STAY HOME ! SAVE
LIVES!
Help stop coronavirus !
Dehradun April 2020 Vol. XIII
Issue No. 148
Readers are requested
to send reports of philatelic activities in their area for publication. Short
write ups by the readers about their journals, societies, publications and
philatelic requirements can be sent for inclusion in this bulletin to the
editor: j.jyoti9@gmail.com
Note- This bulletin is only for circulation among a limited
group of philatelists without any commercial purpose. The bulletin will be sent
to the readers only on request. Those who wish to receive it regularly please
reply giving the name of your city / country with the subject SUBSCRIBE RAINBOW
Dear Reader,
Fight against Covid - 19
Salute to Corona Warriors of the world!
I am pleased to release April 2020 issue of Rainbow. The novel coronavirus, or
COVID-19, pandemic has spread across 200 countries has become a disaster for
the people.. This issue is dedicated to Corona Warriors of the world who are working
day and night to fight the disease. Let’s
all cooperate and make the mission successful to fight with Covid -19. For the
philatelists , this time can be utilized to re-arrange their collection and
plan to start a new theme. Many philatelists are doing so.. This will keep them
stay home and maintain social distancing. In this issue, read some special
articles related to present situation and a series on ‘Disinfected Mail’ by Mr
Naresh Agrawal which has been started from this issue. I hope the readers will
find the series very informative and get new ideas for new medical themes related to health. .
This is all for
this month ! More in next issue.
Stay Home ! Stay
Healthy and lock-down yourself with philately !
Happy Collecting !
Contents
§ From the Desk of Naresh Agrawal
§ Recent Indian Issues
§ In The News
§ Thematic Watch
§ Philately Promoter of the Month
§ Doon Philatelic Diary
§ Beginners’ Section
§ Specialized Section
§ Rose Philately
§ New Issues from Other Countries
§ Philatelic Clubs and Society Blogs & Websites on Philately
§ Current Philatelic Magazines & Newsletters
LOCKED WITH PHILATELY
CORONA
VIRUS has shaken the world with its
worst characteristic of uncertainly and
the ability to spread through human to human contact. It has so far
caused enormous deaths and infected lacs globally. It has now practically
forced almost all the people of the world to get locked in to their
houses. I pray to God for safety of the world from this virus and complete eradication of this virus from this
mother earth.
Well
, looking at the other aspect of this forced in-house locked situation, people
have received the opportunity to utilize this period in different manner. In
India from 24th Night of March 2020, a lock down of 21 days has been imposed
forcing people/families to stay inside their homes and not to move out. I
discussed with various philatelic friends of mine regarding what they were
doing to utilize their time at home. A few are still working from home but they
have enough time to spend with their families and to do some person in- house
works like checking and re-arranging papers and files where as some
are utilizing this time for their philatelic development. Of course some
are getting bored but based on the discussions held ,I suggest those friends
and readers to do the following during this period :
CHECKING
THE CLOSED BOXES AND STOCK BOOKS
We
philatelists have enough material lying closed in boxes, in albums and stock
books but we are not aware of what exactly is lying there. This is the time to
take out the boxes and stock books from deep inside the almirah, cupboards,
trunks and clean the dust and dirt. Take out and check, you will certainly find
some good material which has escaped your attention with time. Some time some
precious gems are found. As there is time and time , it is advice to check your
boxes, and find out the stuffs available with you.
SORTING
AND RE-ARRANGING THE COLLECTION :
Due
to lack of time , the material which is procured regularly, remains unarranged
. This is best time to check the albums, stock books and arrange the material
as per your need i.e. chronologically, year wise etc. Re-arranging the
collection gives new dimensions and look to your collection and also gives you
new ideas to how to go ahead with collection.
SEPARATING
AND SPARING THE EXTRA SURPLUS MATERIAL :
We
normally as a regular practice keep on accumulating whatever comes in our way
and just store it in our boxes or stock books. This is perfect time to look in
to that accumulation again and again and sort it out. We shall certainly find
some extra and duplicate material which can be spared and exchanged. This sorting will also help in
deciding the material required for completion of collection, themes, exhibits
etc..,
RESTRUCTURING
/ UPGRADING YOUR EXHIBITS
Philately
is fast changing. New materials are being explored and appreciated. The quality and quantity of both philatelic and
thematic texts is also changing. In thematic philately there is a change of generations say from 1st
generation to the 5th generation asking for more research, better
development, variety of material etc.. hence, one needs to restructure his exhibit from time to
time which undoubtedly a time taking job. This is that time when it can be done
easily without much stress.
GIVING
PRIMARY SHAPE OF EXHIBITS TO THE COLLECTION / MAKING NEW EXHIBITS
Collections
remain collections lying either in stock book or albums or in boxes. But this
spare and totally leisure time give you an opportunity to give air to the
collection and to give those a shape of an exhibit.
RENEWING
RELATIONS :
Normally
every one remains busy throughout the day and won’t find time to talk to old
friends and relatives. But this is the time when one can talk to philatelic
friends and renew the relations. Both
you and the person at other end are free. This will not only renew but
strengthen the relations.
MAKING NEW
PHILATELIC FRIENDS
Availability
of ample time gives an opportunity to give calls to your forgotten friends and
relatives. This also gives an opportunity to contact new people and develop
friendship with them.
READING
AND STUDY OF PHILATELIC ARTICLES :
The
best thing philatelists can do is to utilize this leisure time for reading
philatelic magazines, articles, journals, research papers etc.. This will not
only update your philatelic knowledge but also help in upgrading the
collections and exhibits.
WRITING
ARTICLES/RESEARCH PAPERS ON PHILATELY
Apart
from reading, this is the best time to write down your experiences, your
research and to share your findings with others. First hand write ups can be
done in this period which may further upgraded later.
CHECKING
AND READING OLD PHILATELIC MAGAZINES
As
I could see, over the time I have accumulated number of different philatelic
literature, magazines, journals but were lying packed become dusty and never
read for long time. And so would be with most of the stamp lovers /
philatelists. One can take out all the stored magazines /journals and go
through those. Often philatelic gems in form of articles are found in such old
magazines.
SETTING
PLACEMENTS OF STOCK BOOKS,BOXES ETC.
Placement
and easy availability of material when
required is very essential because due to lack of this, we fail to check
any material when required. This not only hamper the instant joy of philately
but also become a hurdle in development of any collection or exhibit.. In this
period one can not only check the boxes and stock books but also label those and place these in proper fusion at proper
place for easy accessibility.
All
in all, locked down is in fact getting locked with philately as this is best
time to get involved in philately, to upgrade and enjoy philately.
Naresh Agrawal : email -
nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in
Recent Indian Issues
16 March 2020
: UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India – II – 2 x Rs 5 + 3 x Rs 12 + MS
Natural
Sites
1. Western Ghats 2. Nanda Devi n Valley
of Flowers National parks 3. Nanda Devi n Valley of Flowers National Park 4.
Manas Wildlife Sancturay 5. Great Himalayan National Park
In The News
Canberra
Stampshow 2020 AWARDS
Piyush Khaitan, Madhukar Jhingan, Sandeep
Mujrani, K. Sridhar, Lokeswara Rao Madiraju
Heartiest Congratulations to all
winners !
Large Vermeil Medal
Indian Crash Mail by Piyush Khaitan
Indian Aerogrammes by Madhukar Jhingan
Vermeil Medal
Aerogrammes by Prashanth Shet
Large Silver Medal
Air India by Sandeep Murjani
Indian Slogan Postmarks by Ruchira Karnik
Advertising Postcards of India by Dinesh Sharma
Silver Medal
GB Numeral Cancellations by Lokeswara Rao Madiraju
Silver Bronze Medal
An Aid to Marine Navigation by K Sridhar
Nelson Eustis Memorial Prize for the Best Aerophilately Exhibit goes to Piyush Khaitan's Indian Crash Mails
Change in forthcoming International
Stamp Exhibitions
London 2020 Newsletter No. 16: 18
March 2020
Exhibition Dates
Please forgive my silence over the
last week or two, but trying to find a way of managing the London 2020
exhibition that both is safe and secure, as well as being financially robust,
has been a major challenge.
