Rainbow December 2018

^{Merry Christmas !}

This year Estonia and Greenland Post issued scented stamps for this year’s Christmas. Estonia stamp smells like tangerine, a traditional Christmas fruit that is always put in the stockings and the Greenland stamps have fragrance of cinnamon and pine respectively.

Dehradun December  2018  Vol. XI  Issue No. 132

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

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

Dear Reader,

I am pleased to release December 2018 issue of Rainbow Stamp News. In the month of November and December a large number of special stamps on Christmas have been issued by many countries. Some of them with special features have been included in this issue. 

Thailand 2018 World Stamp Exhibition recently included in Bangkok. Heartiest congratulations to all the winners. India Post issued its first odd shape stamp commemorating Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup. It is a good attempt by Indian Postal Department to introduce new type of stamps. Hope to see some more novelties in future covering different themes. This is not only collector's delight but it will make modern Indian stamps  popular  worldwide. In return India Post can earn a lot by such novelties.

This is all for this month. More in next Issue.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy 2019 !

Happy Collecting .....!!

Contents

§  From the Desk of Naresh Agrawal

§  Recent Indian Issues

§  In The News 

§  Doon Philatelic Diary

§  Beginners’ Section

§  Rose Philately

§  Specialized Section 

§  New Issues from Other Countries

§  Philatelic Clubs and Society

§  Blogs & Websites on Philately

§  Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletter

 NEEDS WILL, NOT TIME

Its time which is the prime requisite to pursue any hobby though it needs concentration, regular persuasion, dedication, deep interest and money too.  Now a days, though the life has become fast and to some extent there is comparatively less free time available with most of the common people yet  the hobbies are  loved and followed by many people including those  are said to have practically no time..

Stamp collecting is one  hobby that has been loved for many decades. Throughout history last of one and a half century, there has been a number of well-known personalities who have followed and enjoyed this hobby. In particular, the hobby is one that has often appealed and attracted royals, greats, leaders, players and celebrities across the world. So, it claimed the  status of hobby of Kings.

The most significant advancements in the hobby of philately over the years have been made by individuals who contributed their research, search, studies and huge time in enhancing the knowledge, the  base of this hobby. They have left to us an enduring legacy. They all had strong will power and will to follow this hobby. And one important fact which I want to highlight is that they spent huge lot of time in spite of being so busy in their other affairs.

The last interview in Rainbow with  Dr. Indraniel Das, an intellectual and research scholar, one of the busiest person, a D. Phil. in Animal Ecology, a postdoctoral research fellow and a Fulbright Fellow at Harvard University; was eye opening. He is a  “Guinness World Record holder of having largest number of stamps on Amphibians also. His time management is tremendous. Will is so strong. A latest  example  of extreme love for philately. A motivation for many.

We always give excuses for lack of time. But what I find is lack of will. It is said “Where there is will, there is way”. Yes, one can not only collect but build a beautiful collection, a wonderful exhibit and the requirement is true and strong will to do so. There are  big royals, politicians, industrialists, businessmen, administrators, rock stars, intellectuals, sports persons and many more who have been big lover and collector of stamps. Right from Pakistan’s former President Mr. Zia Ul Haque to Resonvett & from Charlie Chaplin to Anatoly Karpov and many others who  collected stamps and spared huge time from their busy schedules to build and study  their stamp collections.

I just give hereunder brief note of some of the eminent  dignitaries, royals, celebrities  and other eminent personalities of world history who embraced this beautiful hobby and took it to the state of glamour and gave it the  status of King of hobbies. They spared their precious time and energy  to develop this hobby though were extremely busy  and set examples that strong will is the pre requisite to achieve anything, time is found and  managed accordingly.

To start with let’s talk about King George V of England who possibly possessed the  most famous and probably the  largest collection of stamps in the world. His uncle, Prince Albert is believed to have passed his love of stamp collecting to him when George was just a boy.

Mr. Franklin Delano Roosevelt 32nd president of the United States of America was truly an “avid philatelist” and “perhaps the greatest friend” of stamp collecting. Known as ‘the stamp collecting president’, Roosevelt started stamp collecting at the age of 8 and was so badly immersed in the hobby that he  allegedly begged family members to send him mail and bring him his beloved stamps from around the world.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II was also an avid stamp collector and one that built an impressive collection. She started by saving first day cover envelopes from the U.K. Her collection currently resides at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Her stamps span a rich history with the collection divided into Postal Reforms, Stamps to Mark a Coronation, Rarities, and an introduction category which includes pieces from King George V. In fact, a rich study. Its clear that she spend huge lot of time in building and shaping her collection.

Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen inherited the love for this hobby from his father and started collecting stamps when he was a little kid growing up in India. Shortly after his death, the  Royal Mail purchased his collection for the British National Postal Museum and Archive, and all the assets were donated to an AIDS charity.

Charlie Chaplin  beside being a world  famous comedy actor, was a world renowned stamp aficionado also. Little did he know that many years later, his face will be on many postage stamps in countries like India, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Italy, United States, and many more.

French Explorer Jacques, an avid philatelist was a photographer, an explorer, conservationist, scientist, and French naval officer. In spite of the fact that most of his time was  dedicated in  studying sea life and co-developed the Aqua-lung, he spared time for philately. His collection consisted of French stamps. He pursued stamp collecting till his death .

Anatoly Karpov , the Russian Chess Grand Master has an enormous collection of stamps from Belgium and the Belgian Congo .He even now continue to follow.

There many more great personalities from different fields and walks of life who unbelievably were huge lovers of stamps and spared time for this hobby. They all helped in developing and promoting of  this hobby. I understand  that the life styles have changed today, yet looking in to the   above examples, one is inspired to follow this hobby as time management is in one’s own hands. Hence, it’s only the will which is required.

Recent Indian Issues

3 November 2018 : 3rd Battalion The Rajputana Rifles

14 November 2018 : Children’s Day 

27 November 2018 : Utkal University – Rs 5

28 November 2018: Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup – 5 x Rs 5 + MS

Recent Special Cover

23 November 2018 :Valley of Words , Dehradun

25 November 2018: Charkha is an insurance against drought, Bagalkot, Navanagar

27 November 2018 : 9^th Indian Organ Donation Day , Bengaluru

View : Special Covers

In The News

THAILAND 2018  WORLD  STAMP EXHIBITION

THAILAND 2018 was an extraordinary world stamp exhibition organized by the Philatelic Association of Thailand under the Patronage of H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn from November 28 to December 3, 2018 at the Royal Paragon Hall, Siam Paragon, Bangkok, Thailand on the auspicious occasion of the First Anniversary Celebration of H.M. King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s Royal Coronation Ceremony. The 75th Congress of the International Philatelic Federation (FIP) was also  held at THAILAND 2018. 

Ajeet Raj Singhee was the Jury from India, Madhukar Jhingan, National Commissioner and Rajesh Paharia was Apprentice National Commissioner from India. 

Indian Winners at Thailand 2018

Heartiest Congratulations !

Row 1 : Anil Suri, KS Mohan, Pradip Jain, Savita Jhingan,Anil Kr Reddy

Row 2 : Father & Son ( Dinesh Sharma, Avinash Sharma) Vikas Singh, Rakesh Walia

FIP Championship Class

1. Suri Anil - Fiscals of Cochin

Large Vermeil Medal

1. Mohan K S - Postal History of Cochin, India

2. Jain Pradip - Mahatma Gandhi ‐ A Life in Service of Humanity

Vermeil Medal

Prasad Rohit - India 1935 Silver Jubilee Stamps

Large Silver Medal

1. Jhingan Savita -  From India to Space

2. Jain Sanjay - Live & Let Live ‐ Jainism the way of life

3. Basu Subhabrata - India Post in 21st Century

4. Reddy G Anil Kumar - Holograms

5. Sharma Avinash Olympic Games

Silver Bronze Medal

1. Sharma Dinesh Chandra - Philately as a Teaching Tool

2. Singh Vikas - Romance of Rail and a Journey of India Postage Stamps

Bronze Medal

1. Walia Rakesh - Stamp Collection for Beginners

US 1920 2c Deep Rose stamp is to be sold for $ 45,000 in  Rumsey auction

In forthcoming auction  on 10^th December by Schuler J. Rumsey  this stamp is to be sold for $ 45000. Its catalogue value is $65000. Only 40 recorded examples of this major 20^th century rarity exist today. 1920 2c deep rose was issued imperforate by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and sold to the Schermack Company for use in its patented stamp affixing machines.this technology applied stamps one at a time, and, in most cases, the hyphen-hole perfs on one side would be cut off as a result of the cutting blade not aligning with the space between stamps. The release of imperforate sheets printed from the experimental Type laplates escaped the notice of contemporary collectors, resulting in a very small survival rate.

Stamp design Competition by India Post

Design Stamp on theme : Ahimsa Parmo Dharma

Last Date for receipt of Drawings / paintings on above theme :  15 December 2018

  

  CHINA 2019 World Stamp Exhibition

CHINA 2019 World Stamp Exhibition will be held in Wuhan, China on June 11-17, 2019. An agreement was recently signed with FIP president with Tay Peng Hian.Mr Umesh Kakkeri Has been appointed National Commssioner for India.

