NEPEX 2021 First Circle Level Online Philatelic Exhibition SOUVENIR
VENUE : www.nepex2021.com DATE : 28th to 31st January
Organizing Committee
* Shri Amitabh Kharkwal, CPMG, NE Circle, Shillong : Chairman * Shri T. Mang Min Thang, PMG, NE-I, Agartala : Co-Chairman * Shri Som Kamei, PMG, NE-II, Dimapur : Co-Chairman * Shri S.C. Barik, DPS (HQ), NE Circle, Shillong : Vice Chairman * Shri Sangeeth Kumar S, DA (P), NE Circle, Shillong : Vice Chairman * Smt. Chinneilam, AO (Accounts) : Joint Secretary * Shri Biswajit Chakraborty, AD (Phil) : Joint Secretary * Shri Subodh Kumar Singh, IP(Phil) : Executive Member * Shri Surabir Karmakar, PA(Phil) : Executive Member * Shri Suman Deb, General Secretary, NEPS : Organising Secretary * Shri Nanda Dulal Saha, President, NEPS : Executive Member * Shri Sumanta Kumar Das, Vice President, NEPS : Research and PublicitySecretary. * Shri Rony Ghose, Treasurer, NEPS : Information & Publicity Secretary. NEPEX-2021 28.01.2021 to 31.01.2021
INDEX
Messages ————————————————————————————
From the Desk of Editor : Sumanta Kumar Das Who found Peak XV the highest peak of the world? All Indian Should Know. : Rajesh Kumar Bagri Philately the king of All Hobbies the : Dr. Andrew Ahoto Sema Tet-e-Tet with Norwegian Mahatma Devotee Ole Fredrik Olsen : Sumanta Kumar Das The Torchbearer of Philately in Silchar : Amit Kumar Nag Permanent Pictorial Cancellations connected with Mahatma Gandhi : Sushil Mehra Stamp Investment : Prof. V.K. Gupta Picture Postcard Exhibits Finally Find Their Place in FIP Class : Mohammed Monirul Islam Philately: The success story of Rowland`s Brainchild : Goutam Kumar Bhaduri Pre-Adhesive Stamp : S.C. Sukhani OLE-On Gandhiji's footsteps : Sumanta Kumar Das (Xaadoo) Revenu Stamps of the Native States of India : Rony Ghose Out Of Track Kishor : Kishore Chandak & P. G. Bhargave Some Key Points in Thematic Exhibiting : Jeevan Jyoti Indian Watermarks : Madan Middha My Thoughts On Philately… : Nanda Dulal Saha
VOTE OF THANKS
From the Desk of Editor
It feels my heart with joy unspeakable to convey my gratefulness to the Chief Post Master General N E Circle ,Shilling Postal for organizing the" NEPEX2021" India's first Circle Level Virtual Exhibition with North East Philatelic Society ,Silchar . Philat- ely is knowledge based hobby ,a stamp is like visiting card of the country where you will get the information's like Country's name ,its capital ,Currency , ,it's history, Geography , Sports, famous personalities, Culture & Civilisation and more particulars only through a piece of paper. I am sure ,quite certain NEPEX2021 will add spurt among the upcom- ing young philatelists of this region .Our aim is to ignite the fire among those philatelists by organizing the Exhibition, seminars and workshops for the promotion of Philately and for the betterment of Philately only then I can produce vast number's of Philatelists from the grassroots level only then Our goal will be reached. We have taken the first step, hope things will go smoothly, success is bound to come. I am charmed beyond any words to observe at the manner all the faculties work together to made the NEPEX 2021 successful . I convey my gratitude to the Department of Post ,North East Circle Shillong, for their much valued patronage, ex- tended hand & co-operation .My heartiest thanks to the Sponsors , Committee mem- bers ,Advertisers, Jury members ,Exhibitors ,Print Media and the members of Our Soci- ety . My special thanks to the esteemed writers who provided us their valuable articles on Philately which will certainly help the young philatelists in a great deal . Nothing Succeeds like Success, I do believe this success will motivate all the faculties of North East Philatelic Society as well as all Philatelists of North East region to climb the mountain, as the future will be still theirs to paint the colours they desire to. I wish all the best.
SUMANTA KUMAR DAS
Chair Person. Souvenir Committee LIST OF NEPS MEMBERS ASSAM
NEPS #AS001 Nanda Dulal Saha (Life Member) NEPS #AS002 Sumanta Kumar Das (Life Member) NEPS #AS003 Suman Deb (Life Member) NEPS #AS004 Jayasree Bhushan (Life Member) NEPS #AS005 Rony Ghose (Life Member) NEPS #AS006 Debatanu Biswas (Life Member) NEPS #AS007 Debopam Biswas (Life Member) NEPS #AS008 Dipak Dhar (Life Member) NEPS #AS009 Soumyajyoti Biswas (Youth Member) NEPS #AS010 Sagnik Bhattacharjee (Life Member) NEPS #AS011 Ajoy Barman (Life Member) NEPS #AS012 Rajeshwari Deb (Youth Member) NEPS #AS013 Amritashmi Barman (Youth Member) NEPS #AS014 Swarnadeep Deb (Life Member)) NEPS #AS015 Dr. Lakshmanan, S (Life Member) NEPS #AS016 Prithwiraj Purkayasta (Life Member) NEPS #AS017 Suktara Samkalpa (Youth Member) NEPS #AS018 Arun Kumar Das (Hon. Life Member)
MEGHALAYA NEPS #ML001 Joy Justin Bongcher (Life Member)
NAGALAND NEPS #NL001 Rupsinh M. Patel (Life Member) NEPS #NL002 Andrew Ahoto Sema (Life Member)
TRIPURA NEPS #TR001 Suhash Chandra Dutta (Annual Member) NEPS #TR002 Pranab Goswami (Life Member) NEPS #TR003 Pradip Kumar Ghosh (Life Member) NEPS #TR004 Uday Pal (Life Member) NEPS #TR005 Udbhas Pal (Youth Member) NEPS #TR006 Piyali Acherjee (Annual Member) NEPS #TR007 Santanu Majumder (Life Member) NEPS #TR008 Paronanda Banik (Youth Member) NEPS #TR009 Shantanu Banik (Annual Member) NEPS #TR010 Jhulan Debnath (Annual Member) NEPS #TR011 Puranjan Deb (Annual Member) NEPS #TR012 Snehanshu Dhar (Annual Member) NEPS #TR013 Debasmita Dhar (Youth Member) NEPS #TR014 Shyamalima Roy (Youth Member) NEPS #TR015 Tamohar Das Chaudhuri (Youth Member) NEPS #TR016 Omkarish Das (Youth Member) NEPS #TR017 Debalina Ghosh (Youth Member) NEPS #TR018 Aditya Deb Roy (Youth Member) NEPS #TR019 Hrituraj Debbarma (Youth Member) NEPS #TR020 Soumyadeep Sen (Youth Member) NEPS #TR021 Nilabhra Nandi Majumder (Youth Member)
REST OF INDIA NEPS #IN001 Surja Kanta Biswas (Life Member) Who found Peak XV the highest peak of the world ? …All Indians should know
By Rajesh Kumar Bagri Philatelist
Radhanath Sikdar (1813–1870) was an Indian mathematician who, among many other things, calculated the height of Peak XV in the Himalaya and showed it to be the tallest mountain above sea level by his mathematic excellence. The peak also called Sagarmatha (Nepali), Chomolungma or Qomolangma or Zhumulangma (Chinese: Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng) – is the highest mountain on Earth, as measured by the height above sea level of its summit, 8,848 metres.
Early Life Son of Tituram, Radhanath Sikdar was educated at "Phiringi" Kamal Bose's School and Hindu College (now called Presidency College) in Calcutta, India. He worked for the Surveyor General of India, a division of the British Raj in India. He joined the Great Trigonometric Survey in 1831.
When in 1831 George Everest was searching for a brilliant young mathematician with particular proficiency in spherical trigonometry, the Hindu College maths teacher Dr. John Tytler superlatively recommended his pupil Radhanath, then only 19. Radhanath joined the Great Trigonometric Survey in 1831 December as a "computor" at a salary of Rupees Thirty per month. Soon he was sent to Sironj near Dehra Dun where he excelled in geodetic surveying. Apart from mastering the usual geodetic processes, he invented quite a few of his own. Everest was extremely impressed by his performance, so much so that when Sikdar wanted to leave GTS and be a Deputy Collector, Everest intervened, proclaiming that no government officer can change over to another department without the approval of his boss. Everest retired in 1843 and Col. Andrew Waugh became the Director.
Andrew Waugh had held Radhanath in high esteem, and Everest had this to say about him, “There are few in India, whether European or native, that can at all compete with him. Even in Europe these mathematical attainments would rank very high.”
Radhanath proved to be an invaluable asset to the Survey of India and in 1851, he was promoted to the post of Chief Computor, and transferred to Calcutta. It was with this background that the Friend of India had said in its issue of 11 November 1852 about Radhanath Sikdar: “This native gentleman, lately Head Computor in the same establishment, has long been the first among few natives, whose scientific acquirements emulate those of Europeans…and we have little doubt that he will ably fulfill his duties as the head of the office of which he has long been the soul.”
At the order of Col. Waugh he started measuring the snow capped mountains near Darjeeling. Compiling data about Peak XV from six different observations, he eventually came to the conclusion the Peak XV was the tallest in the world. He gave a full report to Waugh who was cautious enough not to announce this discovery before checking with other data. When after some years, he was convinced, only then did he publicly announce the same. The norm, strictly followed by Everest himself, was that while naming a peak, the local name should be preferred. But in this case, Waugh made an exception. He paid a tribute to his ex-boss by proposing that the peak be named after Everest. Naturally, Everest agreed, and Sikdar was conveniently forgotten.
Other
It appears that while Everest and Waugh both extolled him for his exceptional mathematical abilities, his relations with the colonial administration were far from cordial. Two specific instances are on record.In 1851 a voluminous Survey Manual (Eds. Capt. H. L. Thullier and Capt. F. Smyth) was published by the Survey Department. The preface to the Manual clearly and specifically mentioned that the more technical and mathematical chapters of the Manual were written by Babu Radhanath Sikdar. The Manual proved to be immensely useful to surveyors. However, the third edition, published in 1875 (i.e., after Sikdar's death) did not contain that preface, so that Sikdar's memorable contribution was de-recognized. The incident was condemned by a section of British suveyors. The paper Friend of India in 1876 called it 'robbery of the dead'.
