Baroda stamp if it were a “Peon Mark”. But as you say, it is not- it is in the same ink as the dispatch mark of Ahmedabad. Since Ahmedabad Post has already identified that the letter is underpaid (probably through being overweight) and stamped it “INSUFFICIENT”, it is also their responsibility to mark on it the amount of postage due. Normally this was done in manuscript before standard 2-line POSTAGE DUE stamps were introduced in 1873. There is no manuscript here so I believe that the “1” stamp was applied at Ahmedabad to indicate 1 Anna postage due. I have never seen one like this before. It is an excellent cover”. I thanked Mr. Max Smith for his valuable explanation which solved my year-long riddle about this tiny figure “1 “ (although inverted!) in a square !

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

 

Beginners’ Section

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Website devoted to topical collection of computer Science

- K.Ramarthnam

If you are interested in computers on Stamps as well as Computers and Stamps www.computer-stamps.com is worth a visit. The Home Page will greet you with the following message.

Welcome to Computer Stamps. This is a site for beginners and philatelists that are building their own topical collection on computer science. The goal of computer-stamps.com is to become a good reference for this philatelic topic, it offers images and useful information about hundreds of stamps from all over the world. Collectors can also take part to our forum.

Vito Galgano a collector from Italy has put together ,a well organised list of 1415 Stamps related to all aspects of computers. You can view the stamps in lists arranged by countries, year of issue or Category.Each list includes an image of the Stamp, with information about the stamp like date of issue, format and perforation etc.

Under India it lists Ten Stamps the latest being the Stamp issued on 17th December2009 on Indian Mathematical Society and the earliest being the Stamp issued on 14th November1985 on the occasion of Children’s Day.

A Sample Listing under ID 872 shows the Technology Day issued on 11th May 1999 is reproduced below as illustration.

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· Country India

· Date 11-May-1999

· Issue Technology day

· Format SH

· Face v.300

· Perf.13½ x 13¼

· Print.Lithography

· Category- Printed Ckt

Stamps are classified under Thirty Eight Categories ranging from Binary Code to Virtual Reality. It lists Fifty One Stamps under the category Video Games. The Site gives brief details about each country and also gives information about its postal administration website.

You can also download a Checklist in Excel Format of all the stamps listed. All in all it is an informative and interesting website.

The GB Victorian Period stamps

Contd from last….

Perforated :

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  • One Penny Red issued in 1841 to replace the Penny Black (the first issue with perforations from 1848) .
  • Two penny blue printed in a new ink. The design has the addition of white * lines above and below the inscriptions .
  • Halfpenny Rose Red issued in 1870 .
  • Three Halfpence Red introduced in 1870 .

The Perforated 1 D Stamps are plated from Plate 71 to Plate 225 and one can easily spot the plate number at the sides of the stamp using a magnifying glass.

The Embossed
  • Sixpence embossed
  • Ten Pence embossed
  • One Shilling embossed

The Printing Process: In late 1840’s Embossed octagonal stamps were produced to meet the higher foreign postage charges, and also the charge for registration. In the embossing process the colorless part of the design was added up from behind by a counterpart of the die, and appears in high relief on a colored background.

The Surface Printed
  • 4d, 6d, 1s, 1855-57 (no corner letters)
  • 3d to 1s, 1862-64 (small white corner letters)
  • 3d to 10d, 1865-67 (large white corner letters)
  • 3d to 2s, 1867-80 (large white corner letters - new watermark)
  • High value definitives, 5s to £5 1867-83
  • Low value definitives, 1873-80 (coloured corner letters)
  • Low value definitives, halfpenny to 5d 1880-81
  • Penny Lilac 1881, the most issued Victorian stamp
  • High value definitives, 2/6 to £1 1883-84
  • Lilac and Green low value definitives 1883
  • Jubilee issue postage stamps 1887-92

The Printing Process The introduction of perforating machines in 1854 changed the evolution of stamp design. The printing of the embossed issues was slow and unsuitable for perforating, whilst the original recess-printing still presented problems as a result of paper stretch due to the moistening of the paper during printing. In relief or surface printing, the design is raised instead of being recessed into the plate or die.