In line with UK Government guidelines,
it is now impossible for the exhibition to happen in May 2020. We have
consulted with all our major partners in the planning of the show:
• Fédération Internationale de
Philatélie (FIP)
• Federation of European Philatelic
Associations (FEPA)
• The venue, the Business Design
Centre (BDC)
• Stamp World Exhibitions Ltd
(SWE)
• Philatelic Traders’ Society
(PTS).
All of these have been incredibly
supportive of trying to find a solution to the unprecedented challenges we are
facing, both logistical and financial. Although we have not fully defined all
the details, the exhibition will go ahead at the same venue on the
earliest feasible dates available:
19 to 26 February 2022.
I’m sorry that I have not been in a
position to communicate this message any earlier, but I hope you will
understand the scale of the problems that we are trying to resolve. Frank
-Walton RDP FRPSL Chairman,
London 2020 Organising Committee
Termination of BULGARIA 2020
We would like to
inform you that since 13th of March 13,2020, "a state of emergency"
has been officially declared in the territory of BULGARIA due to the COVID-19
pandemic. The borders have been closed, activities of state institutions and
public organizations have been suspended or minimized almost to rock bottom
level.
Only food stores,
bank offices and branches and pharmacies operate in the country by now. The
activity of restaurants and hotels is blocked. The intense spread of the
disease excludes gathering of people, travel and other activities, so necessary
for the proper preparation and organizing of the World Philatelic Championship
- the Exhibition "BULGARIA 2020". Experls predict that not only in
Bulgaria, but probably all over Europe the peak of COVID- 19 will be reached by
the midst of September 2020.
All this forces us to
announce and declare the termination of the organizalion for the holding of
"BULGARIA 2020". We really did a lot - the Bulgarian Postal
administration, supported by numerous other contributors, but unexpected
circumstances appeared over which we have no control. We do hope however that
when the COVID-19 pandemic will be in the past and people return to their
normal life and work BULGARIA will be again a kind host of a World
Philatelic Exhibition under the auspices of FIP.
18 March 2020
-Spas Panchev
President of Union of
Bulgarian Philatelists
Status of other International Stamp
Exhibitions
Mar
19-22: Auckland, New Zealand, NZ 2020 37th
Asian International, held as National
May
2-9: London, UK, LONDON 2020 International Postponed to Feb 19-26, 2022 by the
organizers but yet to be agreed by FIP as dates are too close to HUNFILEX 2022
in Budapest, Hungary from Mar 31 to Apr 3, 2022.
Aug
6-11: Jakarta, Indonesia, INDONESIA 2020 World Stamp Championship Postponed to
Nov 5-10, 2020. FIP will review global situation in Jul 2020 and decide if
exhibition can proceed as planned.
Meanwhile
organizers added 500 more frames to the exhibition and extended the date of
applying for participation to June 2020.
Oct
23-27: Taipei, Taiwan, TAIPEI 2020 38th Asian International Postponed to Jun
4-8, 2021
Sep/Oct/Nov:
BANGLAPEX 2020, Dhaka, Bangladesh Postponed and New Dates to be Announced
Commissioner
for CAPE TOWN 2021 Philatelic Exhibition
Mr. Shakil Ahmed has been appointed as Indian National
Commissioner for the Cape Town 2021, FIP Specialized World Stamp Exhibition to
be held at Cape Town, South Africa from 17 to 20 March, 2021.Exhibition Classes: Traditional, Postal History, Aerophilately, Postal Stationery, Revenue, Thematic, Open, Modern Philately, One Frame, Philatelic Literature and Picture Postcards only)
Contact information:
Shakil Ahmed
Dargah Bazar, Balakrishna Road,
P. O. Buxi Bazar,
CUTTACK-753001, ODISHA
Email: ahmedshakil99@gmail.com
M): +91-9437225760 / +91-7008025663
IBRA 2021
International Stamp exhibition and stamp Fair IBRA 2021 will be
held in Essen, Germany from 6-9 May 2021. For details visit : www.Ibra2021.de
Temporary Service Suspension
The
U.S. Postal Service received notice that various postal operators are no longer
able to process or deliver international mail or services originating from the
United States due to service disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As
a result, the Postal Service is currently unable to accept items destined for
India at any Post Office or postal facility location, effective April 3 until
further notice. Customers are asked to refrain from entering items addressed to
India into the USPS system effective immediately.
These
service disruptions affect Priority Mail Express International® (PMEI),
Priority Mail International® (PMI), First-Class Mail International® (FCMI),
First-Class Package International Service® (FCPIS®), International Priority
Airmail® (IPA®), International Surface Air Lift® (ISAL®), and M-Bag® items.
For
any returned item bearing a customs form, the Postal Service will, upon
request, refund postage and fees on mail returned due to the suspension of
service. For all other returned items not bearing a customs declarations form,
the Postal Service will, upon request, refund postage and fees on mail returned
due to the suspension of service, or the sender may remail them with the
existing postage once service has been restored. When remailing under this
option, customers must cross out the markings “Mail Service Suspended — Return
to Sender.”
Unless
otherwise noted, service suspensions to a particular country do not affect
delivery of military and diplomatic mail.
CORONAVIRUS (COVID -19) : NOT A
MATTER TO PLEASE
-Naresh Agrawal
Whole world is now facing acute crises caused by the spread of yet another new virus named NOVAL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19), at first considered to be a severe contagious disease, then looking in to the geographical analysis an epidemic but then it evolved in to a pandemic which spread throughout the world. A large number of people died of disease caused by this virus. Spreading from surface to surface, it has put the whole world in trouble. It forced people to go for quarantine for days together to check the spread of this virus which is said to have a life span of 12 to 16 hours as gathered but is still uncertain. We are still living under the threat of this virus which as gathered would take a few more weeks to get fully checked and contained. India is going through a complete lock down of 21 days right from the night of 24.03.2020. I pray god, to help us to get rid of this unseen cruel enemy as early as possible and appeal to all to be very careful and protective maintaining social distancing and all the protection and disinfection norms .
We know, mail is the postal material which travels long distances and is carried and handled by various persons under different conditions right from the sender to the addressee. Climatic, geological and biological conditions all around the world differs from place to place and time to time. Sometimes, there are some epidemics or contagious, infectious and communicable diseases spread in some area which are likely to be transmitted through the mail to cross their local boundaries and borders. Also sometimes there are chances of some viruses getting attached to the mail which are then carried and spread to wherever the mail goes and whosoever handles it or the mail in contact with the mail adds to the threat.
Epidemics have been attacking world from time to time in one form or the other, with one name or the other and have caused trouble. Calamities and the mass destruction of lives goes back to biblical times. In the past, say for almost last 500 years and even now, the paper mail has been considered one of the major carrier of epidemics throughout the world as its quantity and movement has increased tremendously. And so, there are strict and regular measures employed to check the same. Different sanitation , quarantine, disinfection and decontamination methods, rules, laws and acts were made from time to time by different governments, authorities and administrations. Quarantine is still in existence and is being appreciated and applied at times. However, with the development in medical sciences, there has been change in treatments given to the mail adhered to in past because of lack of knowledge regarding the cause of disease. Also different methods have been adopted utilizing latest technology to handle good quantity of mail in limited time with assurance of disinfection.
Well, while talking about the affect of COVID-19 on movement, transmission, handling and delivery of mail; it has certainly affected the same but as the possibility of virus remaining stuck to the mail for long time, I could not see very highly appreciable effect on this aspect looking in to severity and huge area affected by this virus. It has been mainly carried by the infected human bodies. The actions taken by some of the postal administrations round the world is temporarily either stopped receiving or forwarding or delivery of postal packages/parcels from certain countries or they stuck to sanitization of the packages/parcels coming from specific countries before their further transmission. Certain postal administrations stopped delivery of the mail to the addressee to check the fear of addressee getting contact with virus, if the mail piece is affected. Also they stopped delivery to check safety of their mail handling and delivery personnel.