It is also on record that Sikdar was fined a sum of 200 rupees by the British court in 1843 for having vehemently protested against the unlawful exploitation of survey department workers by the Magistrate Vansittart. The incident was reported in detail in The Bengal Spectator edited by another great Derozian Ramgopal Ghosh. He died on 17 May 1870 at Gondalpara, Chandannagar in his villa by the side of the Ganga.
International Recognition
Nevertheless, in recognition of Sikdar's mathematical genius and findings about Peak XV, the German Philosophical Society's Bavaria branch of Natural Science made him a Corresponding Member in 1864, a very rare honour those days. Sikdar had retired from service in 1862.
The Department of Posts, Government of India, launched a postal stamp on June 27, 2004, commemorating the establishment of the Great Trigonometric Survey in Chennai, India on April 10, 1802. The stamps feature Radhanath Sikdar and Nain Singh, two significant contributors to society. The Great Arc refers to the systematic exploration and recording of the entire topography of the Indian subcontinent which was spear-headed by the Great Trigonometric Survey.
Some Indians, including the former Prime Minister Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, are of the opinion that Mount Everest should be renamed after Sikdar….
PHILATELY-THE KING OF ALL HOBBIES THE HOBBY OF THE KINGS DR. ANDREW AHOTO SEMA (Chairman) Livingstone Foundation International he history of stamps dates back to as long as 1840 when the first postage stamp began with Great TBritain's Penny Post. Three years prior to that, a school master from England, Sir Rowland Hill invented the adhesive postage stamp in 1837. Through his efforts, the first stamp in the world was issued in England in 1840. Before the advent of stamps, the receiver had to pay a considerable amount of fees to the letter bearer or mail man for delivering the letters to his address. Sometimes the letter bearers never received any fees for their hard work as the receivers were hesitant to pay the fees and as such the postal department had to incur heavy losses in revenue over the next period of years. But with the advent of stamps, the problem was solved and people had to pay revenue to the postal department by paying different denominations of stamps for various types of mails including mails on foot, mails by trains, mails by ships, mails by pigeons, mails by horsemen and even mails by swimmers across rivers and lakes. All these ultimately generated the habit of enthusiastic people collecting stamps as a past- time activity. It is generally suggested that John Bourke, Receiver General of Stamp Dues in Ireland, was the first official collector of stamps but one of the most notable collector was John Edward Gray and Adelaide Lucy Fenton who started collecting stamps from 1860 onwards. However, the stamp collection assembled by French-Austrian aristocrat Phillipp Von Ferrary at the beginning of the 20th century is widely considered the most complete stamp collection ever. I believe that whatever be the history behind stamps, they had rich stories and tradition in their design, colours and shapes. Stamps had always been marks of authority. The pictures on the stamps were suitably important. They marked events, promoted programmes and frequently commemorated something important. The stamps in fact were states and nations in bonsai form, glued to pieces of communication. Thus, stamps were not only educative and informative but they were also inspirational for generations of avid philatelists. Philately is the King of all hobbies, and therefore I would like to encourage the modern generation to cultivate hobbies, besides their regular academic pursuits, like collecting stamps and other such collectible items for a wholesome experience at an early age. Etymologically, the word Philately comes from the Greek words 'Philo' meaning 'attraction or affinity' and 'ateleia' meaning exempt from duties and taxes. It was coined into a single word by a Frenchman named Georges Herpin in 1864. Since then 'Philately' has become a word associated with the world of stamps - its study and collection. My love for stamps grew when I was still a student. Being a hosteller in my high school days, I developed the habit of writing letters to friends, relatives and pen-pals from almost every part of the world. This was when I got the motivation to develop the passion of collecting Stamps as a full time hobby, a decision which I proudly cherish. Though I am an educationist and entrepreneur by profes- sion, my name has today become synonymous with the world of Philately. Over the years, by God's abundant blessings, I have not only become a philatelist but also a numismatist with the single largest collection in Nagaland and an antique collector with some rarest collections. I am intensely passion- ate about collections of rare stamps, first day covers, coins, medallions, antique pieces and art works from all around the world. I am of the opinion that youths around the world have lots to gain by taking up stamp collec- tion as a hobby as it is the most revered and royal hobby in the world. I can say from my own life's experience as a full time philatelist that stamp collection can be taken to greater heights. A fellow renowned philatelist from Maharashtra, Shri Sanjay Joshi, has made philately as a passionate hobby and converted it into a profession whereby he not only earns money but also gets the opportunity of travelling to different places by exhibiting his rich and varied collections of stamps, currencies and coins from around the world in many countries for which the entire expenditure including his exhibit fees are borne by the host organization. Thus, one can make a living and become famous in life by taking up such life-changing hobbies like philately and numismatics. And with thousands of stamp clubs world-wide, philately can easily become a fascinating hobby for people of all ages and backgrounds. HOBBY OF THE KINGS : OLE - FREDRIK OLSEN INTERVIEW Sumanta Kumar Das
A few words by Ole : I am very happy to be able to share my passion for philately with you all. I startet in 1953 at age 10, and to day i am 77 year of age and still collecting stamps, and find new subject to collect. But when you are thinking of collecting stamp, we all know the theme is very large, so the best you can do is to start with one country or a theme like football, or a well known person, and there are many more subjects to collect later. I still love my hobby today, even 67 years after I started as a school boy. In the beginning, i got stamps from families and friends of the family, and also from shipping offices in my town. We all know there will be some cost collecting stamps, but collecting will be in accordance with your "wallet". Use a stock book Ole-Fredrik to start with, because it is easy to organize the stamps. There will always be some Olsen stamp collectors in your area who can help. Check if there is any stamps club close to you. Some of you will probably asking a question why i, as a Norwgiean writting an article in this Indian magazine! I collect Mahatma Gandhi, and have exhibited my collections since 1993, but when I met the Consul General of India in Dubai, Mr. Asoke Mukerji, the whole thing started to move fast. This was in 2000, and I have travelled in India ever since. My favourite place in India is Pune, were I always stay when visiting India. I have exhibited my Gandhi collection around the world. Today I also collect Red Cross of India on covers, and covers with the slogan in cancellation called "JAI HIND". I also have many other different collections, and my fellow Norwegian are puzzled with my obsession. There is not many Norwegian who collect India and I am alone in Scandinavia collecting Mahatma Gandhi. To all collectors, where will the philately be in 30 years from now? Let us hope that we can be able to collect stamps in the future. .
THE INTERVIEW
Sumanta : Welcome, my mentor . You have immense regard for Mahatma Gandhiji., What has motivated you to collect stamps on Gandhiji
OLE : The story of a man who was fighting for something he ANN MARI : believed and also the fact that so many countries have OLE’S INSPIRING FORCE issued stamps to commemorate GandhiJI, hit me real hard; so ii said to myself- "Yes i will bring him out to the public" Sumanta : Your journey in the philatelic fraternity has been for more than five decades ,Our philatelists specially upcoming philatelists would love to know about your vast experience. OLE : When I started at the age of 10, WITH IN A SHORT SPAN TIME i realize what a fantastic hobby it is. I found a man who used to collect stamps and he gave me some advice. He told me to start with a stock book to organize the stamps, and start only with my own country first and later I could expand to few more countries or a thematic collection. I went to my town's shipping offices asking for stamps, and family friends gave me stamps, and sometimes on Saturday and Sunday I was working for a DEDICATED TO small shop delivering telegrams . I earned some money and the owner gave ANN MARI me some stamps Sumanta : Philately is a knowledge based hobby. What is your suggestions for the upcoming philatelists? OLE : Collecting stamps is fun, but it will be really interesting when you read about the country's history which are shown on the stamps; then stamp collecting becomes a passion. Sumanta : We thank your better half Mrs. Ann Mari who has Showing his Exhibits been very patient throughout your collecting years; in Abu dhabi addition she also motivated you and sacrifices a lot. Can you Please say a few words in her honour? OLE : My wife has spent many hours alone, but she has supported me all the way. She has also been together in exhibitions. I am blessed with a caring wife. Sumanta : You have special place in your heart for Sabarmati Ashram. , You visited Sabarmati Ashram so many time., What has motivated you to visit there? OLE : The Sabarmati Ashram is like a home to me. When you are sitting at the outside the room where Gandhiji was livied, I felt the chill and the heat at the same time; it was a magical feeling. Sumanta : Your respect for Mahatma Gandhiji is increasing day by day .How would you would describe this ? OLE : The more I read the more passion. I've got for him. He was imprisoned several times for what he believed.
Sumanta : To promote philately among the grassroots level what measures would you should suggest. ? OLE : Organizing " is the world. Sumanta : You are fascinated by the Sanskrit language. Tell me the reason for that ? OLE : Sanskrit is still active among Hindus, Buddhists and others, and it is an educational language to build your life on. It is something to believe. Sumanta : In 2009 Gandhi Exhibition was held at Zagreb,Croatia. Tell us all about that exhibition. OLE : The 2009 exhibition was held in Zagreb,Croatia. I was invited by the Lotus Organization and the Indian Embassy. I was there for a week. The exhibition was to be held for 7 days, but they had it for one month. I was very grateful to the Indian people for arranging this. Sumanta : On behalf of all Gandhi collectors & being a Gandhiji collector I would like to know your suggestion on how to prepare exhibits ably to display in exhibitions.. OLE : To exhibit there is rules to follows, but your own image and touch will be the most important. Sumanta : Different jury have different views regarding rules of thematic philately.According to you what is the exact rule for exhibiting Cinderella items .I mean what percentages of Cinderella materials( like March Boxes, Labels etc ) one can exhibit ? OLE : You can have 50% Philatelic items and 50% non-Philatelic items, but the judges do not like too many non-philatelic items, so I use .30% non-philatelic items. Sumanta : How the movie " The Far Pavilions inspired you to visit India OLE : When i first watched "The Far Pavilions" I said, one day that i will go to this land, and one day i planted my feet on that land, and i have travelled in the land ever since. India is my 2nd homeland. Sumanta : How you would like to be born again in your next life. Is it as who wants to walk in the footsteps of Gandhiji? OLE : What can i say, let us wait and see! Sumanta : You read a lot and you encourage others to learn a lot. Is it your slogan for the philatelists? I am the burning example of that You sent me lots of books on Gandhiji, which have certainly increased my knowledge about the "Apostle of Peace'. OLE : To collect a thematic collection, reading is the only way to get to the top. You really need to understand the subject you are going to exhibit. Sumanta : When we would expect you in your favourite place India !