PHILAMUSICA 2019

This philatelic exhibition will be held from June 8th to June 10th 2019 in Mondorf-les-Baines (Luxembourg).Indian Philatelists and from other countries are  invited for apartipication in this important philatelic exhibition.

For more Details note:  www.philcolux.lu

Courtesy: Mr .Roger Thill, Philcolux and Mr. Wolfgang Beyer, German Philatelic Federation

WORLD OF REVENUES

Salon at 29th International Stamp Fair, Essen, Germany
May 9-11, 2019.

An international exhibition, devoted solely to fiscal philately, will be organized in cooperation by the FIP Revenue Commission, Arbeitsgemeischaft Fiscalphilatelie im BDPh e.V. (German Society for Fiscal Philately), and International Stamp Fair Essen. As this is the first time such a special revenue exhibition will be held, the Salon takes place with a non-competitive basis. However, every exhibitor who wishes will get an exhibit evaluation by a group of experienced jurors. The expected size of the Salon will be 200 frames. The frames accommodate 12 album pages and not 16, please note. Exhibits of 1 to a maximum of 10 frames may participate. The charges are Euro 18 per frame.

Please download the first Bulletin and Application form of the exhibition and participate from https://stampsofindia.com/worldofrevenues.htm

Anil Suri anilksuri@email.com is coordinating the participation from India and will carry the exhibits to and from the exhibition and obtain necessary governmental permissions.

Source: Stamps of India

Recent Stamp Exhibitions

 ODIPEX-2018

10^th State level Philatelic Exhibition of Odisha Circle, Odipex – 2018 will be held from 15^th December  to 17^th December 2018 in Keonjhar. About 500 exhibition frames will be displayed and more than 20 stamp dealers would participate.

Exhibition Updates

Exhibition 2018

Dec - 7 & 8^th : Valancheri, Kerala : Samanwayam - 2018     

MES KVM College, Valancheri Ph. Ashwin - 9995990666; Siraj – 8891985070

Dec - 14, 15 & 16th : Hyderabad, Telangana   : Telanganapex - 18          

The Institute of Engineers, Khairatabad, Hyd    Ph. 040 23463633

Dec - 14, 15 & 16th : Bengaluru, Karnataka : POSTPEX - 2018    

Post Office   

Dec - 15, 16 & 17th : Keonjhar, Odisha : Odipex - 2018      

Ravindra Vidya Niketan, Keonjhar          

D. P. Naik - 9437124058; 06766 253956

Exhibition 2019

Jan -18, 19 & 20^th : Kannur, Kerala : Kanpex - 2019 

Jawaharlal Nehru Library Hall, Yogasala Road, Near Old Bus Stand.          9895502249; 8075330567; 9447447603

Doon Philatelic Diary

Salim Ali's Doon connection

In search of Himalayan quail - Salim Ali's Doon connection - The renowned ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali (born 12 November 1896) lived in Dehra Dun from 1934-39. The "Southwood" estate in Mussoorie belonged to his uncle, Abbas Tyabji, the great freedom fighter who was also called "Chhota Gandhi". At the age of 89 he again came to the Doon valley in 1985 in search of the elusive and considered extinct "Himalayan Quail" (Mountain Quail). He termed his stay in the Doon valley as the best years of his life due the abundance of bird life here. He died in 1987.

- Abhai Mishra: email - abhai_mishra@rediffmail.com

Philatelic Exhibition at Valley of Words, Dehra Dun

Valley of Words (VOW-2018), International Arts and Literature Festival was held at Hotel Madhuban, Dehra Dun from 23-25 November 2018. This was the second edition of this literature festival. It encourages creative expressions, debates, dialogues, discussions among authors, readers, creative thinkers, artists, thespians, young adults in a world in which interface of technology and society calls for lateral thinking and creative ways to make the world a better place to live. During the inauguration on 23^rd November a special cover and special cancellation was released by the Honorable Governor of Uttarakhand, Baby Rani Maurya in the presence of CPMG, Uttarakhand circle Col. Sukhdev Raj.

Philatelic exhibition on “Icy Continent and Indian Expeditions” was curated by Mr. Abhai Mishra during the literature festival. It consisted of eight frames portraying the early Antarctic expeditions (1897-1958) and Indian Antarctic expeditions through letters/postcards/covers/labels etc. carried with the expeditions.

The first Indian to visit Antarctica was Dr.Giriraj Singh Sirohi in 1960-61. He conducted unique experiment related to Biological clock at South Pole. To honour his contributions US Board on Geographic Names, named a point in Antarctica ‘Sirohi Point’ in 1966. Dr.Paramjit Singh Sehra was the first Indian to winter over in Antarctica with 17^th Soviet Antarctic Expedition (1971-73). First Indian expedition to Antarctica was sent in 1981. Since then India is continuously sending expeditions to the icy continent. First permanent station “DakshinGangotri” was established in 1983 on the Prince Astrid ice shelf. “Maitri” was built during 1988-89 while the third station “Bharati” became operational in 2012 at Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica.