The main reason behind this is the short life of the virus. Further, high temperature also kills this virus or inactivates it. It is thought that transmission of this virus through mail, mainly letter mail is not possible to the extent to have any large check or measure. Yes, the affected mail piece can cause infection to the postal worker who in turn can become a virus carrier.
To appreciate the services and support of medical professionals and social workers, Iran postal administration unveiled a commemorative postage stamp in support of their fight against the Coronavirus, while continuing to be dogged by accusations of a cover-up and gross negligence over the crisis.
Solomon Island 01.08.2016
Togo 30.12.2015
Let’s just have an overview of the actions taken by various postal administrations throughout the worlds due to spread/ threat of this virus which created a global crises of flow of letters and parcels.
The major setback in the postal operation globally due to the spread of this deadly virus is the stop of global flows of letters and parcels. The virus originated from China is now spread throughout the world. Suspension of air services to various countries has certainly checked the spread of this virus but has in turn hampered the postal services.
U.S. Postal Service during this period informed that it experienced significant difficulties in dispatching letters, parcels and express mail to China, including Hong Kong and Macau
because airlines suspension of their flights to those destinations and added that that would be resumed only after availability of sufficient transport capacity. And so stopped accepting mail from other countries that transited via USPS to China, Hong Kong and Macau. The Postal Service further said that that had only affected transit mail and not letters and parcels posted in the United States. It also said it could no longer guarantee timely delivery of priority mail to China and Hong Kong.
In another, separate note by Singapore Post it was said to its global counterparts that it was no longer accepting letters, parcels and express mail items destined for China because of the lack of sufficient transport capacity.
Even UPU in its statement said that the suspension of flights because of the virus “is going to impact the delivery of mail for the foreseeable future.” UPU further added that it was carefully monitoring the operational situation, and was in constant contact with postal operators to ensure any backlog was cleared in the shortest possible time.
As China was the first affected countries as the virus originated from there, the Chinese mail service, China Post reportedly disinfected all its postal offices, processing centers, and vehicles to ensure the virus doesn't travel via the mail and to protect postal staff. However, it added that as the virus does not survive for long on the objects, it was therefore safe to receive postal items from China. And suggested that letters, parcels and express mail could be delivered via non-face-to-face methods. Yes, the mail transits through China is also affected.The affected countries include North Korea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
South Africa’s postal service warned of delays in receiving letters or parcels from China because of flight suspensions. Austrian postal service also stopped sending letters or packages to China but did not stop receiving mail from China. In Sweden, Post Nord also stopped sending letters from there to China.
Royal Mail believed that the delivery of parcels and letters is an important way of keeping the country together and helping many people who may not have the option to leave their homes. It has made a series of adjustments to its parcel handling procedures. It is keeping its ways of working under continuous review. As Public Health England (PHE) has advised that people receiving parcels are not at risk of contracting the Corona virus because from experience it has been observed that these types of viruses don’t survive long on objects, such as letters or parcels. Even the International services remained operational its airline and postal/courier partners across the globe are maintaining regular services.
Australia Post remains fully operational across Australia during government restrictions on non-essential activity. Post, delivery drivers and Post Offices continued to operate. Customers continued to send and receive parcels and mail, pay bills and use Bank@Post during this time.Though it took every possible action to protect the health and safety of the workforce and customers in relation to the spread of corona virus, in line with Australian government regulations.
Australia Post is experiencing international delivery delays due to the coronavirus .Australia Post is working with partner airlines and other postal operators to move items as quickly as possible. However due to the ever-changing situation, delays may occur in all destination countries.
Let’s have a brief instant look on various epidemics / pandemics in the recent history:
Following is the overview of history :
430 to 426 BC : Plague of Athens during the Peloponnesian War, disease molded national fates
1918-1919 : Spanish Flu : Global Pandemic global : Excess of 50 million fatalities.
1960 : H.I.V. /AIDS : Most stubborn viral assault of modern times : affected around 70 million people affected by end of 2018 as per WHO with 32 million deaths
1968 : The Hong Kong flu : That pandemic managed to spread globally : Global total in excess of one million.
2003 : SARS : Claimed almost 800 deaths from 8,000 reported cases mainly in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
2009-2010 : Swine flu : An H1N1 virus in the category of the Spanish flu : Infected hundreds of millions worldwide. But far less impact than that of previous pandemics.
2013 : Ebola : Swept through parts of West Africa between 2014 and 2016: Killed 11,300 people,
2015 : MERS : For instance, MERS claimed some 858 lives from 2,494 reported infections, mainly in 2012, and mainly in the Arabian Peninsula, according to the WHO. The outbreak then reoccurred in South Korea three years later.
Final note as a philatelist :
Though we never want such pandemic to spread and harm the world but being a philatelist we always look forward for what it has left for us to cherish in way of philatelic stuffs and study. Marco philatelists usually find much for their philatelic study and collection in form of different markings, notings and instructions on the mail piece. In various such episodes of virus attacks in the past, there have been much to explore and collect philatelically. But here in this case of CORONAVIRUS , I don’t think there is much for collectors to accumulate and study as of now. I have not so far heard of or seen any postal administration to go for disinfection of deliverable mail pieces such as letters. Yes, there are certain postal administrations which have lead to disinfection of parcels and packages but what type of disinfection methods have been adopted and whether any remarks/ labels or marking done or not is yet to known to us. There are places where the mail has either been forwarded, re-directed, diverted or put on hold due to suspension of air services or other reasons.
Sometimes the delivery has been stopped or different methods of mail delivery has been adopted to check the spread of infection. Unusual mail deliveries and even mail collections have been adhered to at several places. Mail dispatch and / or delivery also got delayed during last few weeks. Such mail pieces might have some markings, instructions, annotations, labels etc. which are of course collectible by philatelists like me but let’s see what is there in store for us.
I still see there is lot to come in form of collectible material, quarantine applications, medical checks, medical cards might be of interests for philatelists to either display for thematic philately or social philately. I still believe that some disinfected markings on letters will certainly find place.
Observations / Experiences / Facts
A good Thematic
Exhibit is just like a complete book on a particular subject or theme explained
through a variety of philatelic items. The
exhibitor must know the art to skip every possible non philatelic item. The
story line must be explained in short text as a viewer / jury has limited time to see the exhibit. Long and lengthy text should not be given
instead the space should be used to display some important philatelic item . In
my opinion the critic session in the exhibitions is of no use. As different
experts in the jury give their different opinions because they are all not expert in thematic
field. Sometimes they give rather confusing and contradictory statements. If
one follows them blindly , the exhibit could be spoiled. Sometimes even jury overlook several
important items in the exhibit due to shortage of time. The art is how you
display that it can catch the eyes of the jury as well as visitors in the very
first sight. The best way is to follow the latest rules and prepare the
exhibit...someday it will be recognized definitely...
The idea of this
column is to give correct guidelines to all the lovers of Thematic Philately...Enjoy
your theme and enjoy philately.....The
medals and awards are not important.... As these are not the correct
evaluation of your exhibit.. .Wait for the right person to judge your exhibit ..!!
Sharing here some more
slides of a seminar on Thematic philately held during China 2019 World
Philatelic Exhibition Wuhan !. In these slides learn about how to display overprints,
Varieties, stamp booklets, prestige booklets and perfins !
Thematic Philately Guidelines - 3
ARTICLE 4: CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION
4.1. Thematic Treatment
4.1.1. Title and Plan
The title defines the overall concept, which then is
structured through the plan. Inconsistencies
between the title and the plan indicate either an
inadequate breakdown of the title or an
inappropriate synthesis of its structure in the selected
title.
The plan page, that provides an insight into the theme,
has to be shown at the beginning of the
exhibit. Failure to do so will result in the automatic
loss of three points.”