OLE : I had a plan to travel to Pune in the end of September to get there for Gandhiji's birthday,
Sumanta - Thanks a lot for your precious time. AMIT KUMAR NAG - THE TORCHBEARER OF PHILATELY IN SILCHAR
Apratim Nag
Philately, since the term was coined in 1864 by a Frenchman, Georges Herpin, who developed it from the Greek words - philos, meaning "love," and ateleia, meaning "that which is tax-free", has come a long way to develop into 'the king of hobbies'. Silchar, too, has a glorious history of philately dating back to, as per records available, atleast to the forties of the last century and my father, renowned journalist Amit Kumar Nag, was a pioneer in this regard. Amit Kumar Nag, who was born in 1933 in the Sylhet district of undivided Assam, shifted along with his parents to Silchar in 1950 after the partition of our country. He developed a penchant for collecting stamps right from his school days in Sylhet which continued with full vigour after he moved to Silchar. Initially he started pasting the stamps in an exercise book. Seeing his interest in stamp-collection, his cousin Ashim Kumar Dutta, who incidentally was the first Rhodes scholar of India, presented him with a stamp album of Stanley Gibbons Limited, which provided him with the much needed fillip to further his passion. In the late forties of the last century, Amit Kumar Nag, who was then still in his teens, along with some other stamp enthusiasts, joined together to form a Hobby Club, which was, in all probability, the first of its kind in this part of the country. This Club was formed with a view to mainly promoting philately Amit Nag as a hobby among the young generation. He was barely 16 or 17 years old then and was chosen as the Secretary of the Club. During those days, the main mode of collection of stamps was through exchange of the same with other philatelists. Amit Kumar made pen friends with young philatelists from different countries of the world with whom, apart from exchanging stamps, he also discussed about their countries, the people residing therein and their cultures. I had the opportunity of accessing some of those letters that my father received from his penfriends around eight decades back. In one of such letters dated 19th March, 1948, Helmut Ohnmacht from Innsbruck writes- " Your letter from February 18th, 1948, arrived here in my hands 14 days ago, but I was a little sick, so I could not answer earlier, excuse me! Many thanks for the poststamps, which I received in good order. As an equivalent, I enclose in this letter ca 45 post stamps of Austria and his neighbours...... I am 9 years, my brother is 17,...... Our country is Tyrol with his capital Innsbruck/100,000 inhabitants...... Write me soon please, I am your little Tyrolian friend. " In another letter dated the 24th August, 1949, Ohnmacht writes-" ....I'm very glad to have with you any relation for collecting poststamps and I'll send you pictures too from here.....Send me Indian stamps, but not stamps of England and other European States. Preferred are those of the Indian Native States, Burma, Thailand, Ceylon, Malaya and the Indian Islands...Send me any Newspaper of Calcutta, I'm very interested about the conditions and life in our capitals!...And excuse my strange English! But my mother language is the German language, like it is in the Austria!" His Indonesian penfriend Lie Ching Sun, in his letter dated the 28th November, 1951, from Djakarta, writes- "... Enclosed I am sending you my own photograph and also the following stamps: 6 U.N.O commemorative stamps of Indonesia (complete set), 5 Indonesia Second National Olympic Game (complete set), 1 Viet-Minh stamp, bearing the portrait of Bao-Dai..." In another letter dated the 26th September, 1952, from Djakarta, Sun writes - " ...There is no new stamp issues since the U,NO. set. You can send me the new stamps of your country which will issue in the beginning of October, in return I will send you the complete Air Mail stamps of Indonesia...." His Nepalese penfriend, Bishnu Gopal Mau Prodhan, in his letter from Kathmandu, dated the 23rd November, 1951, writes-" I am a Newari boy of 19th years old, and reading in IX Class now ....I am very much interest in stamps. Kindly send me some stamps of foreign countries. I will send stamps of Nepal and others, Photo and Magazines, etc. for you when our friendship grows or blooms to prosperity..." While surfing those letters, I also came across a draft of a letter written by my father to his Czechoslovakian pen friend Josef Smerda. Apart from exchanging stamps with penfriends, my father also used to purchase stamps from reputed stamp vendors in different cities of India like Mahendra Stamp Co, Capitol Cinema Building, Waudby Road, Bombay; Bose Stamp Company, 12 Maniktala Street, Calcutta; Philatelic Orient, Stamp Corner, 24/B Syed Amir Ali Avenue, Calcutta, etc among others. Amit Kumar Nag's collection encompassed a wide variety of stamps. Among the stamps of Indonesia, there are stamps issued on the occasion of National Sports Festival of Indonesia on 15th October, 1951, stamps issued on the occasion of United Nations day on 24th October, 1951, stamp on Sukarno, the first President of that country, stamps issued on the occasion of the first Asian Games. His collection of stamps on Pakistan include those issued as the First Regular Series stamps on 14th August, 1948, those issued on the First Anniversary of the death of Quaid- E-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah on 11th September, 1949. Stamps of China in his collection contain definitive stamp on the series East China depicting Mao-Tse-Tung in the year 1949, commemorative issue depicting National Emblem of China issued on 1st October, 1951amongst others. Among the stamps of erstwhile U.S.S.R in his kitty are commemorative stamp on Leo Dovator issued on 28th November, 1943, stamp issued on the death bicentenary of Vitus Bering in April, 1943, Commemorative stamp of war scenes of the Second World War, etc. His set of French stamps include those of Semeuse series, Marianne Series, Peace Allegory series as well as stamp issued to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Louis Pasteur. Apart from these, there are stamps of French colonies like Cameroon, Djibouti. Madagascar, Iles Wallis and Futuna , St. Pierre and Miquelon,etc. Precious stamps of the U.S.A. in his collection also include those of American Presidents - George Washington, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, etc. There are also definitive stamps of Japan issued in the year 1947 and commemorative stamps on Ferdinand van Mueller and William James Farrer from Australia. A commemorative stamp issued on the advent of the Republic of Italy issued on 31st October, 1946 also adorns his valuable compilation. Stamps issued by different countries like India, Indonesia, Ceylon, Malaya Singapore and United Kingdom on the occasion of Platinum Jubilee of Universal Postal Union were in his possession. Among the stamps of the United Kingdom, stamps worth mentioning are those issued on the occasion of Silver Jubilee of King George V, Silver Jubilee of Wedding of King George VI, those issued on the occasion of 1948 Olympic Games and Centenary of Postage Stamps, Coronation of King George Series, etc. If we take a cursory look at his collection of stamps of our country, we come across a wide variety of those from both pre and post-independence times. Among the stamps in his album, those issued during the period of British Rule in India contain the stamps issued in 1931 to mark the government's move from Calcutta to Delhi, those issued in 1936 depicting various forms of mail transport, with King George's effigy appearing on the higher value ones. His collection also showcases the first stamp of Independent India issued on 21st November, 1947, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi issued on 15th August, 1948 on the first anniversary of India's independence, the first definitive series of stamps of India depicting the country's broad cultural heritage- mostly Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Sikh and Jain temples, sculptures, monuments and fortresses, stamps issued on the inauguration of the Republic of India on 26th January, 1950 and those released on the occasion of the First Asian Games held in New Delhi in the year 1951. Amit Kumar Nag's passion for philately continued after he shifted to Guwahati from Silchar in 1970. In fact, it was he who introduced me to the world of philately when he presented me with a stamp album on my 8th birthday. In the mid-nineties of the last century, he lost one eye after an unsuccessful eye-surgery which compelled him to restrict his activities including those of philately. Yet he never missed an opportunity to visit the Philatelic Bureau of the Guwahati G.P.O. at Meghdut Bhavan to enquire about the new arrivals. Of late, Silchar has witnessed a surge in philatelic activities and it is really very encouraging to see budding philatelists pursuing the hobby with great zeal and enthusiasm. This write-up is a humble attempt to apprise acquaint them with someone who overcame a lot of hardships and constraints not only to fulfill his love for philately but also to promote this hobby at a time when not many were even aware of it, not to speak of practicing it, in this part of the country. PERMANENT PICTORIAL CANCELLATIONS CONNECTED WITH MAHATMA GANDHI
Sushil Mehra
Postmark collecting is a diverse, wide-ranging hobby, and collectors' preferences embody theuniverse of potential collection opportunities available. One can collect 'ordinary', everydaycancellations; eighteenth-century postal history; pictorial cancels; machine cancels; mailer'spostmark permits; First Day Covers; Doanecancels; military postal history; precancels; andmore. The other area for interest could be the permanent pictorial cancellations issued byvarious post offices. Mahatma Gandhi theme is one of the most popular theme for allphilatelists and postmark collectors. Hence this article is dedicated to the Mahatma Gandhirelated permanent pictorial cancellations of Gujarat. Gandhi Ashram (also known as SabarmathiAshram, Harijan Ashram, HridayKunj or Satyagraha Ashram) is located in the Sabarmati suburb ofAhmedabad adjoining to Ashram Road, at the bank of River Sabarmati. This was one of the residencesof Mahatma Gandhi, who spent approximately 12 years of his life here. This ashram is now a nationalmonument established by the Government of Indiadue to its significance in the Indian independencemovement in the form of the Dandi March in 1930.The ashram now has a museum, Gandhi SmarakSangrahalay. A Spinning Wheel (Charkha) used byGandhiji is kept here. Alfred School in Rajkot.Rajkot is the fourthlargestcity in the state of Gujarat, India. Rajkot has been under different rulers since it wasfounded. It has had a long history and had a significant influence in the Indian independencemovement . Rajkot was home to many personalities like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.The Alfred High School in Rajkot is one of the oldest institutions in India today. This school wasconstructed during British rule in India by political agent Kernel Singh. It came to be known as theRajkot High School in 1886. It was named Alfred High School in the late 1907. Mahatma Gandhidid his schooling from Alfred High School. The name Alfred High School was changed to "Mohandas Gandhi High School" after independence, as Gandhiji took his primary education in this school. Birth Place of Mahatma Gandhi.Porbandar is a cityin the Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known forbeing the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi andSudama. It is the administrative centre of the Porbandar District and it was the former capital of thePorbandar princely state. Kirti Mandir is the memorialtemple built in memory of Mohandas KaramchandGandhi and Kasturba Gandhi located in city ofPorbandar. It is a three storied ancestral house ofGandhiji where in the exact place where Putlibai,Gandhiji's mother, had given birth to Gandhi, ismarked with a 'Swastik'. Ellis Bridge is a century old bridge situated inAhmedabad, Gujarat. It bridges the western and eastern parts of the city across the Sabarmatiriver. This bowstring arch truss bridge was the first bridge of Ahmedabad constructed in 1892.Later new concrete wings were constructed on either side in 1997 and it was renamed as SwamiVivekananda Bridge. The Kochrab Ashram is the first Ashram developed by Mahatma Gandhi afterhe came to India from South Africa. It was founded on 25th May 1915. The ashram was amajor centre for students of Gandhian ideas to practice satyagraha, self-sufficiency, Swadeshi,work for the upliftment of the poor, women and untouchables, and public education and sanitation. STAMP INVESTMENT
Prof. V. K. Gupta
Stamps collectors can be divided into philatelists, dealers, speculators and investors. Philatelists collects and study stamps, do research, and some participate in exhibitions too. Philately gives them hours of pleasure and relaxation. Over a period of time, when they sell of collection, good profits come to them. It is rightly said that philatelists are able to eat the cake and have it too. Stamp dealers are in business either to earn extra income from part time dealing or to make livelihood as fulltime dealers. They require regular flow of Former Professor of Law, cash to purchase constant stream of new issues and also to Delhi University, Delhi, First replenish dwindling stocks. They cannot afford to maintain Silver medal at INPEX 70 and huge inventory of slowly moving items. Tying up their the only one in Madhya capital for long in slow moving material is not considered Pradesh. First juryship in good for health of business. They have to dump their excess Karnapex 88. First Philatelic or unsalable material, below the market price to maintain book in 1980 which won cash liquidity. They sell on ,WhatsApp, sale purchase Vermeil in WIPA 81. Vermeil groups, ebay and at other forums. for Gwalior Collection in world Speculators is seldom a serious collector. He buy and sell exhibition. Exhaustive numis- stamps like any other commodity. He wants to earn quick matic book in 2012. Dozens of money in the shortest possible time. He rig the market by articles in various fields. cornering the specific issue, and create artificial shortage, and exaggerate demand. He is basically a wealthy person and his intensive buying quickly forces up price and in the process attract attention of other players, who also jump into the bandwagon, causes prices to go further up, and this may continue for several years - until the bubble bursts. By that time the original speculator unload his bulk holdings at considerable profit. Unaware and less knowledgeable are caught in the trap {racket}, remain with the stock at deflated prices, lamenting for their losses. Investors are knowledgeable philatelists, and they buy for a long haul with their eyes upon future appreciation. They are realistic in estimating probable rise in the value of their holdings. Investors are recognized as safe sources for philatelic material by collectors and dealers. Their investments are considered good, as future philatelists get the items at reasonable cost.