During the seventh Indian expedition, a post office was established at “Dakshin Gangotri” under the aegis of North Goa postal division, Goa-Panaji region, Maharashtra circle with pin code 403001. The first letter was posted on 26^th January 1988 on Republic Day. Postal mails from Antarctica are very special as they cover approximately 25000 Km. to and from and goes through various mode of transports viz. Ship, helicopter, airplane and railways.

- Abhai Mishra

Beginners’ Section

Stories behind stamps

WWI in Eretz Israel Centenary – The Conquest of Haifa (1918)

When WWI broke out in August 1914, the Ottoman Empire formed an alliance with the Central Powers (Germany and Austria) against the Allies (Britain, France and Russia). The Great War, as it was known at the time, went on for more than four years and fundamentally changed world history in general and the situation in Eretz Israel in particular.

In early 1918, after an offensive in which the British conquered the southern part of Eretz Israel from the Ottoman army, the frontline between the two forces was drawn along the Abu Tellul ridge. Both armies were exhausted from their strenuous efforts during the previous several months. They were in need of a respite in order to regroup and renew equipment and supplies. Some of the British troops were transferred to the Western Front in Europe, and military forces from India were sent to Eretz Israel to replace them.

The large British offensive to conquer the northern part of Eretz Israel began on September 19, 1918. British and Indian forces broke through the Turkish line near the Poleg River and proceeded rapidly northward along the coastal plain. By evening, the attackers reached the Tul Karem area, the next day they captured Afula and Nazareth and on September 21st British aircraft attacked the retreating Turks in northern Samaria, inflicting many casualties.

The British route of attack did not include Haifa, and conquering the city was not part of the plan at that stage. However, on September 22nd an erroneous report was received advising that the Turks had abandoned the city. When they attempted to enter the city, the British were met with fierce resistance and barely succeeded in extracting their troops. Following this failure, the Indian 5th Cavalry Regiment was ordered to conquer Haifa. On the morning of the 23rd the Ramchi Jodphur battalion began progressing toward Haifa, but was not able to achieve its goal. At 2:00 pm another battalion, commanded by Major Takhur Dalfat Singh was assigned the task. The battalion's cavalrymen bravely charged the Turks' machine gun positions, subdued them and successfully conquered Haifa. Major Dalfat Singh, who was killed during the attack, was posthumously called "The Hero of Haifa". This battle is considered by the Indian military to be one of the cornerstones of its military history, and it is marked annually with ceremonies throughout India.

In the following days, the British continued their progress northward, which was concluded on September 30th, with the capture of Damascus. A short time thereafter the Ottoman Empire conceded, thus ending WWI on the Eastern Front.

Description of the Stamp and the First Day Cover

The stamp features an Indian cavalryman (Library of Congress, from photos of the American Colony in Jerusalem) against the background of the Indian Cavalry battalion in the streets of lower Haifa (Imperial War Museum). The tab features the insignia of the Indian army's Ramchi Jodphur battalion. The first day cover features a photo of the monument erected in the British Military Cemetery in Haifa in memory of the Indian soldiers who fell during WWI.

Production of the WWI in Eretz Israel Centenary stamp series is aided by The Society for the Heritage of World War I in Israel, which researches the events of the war, publishes books on the subject and hosts conferences and tours for members of the society and the general public.

In Memory of Dr Satyendra Agrawal….

Rose Philately

One of the things letters and roses have in common is that they are both used to convey messages. For centuries, the subtlety of the rose has been deeply symbolic, so there is always an underlying message in which bouquet you give to whom. The red rose is strongly associated with love and desire, while the white rose represents innocence and purity. And death. A purple rose is often linked with enchantment, and finally, a yellow rose is viewed as an expression of falsehood.

PostNord has issued a 10-strip featuring roses in five colours on 2 January 2018.

Specialized Section

Revenue Stamps of the United States

-Col J Dutta & Dr Anjali Dutta

The first revenue stamps appeared in the years leading up to the American Revolution as a result of the 1765 Stamp Act, the taxes of which were not well received by the colonists of the day. These were the British colonial issues and required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on specially prepared stamped paper produced in London which carried an embossed revenue stamp.

One penny stamp, cropped from proof sheet. The design consists of a mantle; St Edward's Crown encircled by the Order of the Garter; and a scepter and sword. At the top is the word AMERICA; at bottom the denomination ONE PENNY.