One of the clear favourites to collect would be the Light green low values 1883 as the 4D, 5D, 6D, 9D, 1S good copies are tough to find - if you take them off paper they lose their true color after they are soaked off in water; so If you ever find these gems in your collection it  would be great to keep them on paper.

- Julian Fernandes, Pune - email : julian.destiny@gmail.com

Specialized Section

FANCY CANCELS OF USA (Pt II)

image © Dr. Satyendra Kumar Agrawal

Though illegal but highly desirable: Modern US Fancy Cancels

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Modern Fancy Cancels are finer, clearer and more stylized than their predecessor’s classic Fancy Cancels, representing mostly physical items.   Possibly as many as 2,000 different fancy cancellations exist from the period  between the early 1920s to the mid 1930s, In addition to Cork and wood, as used for carving 19th C fancy cancels , 20th C used apples, potatoes, linoleum, shoe soles, leather belts, roofing shingles and rubber stamps for preparing cachets. But the most important and striking difference between Classic and Modern Fancy Cancels is that later one was prepared and applied by general public before presenting the Postal authority for mailing. Few also requested to Postal cleark to apply their prepared devices for defacing the stamps. The ink used was also not always black as per postal directives but were in multitude of colours, most favorite of them are red, blue, green and purple.

 

Few bi-coloured example are also known to exist and much sought by the thematic philatelist. Eye catching and breathtaking beauty of many of such bi-coloured pictorial cancels are credited to B.R.Bales of Ohio. Like John W. Hill of Waterbury, he also used his fanciful devices on limited number of covers, sometime even less than 10, making them scares.

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These cancels have one more attraction for thematic philatelist – matching of the pictorial design with the name of registering post office, town or city, whenever possible. It is apparent in the CDS applied obverse in case of Registered and on front for First Class Mails covers.

Few examples are  : ‘Mint leafs’ from ‘Mint, Tenn’.

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‘Rose’ from ‘Roseville, Ohio’ and

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Parrot from ‘Parrot, Ohio.

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Cancels also prepared to depict a theme or representing a pictorial design of a particular product for which that town is recognized and to honour any Special event or holiday.

During the 1929 Baseball World Series the town of Genesee Depot/Wisconsin used a cancel depicting a bat, a ball and "WS" ("World Series") which was used on each day of the series.

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There is no limit to the imagination of the carver in preparing variety of killers even on a single cover. An interesting cover of 1929 depicting eight strikes of seven different cancels on a single registered envelope interspersed with some really bad poetry is worth showing here. The cancellations are Sad/Happy face*. Elephant*. Rabbit*. Fawn*. Owl*. Moon*. Stars*. "Merry Xmas"*and Frog*.

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WHY and HOW all these happened?

There are many reasons behind the preparation of such Fancy Cancel covers all started from 1927 and came to an end after directive of the US Assistant Postmaster General, dated August 27, 1934 for use of only authorized black ink and authorized devices for defacing by the postal employee, and rejecting the request of general public for mailing their pre cancelled covers with their prepared fancy design cancels.

The most important reason seems to be monetary. The origin of such covers belongs mostly to 4th class post offices situated in small towns where compensation of postmasters was based on the number of pieces they processed. First in 1910, and later in 1928, postmasters were instructed by .the Postmaster General NOT to apply a dated postmark on the front of a registered letter. This directive however, failed to instruct the postmasters exactly how to "kill" the stamps on the front of mail. Then postmasters of 4th class taken this opportunity to cancel the registered envelope with their attractive coloured fanciful devices created by themselves. The popularity of such fanciful registered covers increased so much among the resident as well as stamp collectors, that even peoples reaching with their pre canceled covers with fancy pictorial cachets prepared by then on multitude of themes even in colour ink. Though it was not authorized but looking their increasing compensation due to increasing number of covers for posting forced them to overlook this unauthorized cancelling devices present for Registration.