INVESTMENT SOURCES AND TRENDS :————————————————— i) Occasional Opportunity : When a collector decides to sell his collections and accumulations due to old age or forced circumstances or a dealer quits the line, purchasers get a lifetime opportunity to procure material at cheap rates. ii) Fields neglected at the time of issue are good candidates for investment. Postal Stationery, Postal History, Indian States, fiscals etc. are perfect examples. iii) Well built collections are always sought for profits. iv) General collections and accumulations in good condition, do appreciate in value, over a period of time. v) Old issues e.g; Classics,Essays, India Used Abroad, Ist and IInd World Wars material, censor covers, old slogan covers, Meter marks and Tete Beches are always in demand. vi) Modern material like 1947- 57 issues, Gandhi, pre 2000 miniature sheets, Early sheetlets, Se-tenants, Postally used covers,Private FDCs etc. are riding on fast moving conveyor belt for tomorrow profits. vii) Wealthy investors invest in famous stamps, rarities and major errors. Their prices are constantly on increase. Author of this article witnessed in 1980 in a private treaty, sale of 1948 Gandhi 10 Rs. Service stamp to be sold for 1 lac rupees. Today its price is nearly 1 core. Similarly when a major error is discovered, its price goes sky high. India's 1963 Red Cross missing, 1968 first Triennial orange color omitted, 1978 Schubert face value missing, 19992 2 Rs. Birds of prey error: 1 Re instead of 2 Rs. Are few such errors. viii) Varieties of watermark, perforations, paper shades etc. make a collection attractive and differentiate from a normal collection. Doctors blade, color bleach, paper fold printing etc. results into great profits for investors. ix) Thematics require good quality material from all fields, and investors are putting their money on important themes and collections. Investments made in fiscals, when it was not recognized by FIP, gave several fold profits to investors.
INHIBITING FACTORS :————————————————————————— i) Condition: Investors feel shy to invest in defective, oxidized poor quality material. Thousands of collectors feel frustrated when they tried to sell their wares. ii) Preference Change: Ornamental pages in the collection came to an end by 1970s. C.T.Os. and fancy issues of non- existing countries (Lables) went out of fashion with the FIP Guidelines by 1980s. Collectors of USA assigned their unused FDCs to dustbin, saving stamps as fine used. India saved this situation by creating a special class for its national exhibitions. iii) Budles material: Investors maintain a distance with commonest stamps printed in tens of millions, extremely slow to appreciate in value. iv) World collections: Whole world general collections are not subject matter for investors. As nearly 1 lac stamps are issued every year. v) Technological attractions: New generation prefers e- games on mobiles, Google and internet. Children of 4th to 7th standard are not adopting philately, despite India Post conducting District Level Exhibitions, philatelic quiz programmes. The ray of hope for investors and is the entry of middle aged and retirees embracing philately. Hobby is not going to die, but goal post have changed. vi) Depressed economy: Covid 19, and loss of employment are worrying factors. Reduced catalogue prices are discouraging. With the recovery of economy and employment, things will improve. Golden Rule : Investors acquire quality material, well assembled collections, difficult to acquire items, complete sets etc. as discussed earlier. Their superior knowledge keeps them one step ahead of others. To conclude, investors are now diversifying their investments in to diverse branches of philately. It is heartening that they are not putting their all eggs into one basket. SOUVINER COMMITTEE EDITOR : SUMANTA KUMAR DAS SUB EDITOR : RONY GHOSE MEMBERS : APRATIM NAG, AJOY BARMAN, AMIT JAIN, AYUSH JAIN, DEBATANU BISWAS, RAJA DAS GUPTA , ANIRBAN DEBROY
PHILATELY: THE SUCCESS STORY OF ROWLAND`S BRAINCHILD
Goutam Kumar Bhaduri
here may be as many hobbies as there are men but perhaps the commonest and most universal Tamong them is philately, the hobby that originated within a few years of the issue of a penny postage in 1840. But no, it is not only a mere pastime .From hobby it has since developed into a scientific pursuit. It is the science of collecting postage stamps which initially started rummaging the waste paper basket or rifling rejected envelopes by a teenager. As a hobby it is the most wide- spread, and in course of time collection of first day cover, old envelopes, post cards etc also have entered the field of philately. Two names are deeply associated with the origin of philately and subsequent stages of it becoming so popular and so thrilling -Rowland Hill and M Herpin. Sir Rowland Hill, British administrator and educator introduced the penny postage in 1840. He suggested imposing a lower levy on letters so that the volume of mail increases thereby increasing the revenue derived. To implement it, he introduced the penny postage in 1840 which came to be known as postage stamp. However, when and how philately got the status of a hobby is yet undiscovered. Most Euro- pean countries did not adopt the postage system till about 1849.So it is predicted that the hobby began sometime afterwards. The two oldest existing collections were originated in 1853 and 1860. The French were the earliest to make systematic collections. They noted the different shades and designs, different border marks, perforations and the stamps were arranged in terms of these. Sub- sequently in 1864 a Frenchman M.Herpin coined the term philately from Greek words 'philos' and 'ateles' (love and free of tax). Long after this, Philately was recommended as a hobby worth cultivat- ing by no less a person than Thomas Huxley. Stamps are printed not only for sending letters but they are printed for commemorative pur- poses also. We have our stamps cherishing our Independence, centenary of our universities and colleges, visits of foreign dignitaries in different times and many such historical events. They re- mind us of forgotten things. Great achievements of a country, its great men, its art and culture and the flora and fauna - all are vivid in the postage stamps. They help us to know almost every detail of a country`s past as well as present. It's like a huge history book made of colorful bits of paper. Unbelievable indeed. Philately is a hobby which will never make you tired or bored. You`ll have friends all over the world with whom you can exchange information. You can have a relief from monotony of your daily routine. A congenial fraternity also develops. You can have a constant source of engagement .No single hobby can give you all these benefits combined with pleasure. One more thing, there is nothing to lose if you drop the hobby at any time for any reason whatsoever. Valuable collection of stamps attracts fabulous sums. I can sell my entire collection of stamps at considerable profit. The Postal Department organizes exhibitions of stamps and stationery at different centers throughout the year. So finding a purchaser of a good collection is not hard at all. But one very important thing we have to keep in mind while choosing philately as a hobby. One must be careful that this hobby does not drain our resources. Collection of rare stamps involves a huge price to pay in terms of wealth and energy as well. It may make one neglectful of his actual duties .We must not forget that philately is a mere hobby and not a passion. If it becomes an obsession, and we become become entirely consumed and preoccupied by it to a point of eccentric- ity, then it is better to give it up as a pursuit. Relevantly, we can hardly deny the fact that there is a steep decline in the use of postal services not only in our country but throughout the world. Philately still ranks one of the most delightful hobbies ever designed as before. Here lies the magic of it.