The purpose of the tax was to pay for British military troops stationed in the American colonies after the French and Indian War, which was the North American theater of the Seven Years' War. However, the colonists had never feared a French invasion to begin with, and they contended that they had already paid their share of the war expenses. Great Britain first issued embossed revenue stamped paper in 1694, and the Massachusetts and New York colonies issued embossed revenues in the 1750s. The effective date of the Act was November 1, 1765, but due to resistance by colonists, the Act was repealed on March 18, 1766 — less than 5 months after taking effect.

The first revenue stamps printed by the United States government were issued in the midst of the American Civil War, prompted by the urgent need to raise revenue to pay for the great costs it incurred. After the war ended however, revenue stamps and the taxes they represented still continued. Revenue stamps served to pay tax duties on items that came under two main categories, Proprietary and Documentary. Proprietary stamps paid tax duties on goods like alcohol and tobacco, and were also used for various services, while Documentary stamps paid duties on legal documents, mortgage deeds, stocks and a fair number of other legal dealings. Proprietary and Documentary stamps often bore these respective designations; while in several of the issues they shared the same designs, sometimes with minor variations. Beginning in 1862 the first revenue stamps were issued, and would continue to be used for another hundred years and more. For the first twelve years George Washington was the only subject featured on U.S. revenue stamps. Then in 1875 an allegorical figure of Liberty finally appeared. Revenue stamps were printed in many varieties and denominations and are widely sought after by collectors and historians. Revenue stamps were finally discontinued on December 31, 1967.

First Revenue stamps, featuring Washington, of 1862

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue took bids for the printing and production of the first U.S. revenue stamps in an effort to raise revenue for the great costs of the Civil War. The Department of Internal Revenue awarded Butler & Carpenter of Philadelphia the printing contract who were paid $19,080 to produce one hundred and six printing plates, including the rolls, dies and all material necessary to produce stamps. Butler & Carpenter soon began printing the first revenue stamps which were issued for use on Oct. 1, 1862.

The new revenue stamps were used to pay tax on proprietary items such as playing cards, patent medicines and luxuries, and for various legal documents, stocks, transactions and various legal services. The cancellation of these stamps was usually done in pen and ink, while hand-stamped cancellations were sometimes used and consequently are more rare. When the Civil War ended it did not mean an end to revenue taxes as the federal government still had not paid the $2.7 billion debt it had acquired until 1883, at which time it finally repealed the excise tax. Three distinct revenue stamp series were produced to pay the taxes during that twenty-one year period.

A notable instance of tax stamp usage occurred in the photography trade. As the Civil War progressed, the demand for photographs of family members, soldiers going off to war, and returning war heroes increased dramatically. The Federal Government saw this as an opportunity to raise much needed revenue for the war. On August 1, 1864 the Internal Revenue Department passed a 'photograph tax' requiring photographers to pay a tax on the sale of their photographs. By 1864 there were no 'photography tax' stamps issued, so other stamps were substituted − typically the Proprietary or Playing Card revenue stamps was used, usually affixed to the back of the photograph. Already burdened with high overhead costs and scarcity of materials because of the war, large photograph companies got together and petitioned Congress, complaining that they were shouldering too much of the tax burden placed on the public. After two years their constant efforts resulted in the tax being repealed on August 1, 1866.

U.S. Revenue stamps for playing cards, Washington, 1c and 2c issue of 1862 often used for the photograph tax

Several other widely used products, such as cotton, tobacco and alcohol, were also charged a proprietary tax which appreciably contributed to the revenues generated.

The first series of revenue stamps had distinctive design types with each stamp designating the tax 'duty' or type. Designs for denominations 1-cent through 20-cents were simple, bearing a portrait of George Washington. The designs used for the 1-cent  and 2-cent denominations were different and not used for the other lower value denominations. The stamps with denominations 25-cents through 1-dollar were larger and had a more elaborate design and also designated the tax duty in a lower banner.

  

1 c Proprietary, 3c Foreign exchange and 5 c Internal exchange first issue 1862 revenue stamps

Stamps with denominations of $1.30 were used to pay the tax duty for Foreign exchange only, $1.50 for Inland exchange only, while the stamps with denominations of $1.60 and $1.90 were for Foreign exchange only and oddly bear no duty designations in the stamp design.

$1 Manifest, $1 30c and $1 90c Foreign Exchange Issues of 1862

Denominations of 2-dollars through 10-dollars have tax duties designated in the lower circular banner surrounding Washington's portrait. Denominations of 15-dollars through 50-dollars have tax duties designated in the right side of the circular banner surrounding the portrait.Tax duties included Passage ticket, Playing cards, Agreement, Bank check, Bill of lading, Bond, Certificate, Charter party, Contract, Conveyance, Entry of goods, Foreign exchange, Inland exchange, Lease, Life insurance, Manifest, Mortgage, Power of attorney, Probate of will, Proprietary and Surety bond.