The reason behind request for sending envelopes by Registered post has two important reasons behind them,

1. To take advantage of unclear directive of the Postal department regarding types of killers to be used on Registered cover for franking stamps while putting CDS obverse making room for more stamps and

2. Opportunity to use multiple strikes for franking stamps with attractive pictorial killers making these covers more attractive aside from the proof that they went through the mail.

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The era of Modern Fancy Cancels also came to an end but before this both philatelists and postmasters created a multitude of colorful and interesting cancels and many of them are unlike anything ever done before in terms of their colorful style, themes and multiple strikes. Because of these directives and unclear instructions to the postmasters, it is clear that even though many of these fancy killers were inspired and/or created by philatelists, they constitute a legitimate collecting field. Some of these fancy cancels are exceedingly rare, and in some cases, only a few strikes exist. Unfortunately many 20th C. fancies only exist on first class mail, and NO registered uses are known.

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To my surprise I found one cover dated September 1, 1934 and Feb 12, 1935 respectively in an auction of France International, USA. May be this practice of preparing fancy cancel continued in some part of USA for few more years and overlooked by the postal clerks.

New Issues from other countries

Canada

17 September, 2012 Mental Health

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Poland

10 October 2012 PIOTR KWIT - NATURE PAINTER
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Iceland

13 September 2012 Light Houses

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Reader’s Right

Stamp Collection and Misleading Information

I would still call myself a beginner philatelist after four years, I am unaware about many of the philatelic know-how. I have confronted difficulties in enhancing my collection over the years. The online platforms such as ebay, delcampe etc allow sale of postage stamps recently released at prices much higher than face value of the stamps. Perhaps a new collector may be ignorant that a philatelic account has to be opened with the Post Office which supplies the stamps issued by the India Post on regular basis. Post Office or the Philatelic Bureau can sell the stamps only at face value, whereas the sellers/dealers may charge any amount. If anyone is interested in latest commemorative stamps of India, he must open an account and no postage is charged by the Post office for shipping of stamps at your doorsteps.

One must read a lot, join philatelic clubs or be in touch with senior philatelists to be aware about trends etc. Though ebay,delcampe allow you a variety of stamps (apart from other items), the prices charged by sellers might be too high and misleading. Philately keeps you involved in itself but money should be spent wisely.

- Bhumika Sharma, Shimla

The Lighter Side

Philatelic Connection of KBC….

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PHILATELIC CONNECTION OF KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI

- Naresh Agarwal

“Philately for knowledge”, “Philately ,an educational hobby”.. these are the common slogans related to philately which project philately as a source of knowledge and education. Of course, a stamp is an open window which depicts the cultural, religious, economic, social mythological and historical status and overall development of a society. Of late, with the invent of new technological systems like computer and internet, paper philately has become little weak to attract many people in to its fold yet it is very truly and sincerely serving its very purpose for which the above slogans were formed.

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Cover with Stamp of Great Britain depicting the original version of KBC, the Indian reality game show based on the UK Game Show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”

One may believe it or not, many great people have accepted the fact that philately has given them great knowledge and helped them to reach high. Since 2001, there has been a very popular T.V. program telecast at Sony T.V. in India in the name and style of “Kaun Banega Crorepati”(KBC) the Indian version of “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” with millennium Star Mr. Amitabh Bachan as Anchor. He emphasizes that only good knowledge can win you crores of rupees. A set of 13 questions framed and asked one after the other and the contestant has to answer correctly each question asked with four options to reach the next. The winning amount also multiplies as the next question is asked. The level of question asked has three major tests which are temperament, confidence and of course, knowledge. Not every one can cross even 10th question mark.

This knowledge based game show has proved that philately has a great deal to do with it. Philately has a strong connection with this show as many philatelists have become its part and also some of the questions asked related to philately and postal operations. Surprisingly, the journey of KBC started with a philatelist as in its very first edition, on 6th December 2000, it was an internationally renowned philatelist Mr. Nikhilesh Melkote from Bangalore.