The requirements for a correct, logical and balanced
structuring into divisions and sub-divisions
are defined as follows:
Correct: The plan should be accurate,
scientifically reliable and sound
Logical: The sequence of the main chapters and
their subdivisions must follow a rational
order, without superfluous or misplaced chapters
Balanced: The same importance should be given
to the different sections in accordance with
the thematic significance and the available material
coverage of all major aspects necessary to develop the theme.
4.1.2. Development
The correct assembly and position of the items, including
the individual ones on each page, is
demonstrated by a well understood, correct, and fluent
thread of development. Misplaced items
make development confused and hard to understand.
The balance is demonstrated by giving the appropriate
depth and size to the various thematic
details, according to their significance within the
theme. This also applies to philatelic studies.
4.2. Knowledge, Personal Study and
Research
The GREV considers “philatelic and related knowledge”,
that can be seen as the result of two
components:
· A “concept” related knowledge. In
almost all classes is of postal and philatelic nature: issues, usages, printing
processes, rates, routes, services, and so on. In thematic philately this “concept”
is of a thematic nature: cars, bridges, history, nature, sport, etc.; hence “thematic
knowledge” is that which is based on personal study and research and sound
knowledge of the subject studied.
· “Philatelic knowledge”, that relates
to the material used to support the concept. This component is
common to all classes.
4.2.1 Thematic Knowledge, and its
related Personal Study and Research
Thematic knowledge refers to the
overall knowledge of the theme as expressed in the choice of the items, their
correlation and the degree of appropriateness of the accompanying text; the correct
thematic use of material is reflected by the degree of appropriateness to cover
specific thematic details.
Thematic knowledge is also
demonstrated by the use of material that has a thematic qualification, which is
not immediately obvious and needs to be discovered by the exhibitor. Thematic
knowledge assumes the absence of thematic errors and avoids pretexts for introducing
material not directly related with the theme or unnecessary borderline items.
The level of thematic study and
research is evaluated by taking into account the availability of previous
studies of the theme, in order to assess how much the treatment took advantage
of available thematic and philatelic literature, catalogues and documented
research. These will thenbe compared with the personal research and study shown
in the exhibit.
4.2.2 Philatelic Knowledge, and its
related Personal Study and Research
The full compliance with the rules of
postal philately concerns, for instance, the presence of items that are
unsuitable for collecting purposes because of their state (e.g. cut stamps or
cut postal stationery, improper maximum cards)
The presence and balanced utilisation
of all the different philatelic types of material should be obtained by
presenting items of all periods and from the largest number of countries,
within the possibilities of the chosen theme.
The suitability of the postal documents considers their
philatelic appropriateness, including the number and the justification of
borderline items, if any, as well as the selection of items of real philatelic
significance rather than of extravagant pieces
Personal philatelic study and research are demonstrated
by the presence of:
material which has not yet been researched for that
theme, or where there has been very little research refers to an uncommon area
of collecting
· philatelic studies presenting a true,
well documented, philatelic in depth analysis and which are not just an excuse
for showing an accumulation of more pieces without any serious philatelic
foundation.
4.3 Condition and Rarity
The condition is based on the usual overall criteria for
evaluation in philately. For modern
material good condition is an essential requirement.
Booklets should be presented complete
with stamps.
Cancellations must be clear, and allow the stamp design,
where thematically relevant, to be
clearly visible.
The rarity is based on objective criteria such as
recognised absolute scarcity and difficulty of
acquisition.
It is essential that varieties, proofs, essays, are rarer
than the issue itself, in order to increase
the philatelic level. The same applies to blocks, strips,
etc.
It is obvious that items which, despite being very rare,
have no or insufficient relationship to the
theme, should not be included in the evaluation of this
criterion.
4.4 Presentation
The efforts of the exhibitor are demonstrated by the
arrangement of the items and the text on
appropriate exhibition pages. Presentation will be
evaluated on the basis of:
clarity of the display
clarity of the text
the overall aesthetic balance of the
exhibit.
ARTICLE 5: JUDGING OF EXHIBITS
The thematic jurors must complete an
evaluation form in order to be guided towards a thorough
and consistent judgement.
The presence of faked, forged or
repaired items, which are not clearly marked as such, will cause the
downgrading of the exhibit by the Jury, according to the report of the special
Expert Team appointed at each exhibition.
Reprints must be presented as such.
Weak or faded postmarks must not be redrawn on piece;instead a copy of the postmark should
be redrawn and presented next to the Collectors are therefore recommended to
have any doubtful item expertised before selecting it for the exhibit and the
original of the certificates should be included behind the sheet, in the same
transparent protective cover. In case a photocopy is used, the same has to be
certified by the Federation. Alternatively, the commissioner may bring the
original certificate for use if needed. Irrelevant of how the certificate is
made available, at the end of the philatelic text concerning the item certified
should be put the abbreviation “e” in bold thus (e).
Philately
Promoter of the Month
This column is
dedicated to great philatelists who are promoting selflessly the hobby of stamp
collecting in their own way and making a bridge between philately and our daily
life.
Dipok Dey – Pioneer in philately promotion
Every Saturday he used to conduct a regular philatelic
workshop at Kolkata GPO- children with their parents participate in workshop.
His first philatelic design- Inaugural Special cover of Postal Museum
and Phiatelic Library, Kolkata GPO 1979.
UN stamp on Child Survival Revolution(left) designed by Shri
Dipo Dey was released on 22 November 1985.
Stamp and FDC of Satyajit Ray-designed by Shri
Dipok Dey . He designed Most of the philatelic products on Satyajit Ray.
Coil Stamps
Coil
stamps are a horizontal or vertical strip of stamps, usually
rolled into a coil, thus earning their name. Historically, there have been two
main users of coil stamps. One user is a stamp vendor who sells stamps by
machine and would use coil stamps so that a specific number of stamps could be
purchased by the user. Mass-mailers are the other main user of coil stamps.
They use the stamps so that their automatic machinery can apply the stamps in
rapid fire to hundreds or thousands of letters.
The
first attempts at mechanically vending or affixing stamps used regular
perforated sheets of stamps that had been separated into long strips of stamps.
This caused problems because the perforations on the sides would mess up the
machines, and the perforations between the stamps would sometimes separate at
inopportune times.
The
United States Post Office tried to solve these problems by selling imperforated
strips of stamps for this purpose. Vendors could then add their own
perforations to the stamps for their specific reasons. These private
perforations are highly collectible and there are several resources available
for determining the company that sold or used the stamps.
Early
coil stamps were manufactured from strips of stamps pasted together. For example,
a pane of 100 stamps arranged as 10 rows of 10 stamps would be cut apart to
make 10 strips to 10 stemps. Typically, every 10th stamp of one strip would be
pasted to the 1st stamp of the next strip, yielding a 100 stamp strip. The
pasted area of the stamps would remain and would sometimes be used to mail
letters. Some of these pasted pairs of stamps have survived and are very
collectible.
With
the advent of the rotary press, a continuous stream of stamps could be printed.
The round die used to imprint the stamps has a seam where the curved stamp
plate is joined together so as to be continuous. This results in a faint line
on the strip of stamps, since ink tends to accumulate in this tiny seam. The
seam is called a joint line, and the two stamps adjacent to this seam are
called joint line pairs. These types of coil stamps are also in demand.
There
are two orientations of coil stamps -- horizontal and vertical. The vertical
coil stamp is where the stamps are arranged top-to-bottom and have the
perforation between them. Usually, but not always, this means that the stamps
have no perforations at the left or right, yet have perforations on the top and
bottom of each stamp. The orientation is reversed for horizontal coil stamps.
Around
1980, the US Postal Service added a plate number to every few stamps in a coil.
The plate number identified the printing plate used to create the stamps. This
number created a new collectible craze, as collectors sought after these plate
number coil (abbreviated "PNC") stamps. Generally, collectors prefer
that plate number coil stamps are contiguous strips of stamps with the center
stamp being the one with the plate number. You typically see them as strips of
3 stamps (PNC3) or 5 stamps (PNC5)
Self-adhesive
stamps, which have die-cut and no perforations, can be sold in coils as well.