" OLE' - ON GANDHIJI's FOOTSTEPS
Sumanta Kumar Das (Xaadoo)
"Mohandas Karmchand Gandhi's life is more than an individual's journey of becoming a "Mahatma " It is the history of the country and birth of the Nation " that's how 77years Norwegian Ole Fredrik Olsen feels. Ole is one of the rarest of rare person in possession of stamps on Gandhi Ole Fredrik Olsen is specializes in one individual " Mahatma Gandhi" his Philately carrier spanning 50 years. Ole showed excellence in which ever field he chooses left shinning examples for others to follow,. his contribution to the development of Philately are varied & invaluable. Ole is epitome of positive approach, hard work & efficiency, displayed his Philately acumen & his contribution to the development of Philately reach monumental height. He has been visiting many countries for last 50 years for the development of Philately and giving tips and distributing his huge knowledge among the up coming Philatelists. Olsen is a lion hearted man.. I do believe only few knows Gandhi more than Ole. In 2001 Ole brought out a book on Gandhi 1849 to 1948 the great leader "Mahatma Gandhi- 1869-1948 "which Olsen dedicated his Presented to me by OLE better half " Ann-Mari" who has been his inspiring force .She has been extremely patient throughout Ole stamp collecting years. She sacrifices a lot . My esteem to Ann-Mari for all her sacrifices . This book illustrating it with Gandhi stamps. The book is a virtual journey into the life of Gandhi ..It covers his early days in South Africa, his return to India to join the freedom and movement like boycotting British goods, the famous Salt Satyagraha .Another aspect of the book is the message on Gandhi fact the Martin Luther King Jr. & South African leader Nelson Mandela followed Gandhi's teaching in their struggle against the suppression of freedom & apartheid. This book includes stamps from several countries , it shows basically the reach of the " Apostle of Peace's" message. A stamp from the Afghanistan carries the Gandhi's famous quote " Hate the sin and love the sinner" is displayed this book and Olsen wants to see peace. He sincerely believes in the effectiveness of Gandhi's Non-Violent methods Gandhi has sacrificed his family life to live his cause. It s my conviction very few Indians would have studied Gandhi like Olsen.. He knows innumerable accounts that lead to making of Gandhi the 'Legend '.Ole's desire to visit India began after he watched the movie" The Far Pavilions' some years back & he had this great urge to see the palaces, Forts,& the people. Olsen a great admirer of India came to India to walk in the Mahatma:'s " footsteps. Ole always fascinated by India it's culture & the Sanskrit language mystified him..To Ole India is not about Taj Mahal or Redfort.. it is the multitude that went into Gandhi's vision of an empowered India to know Gandhi it is absolutely necessary to know how people earn their a living in rural India. no wonder Gandhi said that" India lives in its villages. He wants to spend every spare time getting to know Gandhi better.. Ole asserts that the stamp collection has very positive spin of benefits look at Olsen himself, he reads and researches his subject and who can deny the pleasure that good book offers! at his home in jumeirah which is so nostalgically named reindeer crossing, innocent looking folders of stamps are indeed invaluable treasures housing history of countries yes " History unfolds in stamps too . I am grateful to Ole for his contribution to my philatelic carrier I have almost given up Philately but Ole constantly inspired & motivated me over the years & years from my salad days which spurt into my sagging spirit as a result of which my hope reborn, I rebuild my Gandhi Collection with Zest & Zeal. .In" INPEX 2019 "at Mumbai I won the BRONZE medal on GANDHIJI's 150TH Birth Anniversary & in PHILEX 2020 which was held in Bangladesh where I won the Silver Medal. It feels my heart with joy unspeakable to dedicate both the " Medals" to Ole with gratitude & esteem. 'It is my candid conviction that whatever I achieve in Philately is due to One & Only "Ole Fredrik Olsen".
OUT OF TRACK By Kishor Chandak P.G. Bhargave
Postal services in India started way back in thirteen century. Slowly and steadily it has come to the age, by the time the first official postage stamp of India was issued on 1st October 1854. For the smoothness and speediness in operations, India was divided into different circles. Though the general guidelines were common for all over India, Postal Circle used to implement these regulations as per their convenience. To convey the new systems and services introduced by Postal Department, lot of persuasion was required to mend the people to use these services. Due to the continuous efforts of Postal Department people have started using the services in large number. It was just obvious that while dealing with the heavy load of mails, few of the letters go astray or out of the way for some or unknown reasons due to oversight of the personnel dealing the same. Some other reasons were also their which was recorded in report of the Transaction of the Post Office in India for the year 1855-56 and former year such as -
The cause which chiefly lead to letters being unclaimed are the following - 1st - Letters are frequently posted with simply the name of the addressee, without any further designation. 2nd - In addition to the name of the addressee, Letters are often found simply with the name of an unknown village or District. 3rd - Many letters are so illegibly addressed, that the handwriting cannot be deciphered. 4th - Letters again are addressed in languages or characters, which cannot be read by any one where they are posted. This will be more fully understood, when it is borne in mint that throughout the British Territory in India, there are eighteen different languages, each having a separate and some of them varieties of character. 5th - Letters are occasionally posted by Europeans as well as by Natives, without any address at all. 6th - Letters are posted without the name of the sender inside, or outside, or the place of residence.
These are some reasons making the sorters work more difficult. Besides it there are many villages and cities in India with similar names. No doubts some part of fault lies with sorting staff.
The ‘MISSENT STAMP’ is impressed on the covers received in the Post Office which it should not have come either for delivery or in transit. Mr. W. Renouf gives Type No. 79 and 79a to these postmarks. These postmarks are of the basic type and there are several sub-types and verities of it Railway Mail Services also added many markings in it. We are giving some examples of these markings.
Examples of MISSENT Markings -
(fig. 1) (fig. 2) (fig. 3)
(fig. 4) (fig. 5) (fig. 6)
(fig. 7) (fig. 8) (fig. 9)
In this marking MOOLTAN (fig. 2) is earliest recorded having date 14 May 1865. The fig. 1 is a basic type which appears in India Post Office Manual of 1873. The name of the Post office is added in manuscript, in case of big post offices the name also incorporate in the lower part. Instead of entering post office name in manuscript, in some post offices, a circular dated stamp had applied in such a manner that the name of the city appears exactly in the lower segment. Here (fig. 4) shows AJMERE used the octagonal sorting stamp for this purpose. Only letter MISSENT (fig. 5) also appeared sometimes. Fig. 6,7,8 are used by RMS out of which No.6 was used by Madras Frontier Office in lower part that office mentioned the Set No. BY A/2 whom they have got this missent article. Fig. 9, this is extremely rare stamp found on a Return Train Article. The article was over carried and returned it to Return Train for to be delivered at proper destination.
The purpose of these marking may be twofold - one that recipient knows from the marking that why he get the letter late, second, the post office may searched who made the mistake? Whether post offices made the enquiry of the staff against whom the instance of mis-sending is proved and appropriate action taken is not clear from the old records. Then these Missent slips commonly recognized as “Yellow Labels” were introduced by PMG Bengal vide circular No. 61 dated 2 December 1874. As per the PMG’s circular, instruction was given to obtain from the addresses the missent covers to investigate and remedy the causes of mis-sending and delays. In this period the Missent Markings also seen on the covers which had yellow label attached. This procedure may be introduced in other circles also. Mr. Dasture recorded a cover of Dec. 1871 having yellow label and posted from Deolali to Bangalore erroneously dispatched to Bombay.
In 1881, the new Postal Manual issued. As per the new rule noted in it “any office noticing a missent or misdirected postal article made a report in an “Error slip form - 10” to the concerned Superintendent. Hence the use of yellow label was discontinued.
As per circular No. 195 dated 19 March 1884 by the Director General the system of yellow label was reintroduced for all India level.
It was also stated in that circular that -
“Recently the system was re-introduced in Bengal and the Inspector General R.M.S. reports that the measure has been attended with excellent results. In many cases errors resulting from incorrect sorting lists have thus come to notice.”
These instructions included in the Postal Manual stated that a Missent slip should be posted to each missent letter noticed at post office during sorting or delivers. In R.M.S. handbook the detail instructions given as follows:
A missent slip should be affixed to each article received missent by the set except missent postcards, parcel mail articles, articles for foreign countries or articles which cannot be disposed owing to the addressee being illegible or incomplete. The missent slip should be affixed on the back of the article, care being taken not be paste the slip over any stamp impressions that may be on the cover. The date stamp of the set should, for purpose identification, be impressed on the lower left hand corner of the missent slip, and the name of the post office or R.M.S. section from which the article was received should be written in blue pencil by the Head sorter, immediately above the slip. The article should be sorted according to the address borne on it.
As per the Sub Office Handbook of 1888 there was a instruction that the sub postmaster used red ink instead of the Head Sorters blue pencil.
The missent slips found in various sizes and shapes. The Indian vernacular languages of Urdu and Hindi also found besides English, colours mainly yellow but yellowish buff or near cream, and red are in existence. These are normally square or rectangle and triangular form found in red colour. This type of slips was also used by some India feudatory states such as Hyderabad, Gwalior and Cochin.
The Hyderabad state slips was in Urdu language and green in colour. Gwalior used it is green but in English. Cochin Anchal used a bilingual slip.
Few main examples are illustrated below.
(fig. 9) (fig. 10) (fig. 11)
(fig. 12) (fig. 13) (fig. 14)
(fig. 15) (fig. 16) (fig. 17)
(fig. 18) (fig. 19) (fig. 20)
(fig. 21) (fig. 22) (fig. 23)
Fig. 9 – A triangular label on red paper reads – NOTICE. / This cover has been in- / correctly dealt with by / the Post Office, please / therefore return it / to the Postman, / for necessary / enquiries & / suitable notice. The letter posted from Churu on 17 may 1895 mis-directed to Patna. Fig. 10 – A triangular label in Hindi language reads – Vidnyapan / Ees lifafeka thikase ta- / mil dakkhane ne nahi ki / hai, ees liye khali li- / fafa jaruri tahki- / kat va munasib / tambiha ke liye chi- / tthi eesi ke / hato louta / dijiye. The letter posted from Generalgunj-Cawnpure to Ramgarh, missent to Manipuri. Fig. 11 – A triangular label in Urdu language reads - Ishara / Ees lifafe ki tamil dakkhana / ne thik nahi ki hai. Ees / ke liye khali lifafa waste / jaruri tahkikat aur / munasib tambiha ke / hamdast chitthi / rasid bhej / dijiyega. Cover posted from Uda-Kifngunje to Bhagalpoor missent to Ghazipur. Fig. 12 - This is a square label in English with different wording, asking the cover required for official reference. The cover posted from Bithan – Darbhanga to Mandawa on 25 May 1904, the label is cancelled by Darbhanga. Fig. 13 – In this type instruction as “Postmaster will kindly obtain this cover, and forward to Inspector of Post Offices Ajmer”, without mentioning any reason or purpose. Fig. 14 – In this type the instruction is for the addressee as “Please return cover to Postman for transmission to Dy. Postmaster General, C P Berar”. Fig. 15 – This is same as fig. no. 13 but with instruction to forward to Supt. Travelling Post Office Madras, the colour of the slip is violet. Fig. 16 – This label is with a code letter and Section and Set no. of the Travelling Post. Fig. 17 – This is extremely rare and very large label on a cover posted from Devicotta to Madras. Fig. 18 – This is similar to fig. no. 13 but with a request to forward to The Sub Inspector of Post Office Sikar. Fig. 19 – This is with missent at top and with instruction “Please return this envelop to the Postman”. Fig. 20 – Similar to fig. no. 19 but missent score out in red ink and noted Mis-directed by Barauly in manuscript. Fig. 21 – A rare green label used in Gwalior State. Fig. 22 – A bilingual label in English and Tamil was used in Cochin Anchal. Fig. 23 – A rare green label used in Hyderabad State.