Nikhilesh Melkote,  a member of Karnataka Philatelic Society, made his way to the hot seat in front of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, the host. While sharing his experience of KBC-1  Nikhkilesh says, “When it came to Fastest Finger First, imagine my delight when Amitabh announced "Kitne logon ne sahi Jawab Diya? Kewal EK! Nikhilesh Melkote from Bangalore!" So I found myself on the Hot Seat, sweating & more nervous. Again Big B made me relax & feel comfortable. He asked me about my hobbies, and he was thrilled to hear that I had won international awards in phillately. I managed to answer 8 questions & reach upto Rs.80,000. Here I got stuck on a tough question. In spite of using 2 lifelines, I gave the wrong answer” .Hence , I crashed down to Rs.10,000/-. But meeting my childhood & present hero Mr Bachchan and facing the camera with him is worth more than crores of rupees...”

Well, from here the connection of KBC with philately came in to existence which was carried forward in the other editions followed the same when other philatelists or stamp collectors or stamps became part of the show.

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The first stamp of independent India shows the new Indian flag. It was issued on 21 November 1947

In its 2nd edition with the top prize money of 20 million rupee on September 30, 2005 philatelic history was made when the penultimate question for 10 million rupees (one crore rupees) was ‘what was depicted on the India’s first postage stamp issued after independence?’ The philatelists watching the show could not believe such an easy question can be worth 10 million. However, to everyone’s disappointment the contestant did not know the answer and quit taking home only 5 million rupees.

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Anil Kumar Sinha the contestant of KBC season-5 who quit the answer of Rs.10 million question

Anil Kumar Sinha from Bihar, a bank employee who won one crore of rupees through “Kaun Banega Crorepati season -V” has also been a philatelist. He disclosed that he joined philately in 2000 and that the stamp collection had helped him a lot in answering some of the difficult questions asked. Though he opted out on final hurdle but he had all the reasons to confess that postage stamps had helped him becoming a crorepati. He not only visited but participated in Bihar Stamp Expo-2012, a regional level exhibition with his exhibit “Sawal KBC Ke: Jawab Stamps Se’ on “Kaun Banega Crorepati” also. He attributes his success in KBC to his love for philately and accepts that stamps enrich one’s knowledge because every stamp has a history behind it. Given his interest in philately, he says without any doubt that the hobby, to a large extent, has helped me become a crorepati.

In the recently concluded show on 09.09.12 the most valuable question worth of rupees 5 crore (50 Million Rupees) was on postage stamp. The question related to the first free India stamp showing aircraft. The question read as under :

Which was the first aircraft to be featured on a postage stamp issued in Independent India KBC question

A. Lockhead Constallation B. Douglas DC-4 C. Wapiti D. Humber-Sommer

From here it can be understood that the highest amount questions related to philately.

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Manoj Kumar Raina the contestant of KBC season-6 who quit the answer of Rs.50 million question.

The stamp was one of first three stamps issued by India Post on celebration of 15th August 1947.This 12 Aana stamp depicts a Douglas DC4 Aircraft. Siddharth Basu, the quiz master who invented this rich question implying the hidden potential of philately which includes all elements of hobby, pleasure, treasure and knowledge.

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A Question of Rupees 50 Million (5 Crores) on Postage Stamp !

Asked by Millennium Star Amitabh Bachchan on KBC
Question : Identify the Aircraft on first postage stamp issued after Independence !!
Answer : DOUGLAS DC 4

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First Flight – Air India International 8th June 1948

On 29th May 1948, One more stamp similar to DOUGLAS DC 4 was issued to commemorate  First Flight of Air India International .On this stamp Aircraft face towards right: Name of the Air craft is" 'Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation'. So it was quite a tough question. As anyone may be confused to name the aircraft as both the stamps are similar in  appearance and difficult to differentiate.

Looking little deep in to the scenario, we see KBC has also connection with late Sri Harivansh Rai bachchan, a noted Indian Hindi poet, the father of Amitabh Bachchan, the key name behind the success of the show. India Post issued a stamp on him too.

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Postage Stamp issued by India Post showing Harivansh Rai Bachchan a distinguished Hindi poet, the father of Amitabh Bachchan, the host in KBC who. often reads the poems of his father on the hot seat !