Currently, many post offices are selling "liner-less" coils, in which
the self-adhesive stamp sticks to the next lower layer of stamps, much like how
adhesive tape lightly sticks to itself on a roll of tape.
Coil
stamps are an interesting variety of stamps to collect.
Doon Philatelic Diary
RAPHAEL, Dehra Dun
-Abhai Mishra
RAPHAEL (earlier Raphael Ryder Cheshire
International Center for the Relief of Suffering) was established at Dehra Dun
in 1959 by Group Captain Lord Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire and his wife Baroness
Sue Ryder. They both were WW-II veterans and humanists. Initially it was for
Leprosy patients but later it accommodated specially-abled and TB patients
also.
Major General Ranbir
Bakshi, MC (Rummy), who settled in Dehra Dun became associated with Raphael in
1973. Lord Cheshire handed over the administration of Raphael to General Bakshi
in 1991 during his last visit to India. In March, 2006, I was asked by the then
CPMG to design a special cover for Raphael. It was an unknown subject to us so
I along with Rajesh Verma paid a visit to Raphael which was situated at the
east side of Dalanwala across the dry river. We met General Bakshi there and
were deeply moved by his compassion towards specially-abled people and
Leprosy/TB patients. Though he was 94 at that time yet he showed us the centre personally.
We designed the cover with a photograph of General Bakshi sitting and
chatting with the inmates. The background was a painting drawn by one of
specially-abled child showing the center. At the lower left corner was the
message by Mahatma "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in
the service of others". The cover was released on 5 April 2006 and soon
after General Bakshi died on 25
September 2006..
: Abhai Mishra - email : abhai_mishra@rediffmail.com
Swamynathan R. : email - swamyxyz@yahoo.com
Bharat
Ratna Musicians -2
-Cdr
G.Sriramarao,I.N (Retd)
QUARANTINE :
26 March 2020 : Celebrating the Music of Ludwig Van Beethoven
If you like this issue
please forward it to your friends and help in promoting philately.
Beginners’ Section
Maharaja—AIR
INDIA Mascot
-Swamynathan R.
A part of Air India’s campaign to distinguish
itself from its peers, the jovial and rotund Maharajah first made his
appearance on an in-flight memo pad in 1946. He was conceived by SK (Bobby)
Kooka, who was then a Commercial Director with Air India and sketched by Umesh
Rao, an artist at J Walter Thompson in Bombay.
Early Maharaja on Air
India’s Letterhead and Memo Pads
Back then, India was known as the “Land of the
Maharajas” and Air India was its only international carrier, flying
to destinations such as Cairo, Prague, Damascus, Zurich and Istanbul. So
Kooka wanted to create an illustration for Air India’s letterhead and memo pads given to passengers on board
Air India flights that would symbolise
graciousness and elegant living.
It was somewhat along these lines
that his creators, Kooka and Rao, gave him a distinctive personality with
an outsized moustache, aquiline nose and the quintessentially striped Indian
turban. Eventually, the regal figure became Air-India’s mascot for its
advertising and sales promotion activities.
Later Kooka
used it to decorate the newly opened offices of Tata Airlines and the first Air
India International time table. It showed the Maharaja perched on a flying
carpet—an enchanting image that promised a magic mystery trip to the land of
the occult and ostentation. This Magic Carpet later the title for
the Air India staff magazine and also a logo to the magazine.
Then the maharaja evolved with getting draped
in a variety of attires over the years over the years depending on what he was
advertising. Jal Cawasji, the art director of Air India, and his team did the
art director of Air India, and his team did the drawings and Kooka gave the
words.
For the next few years, the Maharajah was
ingeniously used by India’s national airline to introduce new flight
routes. His funny antics and quirky puns also allowed Air India to
promote its services with subtle humour and unmatched panache.
First Flight Cover
with the image of Maharaja for Bombay -Tokyo(1955)
Maharaja on Bombay –Toronto First Flight Cover
Kooka once said, “We can call him the
Maharajah for want of a better description. But his blood isn’t blue. He may
look like royalty, but he isn’t royal. He is capable of entertaining the Queen
of England and splitting a beer with her butler. He is a man of many parts:
lover boy, sumo wrestler, pavement artist, vendor of naughty post cards,
Capuchin monk, Arab, Chinese…
In 1960’s with the introduction of 707
International Jet service, Air India realised that it was necessary to have a
corporate logo as every company in USA has acorporate image.
Luckily for Air India, the Maharaja mascot was already there symbolizing its
services and was adopted as Air India’s corporate image.
Introduction of Boeing
707 and Maharaja adopted as a Corporate Image of Air India
Other than AIR INDIA’s flight services, the Maharaja associated
itself to other areas. Some examples as follows:
1. Air India Mail and Cargo services
2. The Maharaja has been a great patron of
philately with the popular first flight covers.
3. Maharaja associating with AIR INDIA
organization’s events
As such, the Maharajah came dressed in
various garbs, but his trademark twirly moustache and his roly-poly stature
remained — until 2017 when he lost of a bit of his flab and traded his
traditional attire for blue jeans, trainers and a low-slung satchel to align
himself with the modern times.
Unsurprisingly, the Maharajah has won numerous national and
international awards for Air India for originality in advertising and
publicity.
Interestingly, at one point in time, the mascot’s
regal connotations triggered a controversy with politicians expressing doubts
about using such a symbol to represent a nation with socialist aspirations. As
a result, Air India did away with the Maharajah in 1989. But there was such a
hue and cry from various quarters that the popular mascot had to be brought
back. The Maharaja survived the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines and
posed a Namaskar image.
Namaskar from
Maharaja(relevant in today’s Covid19 pandemic where Social Distancing is the
norm and world over “Namaste is accepted than Handshake”
So, like all great men, the Maharajah has had his critics. But the
millions of travelers who love him far outnumber them. For many of them, the
inimitable mascot is a real person, almost like a friend who reaches out with
warmth and hospitality, even to the farthest corners of the world. Long Live Maharaja !
Specialized Section
British
Indian Victorian Wrappers
Wrappers are perhaps
the least popular of philatelic items amongst collectors. At one time there was
a practice of collecting a cut out of the imprinted stamp from the newspaper
wrapper. Fig 1
Fig 1
This
practice has now generally fallen out of favour and newspaper wrappers are now
collected intact. Because of this past practice there are many newspaper
wrappers which are now rare or even unique as complete wrappers and some
wrappers are rare even as cut outs.
Charles Knight (15 March 1791–9 March 1873) an English publisher,
editor and author is believed to be the first person to have proposed the
use of stamped newspaper wrappers. The proposal was made by him in 1834 in a
letter to Lord Althorp, Chancellor of the Exchequer. The matter was mentioned
during a debate in the House of Commons on 22 May 1834. Matthew Davenport Hill
MP, brother of Sir Rowland Hill, was advocating a payment of a penny for a
newspaper sent by post and stated: "... to put an end to
any objections that might be made as to the difficulty of collecting the money,
he would adopt the suggestion of a person well qualified to give an opinion on
the subject (he alluded to Mr Knight, the publisher). That gentleman
recommended that a stamped wrapper should be prepared for such newspapers as it
was desired to send by post, and that each wrapper should be sold at the rate
of 1d by the distributors of stamps..."
On 8th
October 1855 the Board of the Inland Revenue announced that they “…are now prepared to receive paper to
be delivered at the Head Office, Somerset House, London, for the purpose of
being impressed with Stamps for denoting the several rates of postage…” And so it
became possible for publishers to obtain Stamped to Order newspaper wrappers in
Great Britain from this time.
Fig 2
is an example of a Stamped to Order
newspaper wrapper produced for Nestle, Andreae & Co in 1858 (17.11.58) and
used to Switzerland in 1859.
In
1861 the United States of America was the first country to produce newspaper
wrappers for sale at a Post Office to the general public. A 1c newspaper rate
was introduced on 27th February 1861. The actual date of when this
wrapper was first issued is unknown. Fig 3 is an
USA 1861 newspaper wrapper produced by George F Nesbitt & Co. The
design depicts Benjamin Franklin, the first Postmaster-General of the United
States.