Various tax duties were served by only certain revenue stamps, as some duties were only found on lower or higher denomination revenue stamps as the case may be. For example, revenue stamps with a designation for Playing cards are found only on denominations of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 cents, while the 25-cent denomination revenue stamp is the only one whose designation specifies Bond.

A specialized stamp catalog is needed to see the different occurrences of tax-designation when denomination combinations are used.

Revenue stamps used on bank check

Washington revenue stamp, $200 Dollars, issue of 1864

The second issue of revenue stamps was Documentary stamps and issued in 1871. After the Internal Revenue received many reports of the fraudulent re-use of revenue stamps, typically with cancellation ink washed or otherwise removed from the face of the stamp, a letter dated May 31, 1867 from government officials in Wall Street was sent to Internal Revenue commissioner E.A. Rollins expressing the concern that "The U.S. government loses thousands of dollars daily by stamps being used a second time." The ordinary stamps in use at this time did not receive the cancellation ink very well, unless it was heavily applied. The letter advised that all stamps be printed in a pale yellow colour. However, this particular suggestion was not taken up by Butler & Carpenter, instead, after a period of experimentation they responded to the problem by producing stamps of a lighter shade and on a paper that more readily absorbed cancellation ink. The Internal Revenue department was frequently sending stamps suspected of having cancellation ink washed off to the engravers and printers for inspection to determine if they had been tampered with.

The new paper was finally employed in stamp production in early 1869 and by 1871 a second series of stamps were issued, printed on a special patented "chameleon" paper containing silk fibers which can be seen in the paper with the naked eye. Still produced by Butler & Carpenter of Philadelphia, the entire second series, with the exception of the 200-dollar issue, were printed in the same bi-colour combination, with the portrait of Washington printed in black and with the frame work in blue with various ornate and elaborate designs, popular during that period.

The highest values in the second issue of revenue stamps are 200-dollar  and the 500-dollar stamps and are commonly referred to by collectors as the Small and Large Persian rug revenue stamps respectively, which are considered by many to be among the most colorful and elaborately engraved stamps in all of philately. Both the 200 and 500-dollar stamps were printed in very limited quantities. The 200-dollar small Persian Rug had a printing of 446 copies, with approximately 125 known surviving examples. The stamps were printed one to a 'sheet', with margins on all four sides with inscriptions on the two side margins. The only surviving full sheet of the small Persian rug, was used to pay tax duties on the will of Erastus Corning, Sr. in 1872. The 500-dollar large Persian rug is indeed larger, measuring 2¹⁄₈  by 4 inches with only 204 stamps of this denomination ever issued. Because of their relatively large sizes, the subsequent large number of perforations on each stamp, and the fact that they were used on documents which were typically folded across the stamps, most examples exist with some sort of flaw(s) about the stamp paper. Printed by the Carpenter Printing Company of Philadelphia, a 5,000-dollar design was also proposed and a trial colour essay was printed, but it was never issued for revenue use so there only exists a die proof.

"Small Persian rug", $200 and "Large Persian rug", $500

Taxes were commonly levied on alcohol and tobacco products and a variety of such stamps were printed for this purpose. Typically, when the taxes were paid the stamp would be affixed to a given product in such a way as to seal a given container, where upon opening the stamp would be damaged. For example, revenue stamps for beer tax were issued to brewers in sheets, form where an individual stamp was cut from it and used as a seal over the opening in a barrel of beer. To access the beer the stamp would have to be punctured, thus prohibiting its reuse.

Because the second issue of revenue stamps were all printed in the same blue and black colours they were often difficult to distinguish at a glance by Internal Revenue employees. Subsequently, a third issue of stamps with similar designs and some variations as the second issue but with distinctive colours assigned to the various denominations was released between 1871 and 1872. Production of the third issue employed many of the same printing plates, engraved by J.R. Carpenter of Philadelphia, and were printed on the same special "chameleon" paper with silk fibers used in the printing of the second issue, with perf' 12. Unlike many of the stamps in the second issue, the third issue does not designate any duty type in the stamp designs. Double transfers and inverted centers occur in nearly all the different denomination designs.

By 1875 the Internal Revenue awarded the contract to print revenue stamps to the National Bank Note Company who prepared a second series of proprietary stamps. The new revenue stamps are commonly referred to as the "second proprietary issue," and occur in 1-cent, 2-cent, 3-cent, 4-cent, 5-cent, and 6-cent denominations. Use of revenue stamps to pay proprietary taxes ended on July 1, 1883.