Philately otherwise also has strong connectivity with KBC as more than 30% (if not more) of the questions asked so far in last five seasons and also in the ongoing 6th season can be answered through philatelic material such as stamps, cancellations, covers etc. For example, we see can see hereunder how some of the questions asked in different seasons in different episodes can be answered through philately to strengthen the above statement and the connection.

Read More,,,,

POSTS, you never dreamed of….

-  © Dr. Satyendra Kumar Agrawal

 

Can you ever dreamed of welcoming your little relative from abroad with a mailing tag around her neck, delivered by a postman at your doorstep? This happened in USA in 1914 when a postman in a railway post office discovered that, being a small four-year-old girl named May Pierstorff living in Grangeville and wanted to visit her grandparents in Lewiston, sending her as "parcel post" by the pound, would be cheaper than buying a ticket on the train. She was pinned the fifty-three cents in postage in her coat and put in the baggage car, under the care of the postal clerk. Though it was customary to leave packages in the post office overnight, when May arrived in Lewiston, the postmaster took her to her grandmother immediately.

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Girl child to be posted

This event alerted The US Post Office Department and on June 13, 1920 it issued new rules, announcing that children would no longer be accepted as a parcel post. Still two more incidence of booking of a baby to the husband who had left her and the body of a child who had died of natural causes come in light when it was mailed to an undertaker in Albany, New York. It arrived on November 20, 1922, and carried no 'return address'. She was buried '...through the kindness of individuals' under the apt name of 'Parcella Post.'

Even mailing of a young man also published in early 19th century when to save him from slavery, Henry “Box” Brown, mailed himself to freedom on March 29, 1849 with the help of a storekeeper in Louisa County, Virginia. He packed himself into a crate that was 3’x 2’x 2.6’ and labeled “This Side up with Care,” to be sent to the home of Philadelphia abolitionist James Miller McKim.

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Henry “Box” Brown in a crate- ready to be mailed

With only a small container of water he journeyed for 27 hours loaded onto a wagon, then to the baggage car of a train, then another wagon, then a steamboat, then another wagon, then a second baggage car, then a ferry, then a third railroad car, and finally a wagon that delivered him to McKim’s house. When the box was opened, Brown stood up, and passed out.

Chrissie Maclean writes in his book ‘'The Stornoway I Knew Memories from 1930s to 1950s', published by Stornoway Historical Society that ‘During the war ... Some unusual parcels went through the mail then. Often a customer would come in with a large dead hen, complete with feathers, its legs tied with string to which was attached the address label. These hens were destined for mainland relatives.’

One more interesting story related to delivery of unusual item by post born in1916 when construction of historical building of The Bank of Vernal (or Parcel Post Bank) started by WH Coltharp. He wanted to use textured bricks to give a modern style to the facades. Since those bricks were manufactured in Salt Lake City the delivery cost was enormous, amounting to four times the cost of the material.

Coltharp managed to send those bricks by USPS, through the standard mail delivery system: bricks were packaged in 50 pound parcels (7 bricks each), and sent by lots of 40 packages per day. The total amount exceeded 80,000 bricks.

Again US Postal Regulations were changed to avoid further exploiting of the service, and a limitation of 200 pounds per day per receiver was introduced. The United States Postmaster General Albert Sidney Burleson explicitly stated in a letter that "it is not the intent of the United States Postal Service that buildings be shipped through the mail".

The United States had a special rate for "live bees, baby alligators & chicks." Occasionally ladybugs were also sent by mail.

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Instruction Label

In December, 1954, the postmaster in Orlando, Florida, received a chameleon posted from Fostoria Ohio with request to let him deliver somewhere in the ground as in Orlando was too cold for his chameleon to live. He also requested for acknowledgement of its safe arrival which was done happily by the postmaster in following words “I received your chameleon yesterday and he was immediately released on the post office grounds. Best wishes for a merry Christmas!”