Three
years later New South Wales became the second country to issue newspaper
wrappers when it's first wrapper was issued on 14 March 1864.
Fig 2
Fig 3
A further four years elapsed before the next postal authority, the North
German Confederation, issued newspaper wrappers on 1 November 1868 in two
values in two different currencies.
After this other countries followed in rapid succession. Victoria on 8
September 1869; Great Britain on 1 October 1870; Romania on 15 October 1870 and
so on.
Around 1894 British
India decided to introduce the wrapper. On 15th February 1894 De la Rue submitted designs in form of die proofs on verbal instructions
received on 8th February 1894. The
portrait of Queen Victoria by Von Angeli was selected in place of the design of
a young Queen that had held sway on stamps and postal stationary. These designs
did not get the approval of the authorities. Fig 4
Fig 4
On 12th
July 1894 new designs were submitted and these were approved. The half anna was
printed in deep green on buff paper and one anna printed in brown also on buff
paper. Fig 5
Director-General’s
Circular dated 15th April 1895 informs of the issue of the Indian
stamped wrappers for newspapers and packets which, according to this notice,
were issued sometime before 1st May 1895. Fig 6
Fig 5
Fig 6
Both wrappers are
known overprinted SPECIMEN in block capitals 14½x2 mm.
The imprinted stamp
cut out and used on an envelope like an adesive stamp is known. Fig 7
Both wrappers were
overprinted On H.M.S. or On Her Majesty’s Service for official use - Fig 8.
Fig 9 shows a
half-anna wrapper used from Aden to Zanzibar. Like in India, the wrapper paid
the rate for printed matter weighing up to two ounces (56.69 gms). It is
doubtful if they were ever officially issued to Aden post offices. It was a sub
office of the Bombay Postal Circle and it was probably carried to Aden by a
traveler from India and used there. There is no reported use of the one-anna
wrapper in Aden. The wrapper shown is one of the three known used from Aden.
Fig 7
Fig 8
Fig 9
Wrappers used from
Burma (now Myanmar) which was then part of British India are rather difficult
to come by. Fig 10 and 11
Fig 10
Fig 11
Both wrappers were
overprinted for use in three of the six Convention States namely Gwalior
(rather rare), Jind and Nabha. Fig 12
Fig 12
The
wrappers has been claimed overprinted C.E.F. in 1900 for use of the Chinese
Expeditionary Force. Mr Sandeep Jaiswal and I have not come across any wrapper
used by the CEF.
We are
grateful to have received from Mr Sandeep Jaiswal a wrapper sent from the
Chitral Relief Force on 13 July 1895 bearing cancellation of F.P.O.I No 1. It
is addressed to London. The half anna wrapper was for internal rate for mail
weighing 4 tolas (46.6 gms). It was permitted at ½ anna under privilege rate
for the military.
Fig 13
Both the wrappers
were overprinted for use in Zanzibar. Overprinting was done in blue and black
and details can be found in the work of
George T Krieger. Fig 14 & 15
Fig 14
Fig 15
Conclusion &
Acknowledgements
We
would like to acknowledge the help we received from Mr. Sandeep Jaiswal who
freely shared his knowledge and an image from his collection.
References
1. Manik Jain, Encyclopaedia of Indian
Postal Stationery, Philatelia, 1973, p 64, 103.
2. Dr PS Dixit, British India
Postal Stationary News Paper Wrappers, Vadophil, No 136-137, Oct 2013-Jan 2014,
p 2-4.
3. George T Krieger,
Zanzibar-Overprinted Postal Stationery of India 1896-6, Postal Stationery, No
332, 2003, p 116-120.
4. Edward F Deschl, Indian States
Postal Stationery Listing, Published by the author, 1994 p 263, 281, 296.
5. Pratisad Neurgaonkar, Postal
Stationery of British India 1856-1947, Published by the author, 2009, p 34, 42,
46.
Bharat
Ratna Musicians -2
Bharat
Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar
Sitar
Maestro
Pandit Ravi
Shankar KBE, Sitar Maestro was an Indian Musician and a composer of Hindustani
classical Music. He was the best-known proponent of the Sitar in the second
half of 20th century and influenced many other musicians throughout
the world as well as a vocalist.
Born on 7 April 1920 in Varanasi, he was the
first Instrumentalist to be honoured with Bharat Ratna, India’s highest
civilian award in 1999. He was also member Parliament, Rajya Sabha from 12 May
1986 till 11 May 1992. He spent his youth as dancer touring India and Europe
with the dance group of his brother Uday Shankar. He gave up dancing in 1938 to
study Sitar playing under court musician Allauddin Khan.After finishing his
studies in 1944, Shankar worked as a composer, creating the music for Apu
Triology, by Satyajit Ray, and was music director of All India Radio, New Delhi
from 1949 to 1956.
Pandit
Ravi Shankar being awarded Bharat Ratna by President KR Narayanan
In 1956 Ravi Shankar began to
tour Europe and the Americas playing Indian Classical Music and increased its
popularity there in the 1960s through teaching, performance, and his
association with Yehudi Menuhin and Beatles guitarist George Harrison.
In addition to the India’s
highest civilian award he received three Grammy awards for his outstanding
work. Dubbed the “Godfather of world music” by George Harrison of the Beatles.
For the film Gandhi, he shared with George Fenton an Oscor for best original
score in 1983.
George Harrison produced and
participated in two record albums, Shankar Family and Friends and Festival of
India, both composed by Ravi Shankar. He was posthumously awarded two Grammy
awards in 2013, one for life time achievement, another for The Living Room
sessions Part 1 in the world music category.
His main companion for
decades was dancer Kamala Shastri . He also had a relationship with New york
concert producer Sue Jones, with whom he fathered singer Norah Jones. Son
‘Subho’ Shankar was also a musician who often toured with him. He passed on the
Baton as it were to his daughter Anushka. He died on 11 December 2012.
India post honoured him by
issue of a stamp of Rs.25, a mixed sheeetlet with another 7 famous musicians,
and a sheetlet of 8 stamps in 2016.
Rs
25 stamp of Pandit Ravi Shankar issued in 2014
First
Day Cover on Pandit Ravi Shankar and Vocalist Bhimsen Joshi both Bharat Ratnas
and 6 other famous musicians with a beautiful cancellation
A
Sheetlet of nine stamps issued on Pandit Ravi Shankar
India
Post also issued a definitive stamp of Rs 3 on Pandit Ravi Shankar under the
series of Makers of India.
In addition to Bharat Ratna received
in 1999 and Five Grammy Awards 1967,
1973, 2002, 2013, and Grammy Life Time Award 2013 also received .
Sangeet Natak Academi
Award 1962
Padma Bhushan 1967,
Sangeet Natak AcademiFellowship 1975
Padma Vibhushan 1981
Kalidas Samman from the
Govt of Madhya Pradesh for 1987-88
RamanMagsaysay award
1992
Commander of the Legion
of Honour of France 2000, Honorary Knight Commander
of the order of British Empire(KBE) for
Services to Music 2001
Honorary member of the
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Sangeet Natak Academi
Puraskar an award of the Sangeet Natak Academi which is the highest recognition
given to practicing artists
Honarary Doctor of Laws
from the University of Melbourne, Australia 2010
Honorary doctorates from
many Indian Universities
And many many more……………
Special folder issued by the Post
Master General Andhra Pradesh on the occasion of issue of eight stamps on
Musicians
The
above consisted on all the eight stamps and some of the musical instruments
used by these musicians
The above page has
stamps issued on four Indian Musical Instruments Rudra Veena, Flute, Pakhavaj
and Sarod and some of the famous Musical Cancellations.
Stamps
and cancellations for preparation of the above pack are from the collection of
the writer of this article.