As per the D.G.’s circular No. 42 dated 17th July 1890 the use of the Missent slip was also extended to mis-directed and over carried articles. The word Missent on the top of the missent slip scored out and mis-directed written in manuscript were also found (fig. 20). A Mis-Directed article is a vernacular article in which the incorrect destination has been written in English by the office of posting.
In course of time the wording of the slip was altered and the covers were sent to the local post office instead of the PMG.
If we look to the statistics of the slips used and covers received back, no specific record is available. But the covers received by the collectors are very few as most of the covers returned by the addressee to the post as per instruction which may be destroyed by the department after due inquiry. Hence the covers with yellow labels are rare. We are of the opinion that they are rarer than a 4 Anna lithograph cover.
We have a circular No. 64 dated 17 January 1891 issued by Deputy Director General wherein he states the importance of obtaining from the addressees, the covers of article to which missent slips are attached. He further wrote that - “These covers are useful in bringing to light carelessness in sorting,
and errors in routes and sorting lists, and it is therefore of importance that as many as possible should be collected and submitted to the Postmaster General or Inspector. General, Railway Mail Service, as the case may be.
Now we are throwing some light on procedure of forwarding the collected covers and further inquiry, punishment etc. This part is remained in dark till today from postal historian -
The Director General of Post Office of India issued a detail procedure in this respect vide Circular No. 81/54 dated 4th February 1895.
Some important points from it noted below: 1. The existing checks on the mis-sending of unregistered articles have recently been under consideration, and it has been decided to adopt generally, with some modifications, a system originally introduced in the Punjab but now in force also in at least two other circles. The missent slip (form Dep. 4) will also be revised and, whether printed in English or the vernacular will be of the size and wording shown in the specimen in the margin. The wording has been changed, so
Cover wrongly delt that the public may understand why the return of covers is asked for with by P.O. Please and may return them more readily than heretofore. return to postman for 2. By the manual rules cited on the 223, 224, 261, 262, Vol. I and 113, 114, enquiry and notice. 167, 168, Vol. II, a missent slip should be affixed to each missent or mis-directed article. Covers with this slip affixed collected by branch offices will be sent on the day of collection to the account office, the number being noted on the reverse of the branch office daily account. All such covers collected by sub-offices (including those received from branch offices) will be similarly dispatched to the head office, the total number being entered on the reverse of the daily account; and all such covers received in head offices, together with those received from their subordinate offices, will be sent every Saturday to the head of the circle, the number being noted in a brief forwarding letter. The covers will then be sorted in the office of the head of the circle, and, as soon as possible after receipt, those showing faults committed by offices in the circle will be forwarded direct to the post offices at fault with memoranda in the accompanying form. Covers showing faults committed by offices outside the circle will be sent to the head of the circle in the jurisdiction of which the offices at fault are situated. It will be seen that space has been provided in the memorandum to allow of the Postmaster’s reply containing all the particulars needed for the imposition of a suitable penalty, and until further orders the penalty will be half an anna for every second offence. Thus, there should be no penalty for the 1st offence, ½ anna for the 2nd offence, no penalty for the 3rd, ½ anna for the 4th and so on. 3. Towards the close of the month, the names of officials against whom instances of mis-sending have been proved will be tabulated in the offices of heads of circles. Extracts from these labels, showing the total fine noted against each name, will then be sent to the head offices concerned for recovery of the amounts under Rules 824, Volume I. 4. In order to exercise a check over the collection of covers bearing yellow slips, each head office will prepare in manuscript a monthly statements in the accompanying form, showing the number of covers received during the month from each sub-office as well as those collected by the head office including its branch office, and submit it to the head of the circle on the 5th of the month following that to which the entries relate. The total number shown in the statement should correspond with the total of the weekly forwarding letters referred to in paragraph 2. 5. Postmen and village postmen should be required to make a note in their books of the total number of articles bearing yellow slips given to them at each delivery and to take the initials of the delivery of sub-account clerk or sub or branch postmaster against the entry in proof of its
correctness. The empty covers collected by postmen and village postmen should be made over to the officials who initialed the men’s books, and care should be taken to see that the full number are returned or that those not returned are satisfactorily accounted for. 6. In head offices the delivery clerk should note in the error book daily the number of articles bearing missent slips given out for delivery, and the number of empty covers actually collected. Postmasters should examine these entries frequently as they will show what proportion of the covers to which slips are pasted are being collected by their offices. 7. As regards articles delivered at the window, messengers and others should be asked to obtain the covers of the articles to which slips are attached. If this is regularly done, a fair percentage of such covers should be obtained. 8. For the present, the system now prescribed will not, as regards the infliction of fines on a fixed scale, be applied to errors of mis-sending and misdirection committed by officials of the Railway Mail Service. The new missent slip will however be used by sections and mail offices and covers missent by the Railway Mail Service will be sent weekly by heads of circles to the Inspector General for disposal.
Following various forms used for reporting:
______HEAD OFFICE.
Statement showing the number of empty covers collected by Head and Sub-Offices, including their Branch Offices, during the month of ______189 .
No. of empty covers Names of the Head Office and collected all the Sub-Offices in account including REMARKS. with it. those collected offices.
Total
Certified that the entries in this statement have been checked with the entries in the error book and those on reverse of Daily and Branch Office Daily Accounts.
Postmaster.
Dated 189 .
No. of cases Name and appointment of person noted against in fault him this month*
* To be checked in the office of the Head of the Circle.
After the better control and arrangement made for effective supervision and check of sorting and routing of mail, the missent slips was abolished from 1st January 1907 by the circular No. 59 date 4th December 1906 issued by the Director General of Post Office of India.
Though Missent Slips abolished the mistakes in transmission remains inevitable. Public may post their mail in wrong train by using Train letter box and on the part of R.M.S. staff they may mis-send or over carry the posted articles. This type of mail bundled and carried out by Return Train.
As per Railway Sorter’s Handbook of 1915 The term “Return Train” means a train conveying a section at work which meets a similar train proceeding in the reverse direction.
The bags closed by the two Sections for each other are called return train bags. The stations at which the bags are given out is called the return train station; and the articles contained in the bags are called return train articles.
Unregistered articles should be put up in three bundles, one containing missent articles another over- carried articles and the third wrongly posted articles. A return-train label should be placed on the top of each bundle, and the Head Sorter should record on each label, in the space provided for the purpose, the number of articles contained in the bundle, and sign and stamp the labels. These labels are due documents and must be placed in every return-train bag. If there are no articles for dispatch in a bundle, the proper label duly signed and stamped and bearing the word “Nil” should be forwarded.
It means that when offices have regularly to exchange mails with each other, if one has nothing for the other it will still have to make up a bag and enclose in it a signed and stamped check-slip or Letter Bill, which has either a “Nil” stamp for Inland Post, or a “Blank Exchange” for a Foreign Post.
There were three different labels, or printed Forms: 1. Old Form No. R.M.S./S.3 (a). New Form M-14. Train bundle label – Missent. In sheets printed in red ink on white paper.
2. Old Form No. R.M.S./S.3 (b). New Form M-15. Train bundle label – Over-carried. In sheets printed in blue ink on white paper.
3. Old Form No. R.M.S./S.3 (c). New Form M-16. Train bundle label – Wrongly posted. In sheets printed in black ink on white paper.
This is the fascinating of story of Missent, wrongly posted, misdirected mail in the postal history of India from the period about 1870 to 1915. It tells how postal departments faced various problem of a vast country like India in handling mail and how it take care to deliver it at proper destination.
Bibliography:
1. Indian Postal History 1873-1923 by D.S. Virk. 2. Postal use of the word “TRAIN” 1854-1947 by Ernest G. Oehme, India Post No.115. 3. Missent Mail Markings & Instructional Labels by Vispi S. Dastur, India Stamp Journal Oct. 1977. 4. Early India Cancellation 1855-1884, By W. Renouf. 5. Various Circulars issued by Postal departments. 6. Various information and articles published in various philatelic magazines.
INDIAN
MADAN MIDDHA, WATERMARKS
GWALIOR Watermarks on Indian Stamps
Preamble A watermark is an image or pattern “in paper” that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when held against the light or viewed by transmitted light. The variations in the shades are due to density variations in the paper, intentionally caused during the manufacturing process. Watermarks are often used as security features of postage stamps and other papers-based security products like Bank Notes, Passports, and Legal Documents, to prevent counterfeiting & forgeries. It can also be used for dating, identification, trademarking, locations, and the quality marking of the paper. Watermarks were nearly universal on stamps in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but generally went out of use and are not commonly used on modern stamp issues. Encoding an identifying code into digitised music, video, picture, or other file, is also known as Digital Watermark, but as our study is focused on philately; our subject of study is the paper watermark only. Watermarks vary greatly in their visibility; while some are obvious on casual inspection, others require concentrated inspection & some study to get recognised. Watermark is very useful in the examination of paper / document in question. In philately, the watermark is a key feature of a stamp, and may constitute the difference between a common and a rare stamp. Two identical stamps with different watermarks are considered two separate identifiable issues in advanced philately. Watermark errors are considered major varieties, these comprise stamps issued on un- watermarked paper but found on watermarked paper or stamps printed on wrong watermarked paper than original watermark.Sometimes a watermark in stamp can be seen just by looking at the un-printed back side of a stamp. But, at times it can be difficult to distinguish some watermarks by this simple method. Watermarks on stamps printed in yellow and orange can be particularly difficult to see. Various aids have been developed to recognise the watermarks, such as watermark fluid that wets the paper without damaging it. Watermark fluid may be applied to the back of a stamp to temporarily reveal the watermark; it evaporates automatically after a few moments without causing any damage to the stamp or the gum on the stamp. A few mechanical devices are also are used to detect watermarks on stamps such as the Morley-Bright watermark detector and the more expensive Safe Signoscope. Such devices can be very useful because they can be used without the application of fluid and also allow the collector to see the watermark for a longer period of time to easily recognise. There are other ways, some detect the watermarks using colored filters to make the disturbing color ineffective. Some computer experts have devised the ways to detect and save images of the watermarks using computer scanners. Watermark detection is an important skill for the philatelists; this is the only feature to distinguish a common stamp from a rare one, at the times. Though the watermark detection is carried on at the back of the stamp, its correct position is determined with relation of the front of the specimen. If a water mark is positioned correctly from the front of the stamp, it is called a normal / upright / correctly orientated watermark. Any variation to this orientation is a variety in normal terms. Some catalogues usually do not list inverted, reversed or sideways watermark varieties, but they are highly collectible, especially for the specialist. Following are the glimpses of different watermark orientations.