But can you imagine in your postbox a field post envelope made of birch bark or letter written on a leaf attached to it a 7k commemorative the international post charges for a post card from Yalta, Crimea in the USSR to New York? Apparently the item caused some consternation in Crimea as it received the postage-due oval and the manuscript "T". Both have been subsequently erased

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Field post envelope made of birch bark

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Posted in July 1928 from Yalta, Crimea in the USSR to New York.

Hundreds of coconuts were also sent back to U.K. Pacific Ocean, via the mail system. Many tourists paint a tropical island scene on one side, put the address and stamps on the other and off they would go.

Examples of booking of many more strange articles with stamps pasted directly on the booked item with address written on them also exist. Strangely reports of their safe delivery to the recipients were also recorded.

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Delivery of a biscuit that was sent to an American student away at college in the early 20th century - not wrapped or packaged in anyway, simply a biscuit with postage and address somehow affixed was also reported in a magazine. It is said that the biscuit was being preserved in the University's archives.

And what would be a great surprise for the receiver and a matter of pride for the postman who got the opportunity to deliver a rose bud to others Valentine sent per post attached to a card that was tied to the stem with address and stamps on it. It has taken three days to get delivered but rose bud was still gracing the stem. What an efficient US postal system is.

And what will you do with the wine filled bottle received as an FDC? Not a dream but it happened for an “Australian Folklore” series of 1983 , consisting a set of five setanent stamps issued to commemorate the 107th Anniversary of Birth of C. J. Dennis, who wrote numerous verses, one of which was the Sentimental Bloke, popularized in films, stage plays, musicals, records, and radio & TV programs and depicted on these stamps .Along with regular FDCs, in Auburn, Australia, the birth place of Dennis, 540 bottles of 1976 vintage port wine were also used for FDCs on which this set of se-tenant strip of five stamps were pasted on the obverse and cancelled with the pictorial postmark of Denis with a Tobacco pipe in his mouth on 7 September 1983 .

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Se-tenant stamps of five pasted on a 1976 vintage port wine bottle with First Day pictorial cancel of Dennis.(Sorry, bottle is missing)

image The author  may be contacted at email : rosephila@hotmail.com

New Blogs & Websites

NUMISMATIC & PHILATELIC Association of Vellore FORT - http://numismaticphilavellore.site40.net/index.htm -  This Numismatic & Philatelic Association is a non profit and non trade motive association that aims to promote the hobbies – Philately (Stamp Collection) and Numismatics (Coin Collection) among children, students, interested individuals among the general public and especially for the budding philatelists and numismatists.

How to Collect Stamps - http://www.howtocollectstamps.com/ The Complete Guide To Stamp Collecting

GANDHI Stamps & Philately Study Circle : http://gandhistampsclub.blogspot.in/ - A new Blog by Ketan Patel .…. Saving Gandhi Philately by trying to bring awareness and exposing illegal activities in Gandhi Stamps and Philately.

Europa Stamps : http://europa-stamps.blogspot.in/ : A blog on Europa, cept, norden & sepac stamps

Phla Mirror : http://philamirror.info/ : The Indian Philately Journal

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

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

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

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

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

Literature on Indian Philately

View : List of Books 1

List of Books 2

Editor’s Mail Box

Dear Editor,

I wish to take attention of all philatelic researchers that Indian Department of Post recently issued the ‘Guidelines for Use of Images of Postage Stamps’ and are available as separate document at <http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/35-11-2011-Phil.pdf>

The Philately page of website of Indian post separately mentions the ‘Conditions for reproduction of Stamp Images’ as Re- production of stamps is allowed for illustration purposes in Philatelic Publication or in an article relating wholly on postage stamps which may appear in any magazine, newspaper or publication of a general character. Such reproduction should however , be only in black. If stamps are to be produced in colour for publicity purposes, prior permission of the Director General of Posts must be obtained. To avoid similarity with the postage , such reproduction must be distinctively in smaller or larger sizes than the actual stamp and must be without perforation on the edges. Further, across bar will also be placed on one- corner of the stamp, obliterating the denomination. It must be noted that reproduction of the stamp in colour of the actual size of the stamp with perforation of the edges may be deemed to be taken as production of the actual stamp.