DISINFECTION
OF MAIL
Mail is the postal material which travels long distances and is handled by various persons right from the sender to the addressee. Climatic, geological and biological conditions all around the world differs from place to place and time to time. Some times there are some epidemics or contagious, infectious and communicable diseases spread in some area which are likely to be transmitted through the mail. Also some times there are chances of chemical or bioterrorist attacks by so called militants through the mail system, some times some viruses get attached to the mail which are then spread to wherever the mail goes and whosoever handles it or the mail in contact with the mail adds to the threat.
Russia 1844 cover with disinfection slits, punch holes –Kerki Quarantine
Interception and disinfection of mail at frontiers were some of the measures taken to control the spread of such contagious / infectious diseases or epidemics in earlier times. In times of spread of epidemics such as plague, cholera, small pox, typhus, yellow fever etc., which at some period were quite frequent at different parts of the world; the letters coming from suspected areas were subjected to special “treatment” ( sprayed, gassed, scorched, baked, irradiated, detained and soaked in the pursuit of cleanliness ) by health authorities for their disinfection.
Such treated letters were marked on the outside accordingly. Those markings were effected by variety of means such as wax, paper seals, hand stamps, affixed labels and manuscript notes. Those had the dual function of explaining the often noticeable traces of the treatment and reassured the recipient that the letters were safe to open.
HISTORY OF MAIL DISINFECTION :
Long before during 14th century the causes of the sources of spread of epidemics were identified and the damages of dissemination of infection had been seen. To minimize the spread of plague ( probably the first identified epidemic) Venis and Genua prohibited the access of all those infected or under suspicion of being infected .
It was the Republics of Venice and Ragusa, (Dubrovnik) which first enforced quarantine from the 1370s. The same States introduced the ‘perfuming’ of mail from the Levant with sweet-smelling herbs and flowers a half-century later : a treatment which left no discernible traces.
In 1374 a well known ordinance was issued in Visconto Bernabo of Reggio near Medona which brought in to being a complicated but a fantastic system of protective measures against contagion and set a practice followed allover for about next 500years.In 1377 the quarantine was evolved and put in practice officially in 1383.
Long before during 14th century the causes of the sources of spread of epidemics were identified and the damages of dissemination of infection had been seen. To minimize the spread of plague ( probably the first identified epidemic) Venis and Genua prohibited the access of all those infected or under suspicion of being infected .
It was the Republics of Venice and Ragusa, (Dubrovnik) which first enforced quarantine from the 1370s. The same States introduced the ‘perfuming’ of mail from the Levant with sweet-smelling herbs and flowers a half-century later : a treatment which left no discernible traces.
In 1374 a well known ordinance was issued in Visconto Bernabo of Reggio near Medona which brought in to being a complicated but a fantastic system of protective measures against contagion and set a practice followed allover for about next 500years.In 1377 the quarantine was evolved and put in practice officially in 1383.
1419, FROM VENICE TO AFRICA, remarkable early letter
written in Latin, folded to minute size and then pierced through and sealed
with string through all portions for security, with the string secured by wafer and impressed seal (probably of
the merchant’s guild), one small portion with blurring and discoloration which
might be evidence of disinfection with vinegar
In 1438, Venice moved far ahead of other places in creating and adopting sanitation methods as it created the supervisors of the health of the land under its megistry of health and endowed it with the large powers specified by the sanitary code. Ships and men were detained, cargo was unloaded in lazarettos, and susceptible articles were fumigated. When the state of health warranted, a reduction in quarantine period was correspondingly recommended.
04.09.1666 Frankfurt : Main
to Genoa Letters show scorching for disinfection in 1666/67 against Plague
The process
adopted did not have any scientific basis but the practice dates from before an
understanding of the cause of contagious diseases, and the fumigant was as
likely to be based on folklore. So, during this period the mail covers were
smoked or drowsed with vinegar in Venice
In
the 18th and the 19th centuries not only the ports, but
land frontier stations along the important
trade routes served as barriers against the spread of epidemics. At the
quarantine stations or at the military cordon posts; persons, merchandise,
goods and mail were detained, isolated and decontaminated according to the
regulations in force there at that time. The limited knowledge of that time was
used to the utmost to check the spread
of plague, typhus, small pox and later cholera. Thus an intriguing practice –
decontamination or disinfection of letters was instituted throughout Europe and other parts of the world which continued
nearly for 350 years.
Letter dated Jan. 30,1805 sent form Alexandria
After
the end of the 18th century, plague had not much effect in Europe (other than Russia Ionian Islands . But
yellow fever seldom attacked Caribbean , which had occasioned disinfection of mail
coming from there, visited ports in Spain Italy
Disinfected Entire of Oct. 1819
Habana to Barcelona
In
1831, the western world faced a new threat i.e. cholera, which had escaped from
India routed to Europe via Persia and Russia in the contamination of water
sources resulting in adopting practices of treatment of mail in many countries
like Germany, Australia etc.. but by the mid-1840s disinfection was little
used, except in eastern Europe against plague.
Letter dated
10.05.1832 from New York City Paris
Malta 1847 entire letter from Constantinople to Livorno,
Italy, showing French P.O. in Constantinople date stamp “CONSTANTINOPLE/ TURQUIE”, “LIVORNO/ C/ VIA DI MARE” maritime cancel, and
fine “PURIFIE AU LAZARET/ MALTE” disinfection cancel.
Italy
Disinfected mail Torres. Lorenzo to Anzio
SERVIZIO
DI SANITA’ MARITTIMA
handwritten on entire letter to Health Authority at the Port of Anzio to attest
authenticity – the Towers were used to monitor the Roman coastline, enforce a
sanitary cordon when necessary and impose quarantine on suspect vessels
An
epidemic of cholera in Egypt in 1884 resulted in a brief renewal of measures
especially in Italy, but most countries anticipated the verdict of the 1893
International Sanitary Congress, that ‘letters, news-papers and books should be
free of all restrictions’ – but only against cholera. The Americans still
disinfected mail against yellow fever and bubonic plague on isolated occasions,
most notably in Hawaii Persia Far
East in the 1890s when both plague and cholera raged, until 1911.
EUROPE
Austria Ibraila. 10.10.1868, Cover to Corfu endorsed ‘’Via Costantinopoli’’ have Two
disinfection slits and minor acidic ink erosions and small portion of paper
loss at base
13.10.1885 entire London Messina
In
the 20th. Century, mail was very sensibly treated to prevent
transmission of smallpox at different parts of the world.
1902
postcard from Port Said to Malta with light strike of “DESINFECTE/ LAZARETTO. MALTE” date stamp, franked on the picture side with pair 2m (toned) tied by PORT-SAID.
In
1955, Americans were accused of using the mail as a means of
bacterial warfare by the Soviet-controlled regime in East Germany
The
anthrax scare in the U.S.A. Europe and Australia
QUARANTINE :
Quarantine is voluntary or compulsory isolation,
typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but
not always disease. Quarantine was applied to humans, cattle, goods, mail,
packages etc. Though quarantine refers to forty days but could be as long until the person was healed properly with no
threat to others, and might be very short, such as in the case of a suspected
anthrax attack, in which persons were allowed to leave as soon as they shed
their potentially contaminated garments and undergo a decontamination shower.
Or had a shower in a decontamination tent.
1799 fumigated folded letter quarantine
outside Philadelphia 10 miles from main
township which initially an island
Fumigated
Ship letter dated 16.07.1829 from Havana ,Cuba Boston Rainsford Island Boston Harbor West Indies .
To
be contd….
In Memory of
Dr Satyendra Agrawal….
Stamps on Roses
always remind sweet memories of Dr Satyendra Agrawal and his finest philatelic collection
on Roses. He contributed more than 100 articles to Rainbow Stamp News which are
regarded as a great reference philatelic work !
We pay our philatelic tributes to him on his 3rd death anniversary
which falls in the month of April !
New issues from other Countries
Jersey
26 March 2020 : Celebrating the Music of Ludwig Van Beethoven
In 2020, the world
celebrates 250 years of Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven was a prominent figure
in the transitional period between the classical and romantic musical eras.
Considered a revolutionary artist and an artistic visionary, his influence is
still felt around the world today, including in Jersey where the Jersey
Symphony Orchestra has performed a number of his works over the years.