1871 issue of 4c, 15c and 20c

1872 issue of $1 and $2

1871 issue of $3 and 1872 issue of $10

In 1875, the internal revenue department issued a 2-cent revenue stamp, depicting an allegory of Liberty. Printing of this issue continued into 1878. This was the first U.S. Revenue stamp to be issued that did not bear the portrait of George Washington. The Liberty issue was printed on silk bluish paper. Two types of perforations were added, standard perforations with punctured holes, and rouletted. Stamps produced in 1878 were printed on double-lined watermarked paper. Quantities printed for this issue were great, totaling 228,351,689 stamps, which include both standard and rouletted perforations. The quantities of stamps issued with each type of perforation are not known.

Liberty revenue pair, stamp and plate proof, 2-cents 1875

On June 13, 1898, Congress passed the War Revenue Act of 1898 to provide badly needed funding for the Spanish–American War. The law was to become effective on July 1, 1898, leaving only seventeen days to produce the badly needed revenue stamps. In anticipation of the law's passage the Bureau of Engraving and Printing had already commenced work on the dies and printing plates for the new revenue stamps, however they were unable to issue the stamps when the law went into effect. To meet the demand for revenue stamps, existing stocks of standard postage stamps (issued in 1895–1898) were overprinted with the initials I.R. (Internal Revenue) for use as revenue stamps. Initials are faint on issues with denominations of 8, 10 and 15-cents.

Franklin overprint 1c, 1898 issue, Washington overprint, 2c, 1898 issue

 and Sherman overprint, 15c, 1895 issue

Webster overprint, 10c, 1898 issue and Clay overprint, 15c, 1898 issue

Trans-Mississippi issue overprinted IR

Because of shortages of revenue stamps two shipping firms operating along the Erie Canal used the existing 1c postage Trans-Mississippi stamp issue which was approved by the Federal District Revenue Collector who commissioned the Purvis Printing Company to do the overprinting. They were ordered by L. H. Chapman of the Chapman Steamboat Line, which operated freight-carrying steamboats along the Erie Canal, making stops at Syracuse, Utica, Little Falls and Fort Plain. Only 250 stamps were produced. In addition 250 were printed reading "I.R./P.I.D. & Son", for P.I. Daprix & Son, which served different ports along the same waterway. In each case five panes of 50 stamps were overprinted with the initials I.R.

Issues with denominations from ¹⁄₂ cent to 80-cents depict a battleship

Documentary Revenue stamps of 1898 stamps depict the image of the USS Maine

In the continuation of providing funding for the Spanish–American War Congress authorized a tax on a wide range of goods and services including various alcohol and tobacco products, tea and other amusements and also on various legal and business transactions (such as Stock certificates, bills of lading, manifests, and marine insurance). To pay these tax duties revenue tax stamps were purchased and affixed to the taxable item or respective certificate. There are seventeen stamps in this issue which occur in denominations ranging from ½ cent to 50 dollars which were printed on double lined watermarked paper. Two types of perforations were used: Rouletted perforations and 'hyphen' shaped perforations. Numerous double transfers occur (doubled image) in this issue.

Argonaut Oil & Mining Co stock certificate, June 23, 1900 with Documentary Revenue stamps (upper left) affixed

Issues with denominations from 1 dollar to 50 dollars depicting a standing allegorical figure of Commerce. Design is modification of one used in Newspapers periodicals of 1875 and 1895. A second printing was issued in 1900 with a large numeral 1 overprint, occurring in two types -- solid numeral and ornate numeral. 

Documentary revenue stamps from the 1898 issue with a standing allegorical figure of Commerce

The three Documentary stamps issued in the 1898 series (which were actually issued in 1899) feature the portraits of John Marshall, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, each bearing the inscription Series of 1898. These three designs were also used in the 1914, 1917 printings and much later in 1940 issues, with slight modifications in the design, i.e. the inscription Series of 1898 was removed.  As an added security measure each of these high value stamps was given its own unique serial number. Produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing the issues of 1898 were printed on white wove paper and watermarked with the initials U.S.I.R. (i.e. United States Internal revenue) in block capital letters. The stamps were separated by rouletted perforations. The issues of 1917 and 1940 were also printed on double lined watermarked paper with standard gauge 12 perforation.

Marshall revenue, $100 1899 issue, Hamilton revenue, $500 1899 issue and Madison revenue, $1000 1899 issue

Issues of 1914 were printed in two basic design types. Lower denominations (½ cent through 80 cents) printed with denomination encircled; higher denominations (1 dollar through 50 dollars) printed with allegory of freedom in profile. Denominations from ½ cent to 80 cents were printed on both single line and double lined watermarked paper, while higher denominations were printed on double lined watermarked paper only.