As has been explained in the text above, the watermark orientation on the stamp is determined in relation with the front / printed side of the paper sheet. What we see from the back / un-printed side of the stamp is a mirror / reverse image of the actual watermark. The variations in the position of the watermarks are caused by erroneous feeding of the paper sheets in to the printing machines. Sometimes the watermark orientations are changed intentionally for security reasons, as exceptional cases.
Appearance of the watermarks on the stamps / stamp-sheets can be found in three formats, viz, Overall Watermark, Spaced Design Watermark & Multiple Watermark. The design of the watermark in the Overall Watermark format covers a large area of the paper, often the entire sheet on which the stamps are printed. Individual stamps have only a small part of an entire overall watermark, difficult enough to recognize the watermark at times. In the Spaced Design format, the watermark design is repeated in the paper sheets with a defined space between them, in a way, that one complete watermark design unit appears in each stamp on the sheet. In case the paper sheet is not properly aligned when fed into the printing press, resulting stamps can bear parts of two or more spaced watermarks instead of one complete design. In the Multiple Watermark format, a single design unit of the watermark is repeated across the entire paper sheet so that the watermark design appears multiple times, in full or in parts, on a single stamp. The multiple watermark designs are usually tiny in size.
OVERALL WATERMARK
SPACED DESIGN WATERMARK (LEFT) & MULTIPLE WATERMARK (RIGHT) FORMATS.
Watermark on Indian Postal Stamps The adhesive Postal Stamp regime in India started in July 1852, when the First Postage Stamp in Asia was introduced at the Sindh Province ( now in Pakistan), known as the “Scinde Dawk”, under the authority of the commissioner of the province, Sir Bartle Frere. East India Administration issued first stamps for the pan Indian validity with Queen Victoria’s picture in October 1854. Four values were included in the set, ½ Anna, 1 Anna, 2 Anna & 4 Anna. These four were also the first stamps issued on the watermarked paper. The watermark was in an overall format, once in a sheet, & had Arms of the East India Co as the design.
EAST INDIA CO, SHEET WATERMARK This watermark appears “Sideways” on ½ Anna & 1 Anna values. 2 Anna value stamp is also printed on similar watermarked sheets, but the “No 4” mark at the top left corner of the design is replaced by “No 3”, the appearance is sideways here too. 4 Anna denomination stamps are printed on “No 4” paper again, but for this the paper sheets are trimmed and hence, only the central ( oval ) part of the design is visible in the watermark. The appearance of the watermark in 4 Anna denomination is “Upright”. The second watermark used in Indian Stamps was the “Elephant’s Head” design. This is a spaced design watermark, appearing once on every stamp of the sheet and was positioned towards left. This watermark was used on East India - Queen Victoria issue of 1865 with 6 values, from ½ Anna to 8 Anna. Inverted watermark variety in this set is also available. This type continued till arrival of 1882 – Queen Victoria - India Postage issue, except for the Provisional issue of 1866, as explained here-in-after.
Upright Reversed Inverted ELEPHANT’S HEAD WATERMARK DESIGN
In 1866, some denominations of the Foreign Bill stamps of India were overprinted for postal use by the authorities; 6 Anna for the general and ½ Anna, 2 Anna, 4 Anna & 8 Anna for the Service use. These stamps were overprinted so, after trimming the words “Foreign Bill” from them. These stamps had standard British watermark design “Crown over INDIA” in their original form and thus on their Postal form also. Only difference was, that as the foreign Bill stamps were trimmed (cut short) from top & bottom for the purpose, the watermark design was also trimmed accordingly. As a result no such stamps used for postal purpose are found with the watermark design in entirety. This was the only incident when this watermark appeared on Indian Postal Stamps. In 1877, Queen Victoria assumed the title of the Empress of India and the sovereign inscription on postal stamps changed from “East India Postage” to “India Postage”. New set of stamps was issued on paper with new watermark – Single Star watermark. This was a spaced design watermark and a 5 point star watermark appeared on every stamp of the sheet, with one point of the star positioned towards top. This watermark was in use from 1882 Queen Victoria Issue to 1902 King Edward issue to 1911 issue of George V. A large number of stamp values issued in the above sets, specially in Queen Victoria & George Fifth issues, are also found with inverted watermarks, i.e. star appearing with a point towards bottom instead of top. “ CROWN OVER INDIA” WATERMA RK
Upright Inverted
SINGLE STAR WATER MARK
Watermark in the stamps changed to “Multiple Star Watermark” with the issue of a new set of stamps in 1926, with King George Fifth appearing on them & printed at the Security Printing Press, Nasik. This time the star in the watermark appeared multiple times on a stamp, some complete some in parts, all pointing towards the top. Almost every denomination in the 1926 – 33 set has watermark inverted variety, the stamps which have watermark as stars pointing towards the bottom.
Upright Inverted
MULTIPLE STAR WMK / CHECK THE POINTS WITH INVERTED VARIETY
In Oct 1929 Indian Postal Department issued a set of six special Air Mail stamps in values from 2 Anna to 12 Anna, perhaps the first “special” stamps of India. “Multiple Star” watermarked paper was also used for the printing of these stamps, but the stars on these were positioned sideways. All the stars appearing in these stamps pointed towards left (from the front & towards ‘right’ if seen from the back) as the default position. Stars pointing towards ‘right’, while seen from the front (and left, when seen from the back), are also available in these stamps, as a variety.
Star Pointing Right Sideways-Ponting Left
WMK MULTI-STAR SIDEWAYS / POINTING RIGHT & POINTING LEFT, BOTH Multiple Star watermark continued since then, for all British Indian Postal Stamps until the Independence of India. Inverted watermark as a variety for the later issues is a listed variety for almost all. India attained Independence on 15th August 1947, issued her first stamps as an independent nation in Nov–Dec 1947 and continued to use the Multiple Star watermarked paper for the purpose. India’s first definitive set (archeological series) was issued in August 1949, again on this paper with upright positioned stars as default position for all values except three, 6 p ; 1 Rupee & 10 Rupees. On these three values the stars were positioned sideways, pointing left if seen from the front. All the issues till 1958 were issued with this watermark, including the definitive series. Map series definitives of India were first issued in 1957-1958, on the Multiple Star watermarked paper, with the advent of Metric System in India. This series was re- issued on the paper with new watermark in 1958-1963; this time the watermark was Ashokan Capital, a multiple design unit watermark spread all over the sheet in upright position. Ashokan capital / Lion Capital of Ashoka the Great, is the National Emblem of India, and it is but natural to adopt the national emblem for the important purposes like watermarking of Stamps & Currency Notes after independence.
Upright Inverted Sideways Sideways Inverted
ASHOKAN CAPITAL WATERMARK : DIFFERENT ORIENTATIONS From November 1962 India started to inscribe the sovereign inscription as “ BHARAT / INDIA” (Bharat in Hindi / Devnagari & India in English) instead of “ INDIA POSTAGE” which was in vogue till then, but the watermark continued to be Multiple Ashokan Capital. Some of the later / commemorative issues, starting November 1964, were printed on paper without any watermarks. This trend persisted intermittently up till late 1965 and regularly after that. Definitive series of 1965–1975 depicting Glimpses of India, used a number of watermarks. Some of the values of this series were printed on paper without watermark (5p. re-issue of May 1974), some were on Multiple Ashokan Capital watermarked paper (2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 30, 50, 60p, 2, 5, 10 Rs) while some re-issued values (2p & 5p ; re-issues of 1975) were on altogether a new watermark. This new watermark is “Large Star & INDIA GOVT” watermark. This is a hybrid format watermark of the Over- all watermark & Multiple watermark formats. In this format a few (more than one) watermark design units appear on the sheet, every such unit covering a number of stamps. The arrangement of the design units in this new watermark in the sheet is made in a way that some of the watermark units appear upright / correct when looked at from any direction. The stars in the watermark appear upright, inverted and sideways, in either direction within the same sheet in this arrangement.