Taking a contemporary
approach, these six stamps represent a selection of some of Beethoven’s most
famous compositions. Each stamp incorporates an excerpt from the musical score
of the piece, a key instrument in the composition and a portrait of Beethoven
himself.
The Miniature Sheet
incorporates an excerpt from the musical score of Symphony No.5 and a bust of
Beethoven’s likeness. Jersey Post have produced 200 special edition 12"
transparent vinyl records featuring some of Beethoven's famous compositions.
The record comes with a gatefold album cover containing a mint set of six
stamps and a Miniature Sheet from our Celebrating the music of Beethoven stamp
issue.
A souvenir coin, with a
limited run of 250, has also been produced featuring an iconic portrait of
Beethoven on one side and Beethoven's beloved Broadwood piano on the other.
Korea
20 March 2020 . Korean Aircrafts (2nd Series, Helicopters)
16 April 2020 : 100th Anniversary of Duksung Women's University
Slovenia
13 March 2020 : Decorated Easter Eggs
Spain
20 February 2020 - 12 Months, 12 Stamps -
Araba-Alava
The 12 months, 12 stamps series
features the initials of the place name with a range of images displaying the
tourist attractions of the province. February's stamp is dedicated to
Araba/Alava.
The first letter is in the shape of
the bell tower of the cathedral of Santa Maria in Vitoria-Gasteiz, whose
octagonal shape topped by a steeple rises above the city, offering splendid
panoramic views of the city to the faithful and visitors alike. This Gothic
cathedral was built over the remains of a 13th century church which formed part
of the wall protecting the town.
The wine glass forming the second
initial symbolises the land dedicated to growing grapes, highlighting the
wine-making riches of the two denominations of origin treasured by the
province: Rioja Alavesa and Txakolí from Alava. Rioja Alavesa produces fine
fruity red wines made from tempranillo, garnacha, mazuelo, graciano and viura
grapes. Txakolí is the characteristic white wine of the Basque Country, it is
fruity and low in alcohol with light acidity. It is made from the local
hondarribi zuri grape, and produced in the Amurrio, Llodio and Ayala
areas.
The mountainous nature of the area
offers numerous hiking trails through the many natural parks dotted around the
province, such as Valderejo, Izki, Aizkorri-Aratz, Urkiola and Gorbeia, whose
1482 metre peak has been crowned since 1899 by a famous metallic cross, as we
can see in the image of the second initial.
The background to these symbols
shows the amazing landscape of the Valle Salado of Añana, comprising a network
of canals, horizontal platforms (eras) and stepped terraces covered in
salt.
The crimson stripe at the bottom of
the stamp alludes to the colour of the provincial flag.
20 February 2020 :
Spanish Culinary Capital 2020 - Murcia
Murcia’s farms are the
stars of this stamp, which is brimming with colour and vitality. “The garden of
the 1001 tastes” is the slogan under which Murcia has claimed this honour,
taking over from Almeria, which was last year’s culinary capital. This is the
driving force for the series of Spanish Culinary Capital stamps that Correos
has been issuing for many years.
With these stamps,
Correos highlights the gastronomy of the Spanish cities that enthusiastically
present their candidacy and their best features to be honoured with this title
every year.
In 2020, Murcia will
host a range of activities related to food and drink, including workshops,
competitions and tastings, which will make it a very attractive tourist
destination.
The jury chose this area
because of some of the dishes in its culinary repertoire, such as zarangollo
(scrambled eggs with vegetables), roast lamb, michirones (fava bean stew),
Murcian salad and paparajote (lemon-flavoured fritters), and its local
denominations of origin, including Yecla wines, Calasparra rice and Jumilla
pears.
The stamp features a
design highlighting fruit and vegetables. The Murcia region is known as the
“garden of Europe” because of the huge volume of exports of these products to
most European countries.
Tomatoes, grapes,
cabbages and carrots are the stars of this area, which produces some 3 billion
euros of produce every year.
These products fill the
stamp with colour, with the main design featuring a spoon and fork entwined in
the shape of a heart.
The slogan “The garden
of the 1001 tastes” completes the design of a stamp that joins a series that
has previously featured cities such as Toledo, Huelva and Leon. These images
travel the world, providing a little shop window for Spain’s fantastic culinary
traditions, in this case, that of Murcia.
20 March 2020 : Gastronomy
Acknowledgement
- Ananthapuri Stamp Bulletin March 2020 issue edited by
Mohanchandran Nair
- Judaica Thematic Society (UK)
April 2020 Newsletter edited by Gary Goodman email - judaicathematicsociety@talktalk.net
-The Hyderabad Philatelist March 2020 issue edited by Prakash Agrawal
-The Hyderabad Hobby Magazine March 2020 issue edited by Prakash Agrawal
-The Hyderabad Philatelist March 2020 issue edited by Prakash Agrawal
-The Hyderabad Hobby Magazine March 2020 issue edited by Prakash Agrawal
Bogs & Websites
Philatelic
Clubs & Societies
Ananthapuri
Philatelic Association, Thiruvanthapuram
Chandigarh
Philatelic Club
Deccan
Philatelic Society – Pune, Maharashtra
The
Hyderabad Philatelic and Hobbies Society
Ludhiana
Philatelic Club
Numismatic & Philatelic Association of Vellore
Fort
http://numismaticphilavellore.site40.net/index.htm
Philatelic
Society of Rajasthan, Jaipur
Philatelic
Society of India , Mumbai : http://www.psi1897.com/
Orissa Philatelic Association, Mail id-: orissaphilatelic@gmail.com
Orissa Philatelic Association, Mail id-: orissaphilatelic@gmail.com
Rajkot
Philatelic Society – Rajkot, Gujarat
Gujarat
Philatelic Association - Ahmedabad
The
Army Philatelic Society, Pune
Stamps
of India – http://www.stampsofindia.com
RAINBOW STAMP CLUB
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Current
Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters
-VADOPHIL, Editor - Prashant Pandya &TimirShah and published by Baroda Philatelic Society, Vadodara. Website -http://www.vadophil.org/
-ITS Stamp News - Quarterly - Editor: Suraj Jaitly Publisher: Indian Thematic Society website - http://itsstampnews.blogspot.com/
-Ananthpuri Stamp Bulletin - Monthly e -stamp bulletin of Anathapuri Philatelic Association, Thiruvanthapuram
-Journal of the Army Philatelic Society : Editor – Col Jayanta Dutta
-India Post – Quarterly Journal of the India Study Circle publishes original articles submitted by members of ISC.
-Deccan Philatelist from Deccan Philatelic Socity, Pune. edited by Col Jayanta Dutta
-The Hyderabad Philatelist from Hyderabad Philatelic and Hobbies Society Editor – Prakash Agrawal
-SIPA Bulletin issued by South India Philatelists’ Association
-VADOPHIL, Editor - Prashant Pandya &TimirShah and published by Baroda Philatelic Society, Vadodara. Website -http://www.vadophil.org/
-ITS Stamp News - Quarterly - Editor: Suraj Jaitly Publisher: Indian Thematic Society website - http://itsstampnews.blogspot.com/
-Ananthpuri Stamp Bulletin - Monthly e -stamp bulletin of Anathapuri Philatelic Association, Thiruvanthapuram
-Journal of the Army Philatelic Society : Editor – Col Jayanta Dutta
-India Post – Quarterly Journal of the India Study Circle publishes original articles submitted by members of ISC.
-Deccan Philatelist from Deccan Philatelic Socity, Pune. edited by Col Jayanta Dutta
-The Hyderabad Philatelist from Hyderabad Philatelic and Hobbies Society Editor – Prakash Agrawal
-SIPA Bulletin issued by South India Philatelists’ Association
Courtesy - News and Image Resource
to this issue : Stamps of India , Wolfgang Beyer – Germany; Madhukar Jhingan, New Delhi,
Address for communication :
Jeevan Jyoti, c / o Mr. Ajay Srivastav, Wildlife Institute
of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun – 248002. India
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