This (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Stamps/Public_domain) wiki page tries to list all stamps that are in public domain, listed by country. And this http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Stamps/Public_domain#India ) page provides information on Indian situation. And the wiki pages at

( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Notice_board_for_India-related_topics/Archive_25#Indian_Stamps )

and  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Archive59#Fair_use_stamps:_revisitied_... ) gives earlier discussions on fair use of stamp images.

Hope a healthy discussion on the issue of new guidelines will be initiated from philatelists for promotion of postage stamps as material for research.

With regards,

Anil Nawlakhe

Dear Mrs. Jeevan Jyoti,

Thank you for your "Rainbow Stamp News" issue for September 2012. This time there are philatelic articles on diverse themes, such as "Fancy US Cancellations" by Dr. Satyendra Agrawal, Interview with Mr.Ajay Mittal, Service Covers with Paper seals by Mr. Kailashchandra Jain and others,But I appreciate the article "Let's look inside the cover", written by Mr.Naresh Kumar Agarwal, not because that he has mentioned my name and my articles written under the heading "Something interesting.. also for non- philatelists", but because he has continued my theme, where I rested some months ago.

The pieces of his interest are marvelous, especially the sketches in the text of the letter sent to China, showing the the aeroplane, railway and also the ship. The other is postcard written by Mahatma Gandhi to the wife of Mr. Govind Das. The picture post-cards with the views of bazars.... Perhaps these are the pieces which are of untold pleasure and treasure to the collector... but these will surely give some idea to collectors, that it should not always be only stamps; but there also other things which are associated with letter writing, perhaps in these days of internet, overlooked by the collectors in general.

Congratulation for the introduction to diversified themes in Rainbow!

- Avinash B. Jagtap. Switzerland

Nice to go thru your RSN Sept-2012 issue.The interview of Mr.Mittal is very impressive. So also brilliant  presentation of various articles.

- Shrikant Parikh, Ahmedabad

Dear Ms. Jyoti,
My every new month begins after reading your monthly newsletter. I enjoyed reading the entire newsletter as usual with very informative and interesting articles. The anatomy of the RMFM meter marks by Mr. Madan Middha is very useful to understand them. I once received such meter mark and was wondering where to look out for information, and now I am happy to get the information from RSN (Rainbow Stamp News).


- Kasinath R. Thanjavur, Tamilnadu  Blog - http://shipthemegallery.blogspot.com/

Philatelic Clubs & Societies

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

Deccan Philatelic Society – Pune, Maharashtra

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

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

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

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

Ludhiana Philatelic Club

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

Numismatic & Philatelic Association of Vellore Fort http://numismaticphilavellore.site40.net/index.htm

Philatelic Society of Rajasthan, Jaipur

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

Rajkot Philatelic Society – Rajkot, Gujarat

Gujarat Philatelic Association - Ahmedabad

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

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

The Army Philatelic Society, Pune

Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

e–mail : akshayborad@hotmail.com \

RAINBOW STAMP CLUB

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

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

Courtesy - News and Image Resource to this issue Stamps of India, International Stamp News ; Stamp Collecting Round Up ; Mansoor B.- Mangalore ; Madan Middha – Gwalior ; Shrikant Parikh – Ahmedabad ; Naresh Agarwal – Bilaspur (C.G.)

Address for communication:

Jeevan Jyoti, c / o Mr. Ajay Srivastav, Chief Conservator of Forests, GHNP & Pin Valley National Park, Shamshi, Kullu (H.P.) PIN 175126 India

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

clip_image001 Last date for receiving write ups – 25th of every month. Kindly send images in jpg compressed format & text in MS Word only.

clip_image001[1] If you liked this issue please forward it to your friends and help in promoting philately.

A Request to Readers & Contributors -

clip_image002 Please do not send the text in scan form or PDF. Send your write ups in MS Word only.

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

clip_image002[1] 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.

Any material from this newsletter may be reproduced only with the written permission from the editor.

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

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