2 cents and $5 Liberty revenue 1914 issue and Hamilton revenue $500 1917 issue

Lower denominations range from 1 cent to 80-cents; higher denominations range from 1-dollar to 1,000-dollars. Printed on single line watermarked paper, with gauge 10 perforations

1917 issues

During the period from 1940 to 1958 the Department of Internal Revenue released several hundred, Documentary revenue stamps in three basic designs with denominations that ranged from 1-cent to 10,000-dollars and with a variety of different portraits of notable statesman, each denomination of stamp bearing a different portrait. Almost all of the issues of this period were printed in "carmine" red. The higher denominations of 30-dollars to 10,000-dollars bore a unique serial number as an added security measure. A few reprints from 1917 were also issued during this period.

Taney revenue 80c 1940 issue, Meredith revenue $20 1940 issue and Gresham revenue $10,000 1952 issue

Design at left used for denominations 1-cent to 80-cents; at center, 1-dollar to 20-dollars; at right, 30-dollars to 10,000-dollars, with serial numbers

-       Col J Dutta & Dr Anjali Dutta - email : doctorjayanta2009@gmail.com

New issues from other Countries

Cayman Islands

16 November 2018 : ‘ Christmas Hymns ’

Czech Republic

24 October 2018 : The tradition of St. Martin

The tradition of St. Martin

November 11 is Day of St. Martin, the liturgical feast that marks the day that the bishop of Tours was buried in the year 397. This Catholic saint was Roman soldier and later a monk, and he is the legend of St. Martin , of sharing his cloak with the poor. One of the traditions for this day is to drink the new wine.

In the Czech Republic the tradition is to show the images, but these are represented by a good dose of humor. The roast goose and wine, "Svatomartinské" is served at 11 hours. The Post Office of the Czech Republic launched on 24 October this seal for national mail, an artwork of Jirí Sliva presented in the portfolio with eight stamps and four vignettes with the letters SM (Saint Martin). The white horse on the cover of the portfolio has the meaning of the Czech proverb, "St. Martin arrives on a white horse," Winter is coming. The portfolio cover also shows the significance of the Czech tradition, and notice the stamp first day, the roast goose is also to hold your wine glass. 

Latvia

23  November 2018 : Christmas 2018

Luxembourg

4 December 2018 : Christmas

Sri Lanka
26 November 2018 : Lighthouses -  Set of 4 stamps and 4 Souvenir Sheets

 

Ukraine

7     December 2018 : Beauty and Greatness of Ukraine

1. Reseve Hetman Capital  2.Reserve Kachanivka  3. Desna River  4.  Railway Station, Chernihiv

Acknowledgement

- Ananthapuri Stamp Bulletin  Decemmber 2018 issues edited by Mohanchandran Nair

- Judaica Thematic Society (UK)  December 2018  Newsletter edited by Gary Goodman

-The Hyderabad Philatelist  November 2018 issues edited by Prakash Agarwal

-The Hyderabad Hobby Magazine  November  2018 issues  edited by Prakash Agarwa

- Journal of The Army Philatelic Society Vol 16 No 3 & 4 edited by Col Jayanta Dutta

- Deccan Philatelist Vol 18 No 4 2018 edited by Col Jayanta Dutta

 - SIGNET July- September 2018 issue edited by Prof Sahdeva Dahoo

Blogs & Websites

Philatelic Congress of India

Indian Philately Digest

Stamps of India

Rainbow Stamp News

Se-tenant Stamps of India

Flags & Stamps

Europa stamps

Phila Mirror

International Stamp News

Welcome to Indian Philately

Philatelic Clubs & Societies 

Ananthapuri Philatelic Association, Thiruvanthapuram

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

Chandigarh Philatelic Club

Deccan Philatelic Society – Pune, Maharashtra

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

The Hyderabad  Philatelic and Hobbies Socirty

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

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

Ludhiana Philatelic Club

Numismatic & Philatelic Association of Vellore Fort 

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

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

Philatelic Society of Rajasthan, Jaipur

Philatelic Society of India , Mumbai : http://www.psi1897.com/

Orissa Philatelic Association, Mail id-:  orissaphilatelic@gmail.com

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

Rajkot Philatelic Society – Rajkot, Gujarat

Gujarat Philatelic Association - Ahmedabad

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

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

The Army Philatelic Society, Pune

 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. Readers may send reports on new issues, special covers, cancellations & philatelic activities of their area for inclusion in this Blog. - Editor

Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Courtesy - News and Image Resource to this issue :   Stamps of India ;  Suresh R.- & Jagannath Mani, G.A. Zameer - Bangalore, Kasinath R. – Tanjore, Sandeep Chaurasia - Gorakhpur., Abhai Mishra - Dehradun

Address for communication :

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

E-mail –    j.jyoti9@gmail.com 

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Happy Collecting ……….                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

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