LARGE STAR & INDIA GOVT WATERMARK Setting I : Mixed Arrangement Starting 1980, a second arrangement in the sheets with “Large Star & INDIA GOVT” watermark is also available. In this second arrangement, all the stars in all the design units on a sheet point to the same direction. This helps in determination of the default setting of the watermark and it’s variations. Stamps issued after 1980 on “Large Star & INDIA GOVT” watermarked paper, have the second setting. The highlight of this watermark is that when compared on “Issue to Issue” basis, every time some minute change appear in the design / fonts / settings of the watermark units. This phenomena provides a great opportunity for research for the enterprising philatelists. The only problem in this is that the watermark can be studied on sheets only, as single stamps with this watermark do not reflect the complete watermark design. LARGE STAR & INDIA GOVT WATERMARK
Setting II : Upright Arrangement India stopped using watermarked paper for the commemoratives from 1965 with some exceptions, though the definitives & special definitives were continued on the paper with watermarks, using both the watermarks, Multiple Ashokan Capital and Large Star & INDIA GOVT. Some high value definitives of 1986 ( Science & Technology Series - 5Rs, 20Rs & 50Rs) are also found on unwatermarked paper, which are declared forgeries by some catalogues. For the definitives issued after 2000, including the current “Builders of Modern India” series, watermark used is Ashokan Capital. There is much to be explored in this field. The study presented above is only a basic one. An enterprising philatelist can build a very rewarding collection / exhibit on the study of the Indian postage stamp watermarks. Every possible variety can be discovered with a little effort as material is available in abundance and that too, unexplored. This is the aspect which requires greater effort and little money to make an award winning collection, one can be proud of. Additional Notes - I : Pseudo-watermarks Pseudo-watermarks are marks added to paper after it is finished, to simulate watermarks, unlike watermarks which are created during the process of paper making. Some pseudo-watermarks are produced by pressing a design (die) into the paper after it is manufactured & finished. Pressure applied on the design die creates some effects on the paper sheet which resembles the watermark when observed against the light. Some Swiss & Egyptian stamps have these Pseudo-watermarks. Some pseudo- watermarks were pressed in so hard that the paper is damaged and can fall apart as a stamp ages or is soaked in water. Another type of pseudo-watermark is produced by applying a chemical to the paper that makes it semitransparent. The examples of this chemically induced watermark are found on the New Zealand & German stamps. Sometimes these marks are chemically printed on the backs of the stamps. Additional Notes - II : How to detect the watermarks Watermarks are best viewed from the back of the stamp. The basic and most used exercise to detect the watermark is, to hold them against the light source, looking at the unprinted back of the stamp. This will reveal the design of the watermark in most of the cases. The basic mechanical method of watermark detection is to place the stamp face down in a specially manufactured black plastic tray, and place a few drops of “watermark fluid” on the stamp. The fluid evaporates very quickly and because it doesn't contain any water, it does not harm either used or mint stamps. As the fluid evaporates there is a moment just before the stamp dries when the watermark is most visible. There are a few more mechanical devices in the market that can help. Morley Bright systems use a small, clear sachet (a plastic pouch) filled with blue ink. When the stamp is placed under the sachet and pressure is applied, the ink settles into the watermarked area which is very slightly thinner than the rest of the stamp. The result is the watermark is impressed on the ink sachet. A major weakness in the Morley Bright system is the relative short life of the ink sachet which becomes dirty and brittle and needs to be replaced periodically. More over being small in size this device can not be used with bigger stamps or miniature sheets etc. The other machine commonly used to detect watermarks is the Safe Signoscope. The system consists of a clear plastic block hinged to a metal plate on which the stamp is placed. Pressure and lighting are then applied and the watermark is revealed. Signoscopes are costly device, need electricity in one form or another and the occasional bulb replacement are required. Unlike fluid which has a magic moment and then the watermark image is gone, the mechanical devices allow you to freeze the image temporarily for study. This capability is especially handy when trying to distinguish among watermarks which are very similar to one another. Then, there are color-filtering techniques that neutralise the color of the stamp's design, and thus making it easier to see the watermark. There is a device known as the Philatector that electronically employs a set of color filters as a means to detect the watermark. Some other hybrid devices are also used by the collectors including UV detectors. One more method that is worth a mention is the use of a computer scanner and graphics software to capture watermark images. The basic approach here is to scan the reverse of the stamp against a black background and then use software to “tease” out the watermark by manipulating the contrast and color saturation. A number of philatelists are working on techniques in this area. Perhaps in the future we’ll see special softwares for watermark study. Additional Notes- III : Descriptive Terms Simple Watermark – When a complete watermark design unit can be seen on an individual stamp. Multiple Watermark – When the watermark design unit is seen several times or portions of several units of the design are visible on a single stamp. For example, the definitive stamps of Independent India with Ashokan Captial or multiple star watermark. Sheet Watermark – When the watermark design is so large that it covers multiple stamps or the entire stamp sheet and only a portion of the watermark design is visible on a single stamp. For example, watermark on the sheets of 1854 lithographs or modern “ Large Star & INDIA GOVT ” watermark. Marginal Watermark – When the watermark design appears on the sheet margins. Examples can be found in the many British Commonwealth issues. Pattern – When wavy lines, lozenges, diamond mesh and others such pattern is repeated evenly over the whole stamp. For example, the lozenges pattern on Germany Empire's 1905-19 issue or circles pattern on the 1920 issue. False watermark – When the appearance of a watermark is created by lightly printing on the stamp. See Additional Notes : Pseudo- watermarks. Inverted – When the watermark is upside down when viewed from the front of the stamp. That is, when the stamp's printed design is right side up and the watermark design is upside down. Reversed – When the watermark is seen reversed when viewed from the front of the stamp. The watermark is un-mirrored when viewed from the back. For example, reversed, letter watermarks would not be reversed when viewed from the back of the stamp. Inverted and reversed – When the watermark is both, upside down and reversed while viewed from the front of the stamp. Sideways – When the watermark is rotated 90° clockwise with respect to the stamp's front. Sideways & inverted – When the watermark design is rotated- 270° clockwise or 90° anti-clockwise with respect to the front of the stamp.
SOME KEY POINTS IN THEMATIC EXHIBITING....
- Jeevan Jyoti
Today Thematic Philately Class is the biggest class in exhibitions. A large number of exhibits on various themes could be seen in stamp shows. So there is always a tough competition in this class as the number of participants is quite big. Now Thematic Philately has changed a lot from what it was fifteen years ago. In those days the exhibits consisted major part of stamps with very few other items. But today the good exhibits have much more than just stamps. The rules have changed and a variety of philatelic material is required to form a good exhibit. These philatelic materials are known as philatelic elements. A “philatelic element” is best described as any item that has been designed, produced or issued for the purpose of moving the mail or other postal communications.
Image Courtesy – Canadian Stamp News
Title page of award winning exhibit Blood: ‘A Modern Medicine’ by Jean Wang
What is Thematic Exhibit ?
A good thematic exhibit explains a chosen theme through variety of philatelic items which includes stamps, covers, cancellations, meter frankings, postal stationery, stamp booklets, telegrams and many other philatelic items. The recent trend is to include philatelic items from traditional philately, postal history and postal stationery besides other philatelic items and these items must have a proper connection with the theme. These items must be used skilfully and linking them with the theme.Modern Thematic Philately uses all philately’s resources with the philatelic items with definite and close link with the theme. One should be very strict in discarding attractive non- philatelic items. The best thematic exhibits display a broad range of philatelic elements to explain the story.
There are some mistakes commonly found in thematic exhibits prepared by the beginners. If these are avoided the exhibit can get a very good score in competitive exhibition. Here are some key points in preparing a thematic exhibit.
A variety of stamps should be included : Gutter pair, gutter pair with traffic lights, Self-adhesive stamps, coil stamp pair, Stamp with decorated marginal tab
1. The exhibit should not have stamps in complete sets but should be shown in parts. The stamps should be used in variety of forms such as self adhesive, uncommon shaped, Gutter pairs, coil stamps, in MS form with reference to its design and its association with the theme as well as stamps with decorative tabs.
Left side of FDC should be covered using window though it shows Beethoven’s symphony. Only right part with stamps and postmark should be shown. 2. FDCs in full form with its left side design should not be shown. Though these are attractive but philatelically unimportant.
3. Postal stationery with added private print and linking the design with the theme must be avoided.
The display of whole special cover is not appropriate. Only stamp and postmark should be shown through window.
4. Special covers in full form should not be used only its stamp and postmark part should be shown.
CTO and illegal issues give negative points and must not be used in the exhibit.
5. CTOs and illegal issues must not be used in any manner. 6. Use of private commercial covers and associating its design with the theme must be avoided. 7. The private design on postcard / letter and its content should not be related with the theme.
Pre-paid postcard by An Post (Ireland) issued for the Covid19 – Pandemic
8. Picture Postcards should not be used in thematic exhibits. Only official Picture postcards can be used with reduced scan of the reverse side.
In this FDC only stamp and cancellation part should be displayed through window.
9. FDCs should not be used but if it is required and any other item is not available, it should be registered and postally used /or its stamp and postmark should be shown through window .
10. If showing telegram one should prefer to use postally used telegram.
Only official Stamp Booklets should be shown
11. Booklet stamps (preferably full pane if all one motif or related se-tenants). Only official Stamp Booklets should be shown. These can be shown for stamps, texts and illustrations on the inside pages of the booklets.
12. If using meter frankings, show it with its philatelic description . Meter franking with zero should not be used . It can be used only if the meter franking has specimen mark.
In a Maxim Card, concordance between stamp, postmark and design is utmost important 13. Minimum number of maxim cards should be used. The maxim cards must have concordance between stamp, design and cancellation. 14. Postal stationery should be used in complete form. Its thematic part should be shown full and the reverse side should be displayed in form of reduced copy.
Perfins and watermarks
15. Perfins and watermarks with various designs related to theme can add colors to a thematic exhibit.
16. When showing a variety, the variant stamp should be shown with the normal stamp. 17. In addition to the above following items should be avoided in a thematic exhibit. - private additional cancellations and cachets applied by a sender or a supplier before mailing the documents - administrative marks (not postal), when they do not give any postal privilege - private decorations and decorative overprints on envelopes and cards - private vignettes (advertising labels), whatever the purpose of their use
As one learns the technique of selecting appropriate item related to one’s theme and discarding non-philatelic item the exhibit improves gradually. My Thoughts On Philately…
………….Nanda Dulal Saha Stamp collection – now a days it is familiar to us as Philately – is a hobby of kings or the king of hobbies.
When I was around the age of 12-13, way back in the year 1965-66, we were influenced by our seniors of that time to take up some hobbies. Stamp collection, book reading, sports, arts, music etc. were the main hobbies of young persons at that time. I was inspired by Late S.M. Banerjee (Tukuda) and Late Paran Chakraborty, founder of Cachar Philatelic Society and took up Philately as a hobby. At that time by investing Rs 50 or 100, one could start a great collection of postage stamps. But I could not start my collection in that way.
Actually, since last 14 years, I have started my collection in a new way. Now a days there are various ways and means for a collector of postage stamps to build up a great collection. There are various Philatelic societies/clubs that are ready to give us guidance in this regard. Also, one can collect stamps from any Post Office, Philatelic Bureau, through internet or through any shop dealing in Philatelic items.
We can also collect stamps based on any theme i.e. country wise/ sports/ monuments/mountains/ great personalities/odd shape and sized stamps, etc. as per our choice. We can also collect Postal accessories, Revenue Stamps, First Day Covers, Special Covers, Miniature Sheets, etc. We have to collect information about the year of issue and other important information. That is, we must know and write about the Philatelic importance of the stamps.
So, I think that with stamp collection we can not only gather knowledge but also experience, which will help us in our other activities.
As a senior citizen, I request the younger generation to take up Philately as a hobby, these little pieces of paper contain a great treasure of knowledge on variety of subjects of the world.
So, the time is right to start a collection, starting early one can build up a great collection of not only the country but even of the whole world, and in the way, we can also contribute to the society in a good way.