POSTAL HIMAL
QUARTERLY OF THE NEPAL AND TIBET
PHILATELIC STUDY CIRCLE
•
/
SRI PASHUPAT I POST AL CARO PROOF
No. 86 2nd Quarter 1996 Pos tal Hi ma l is a quarter l y ~u ~lica t ion of t~e Nepal & Tioet P~ : lat el:: Study Circle. Membe r ship s ub scr iptions r un f r om January t n r DU ;~ DecerrOer of eac~ year. D..J es s r"lou l d be oaid i n local currenc y a : :ne prevailing exchange rate to t ~e soc i etr represent.a t ive in you :- area.
MEMBER SHI P DUE S ~ S Ot JAN UARY 1993
2nd auarter/ 1996 T~ ree Years l i f e (I1 embe r No. 86 l33 l 25D
American Philatelic So~ iety Affi l iate #1 22 Br itish Philatelic Feoerat i on Affiliate j Q35
Sec retary : Mr. Co lin Hepper Editor: Mr. l eo Mart yn C/ 72 Ca lle Miguel Ange l P. O. Box 49263 El Sueno-Fase J Los An ge l es , CA 9 0 0 ~ 9 - 0 25 3 El Chapa rral U. S. A. 031BO Torrevieja Fa x: 31 0 476- 2608 Alicante Spain Phone/Fax 346-5703701
The Board Of The Nepal And Tibe t Ph il a le lic 5 tu:ty Ci I"C le: Presi dent: Dr. Wolfgang C. Hellrig1 Past P,esident : Or . Pie,re Couvreu, Vice President : ~. C01in T. Hepper Sec,etary: fI1r. Co E n T, Heppet" Treasurer: JI\r . Colin T. Hepper Auct ioneers: Leo !'\artyn '" j,oger Sk i nner I"Ierrt>e r.s : f'tr. Christopher Kinch, nr . Alan wa rren, fI'l,. rrancis A. Wes tbrook Jr. Editor: I'\r. Leo I"Iartyn
Regresenta t 1ves :
Europe ~ . C01in Hepper. sce ~ddrc s ~ ~bovc.
India 50han Lal Ohawan '" Sons. p.a. Box 95, Patlala-147001 , India . Nepal I'\r. Surendra Lal SI'Ire.slha. Kattwnanoo District. P.O. Ball 72 , Ka t:.h'rIardJ • Nepal. U.S.A. ~. ROQer Sk inner, 1020 Covlngton Road, Los Altos, CA 94024, U.S.A,
Patron: ~. Mac Linscotl Ricketts.
Hcnorary lire "aibeTS: Colin Hepper. Jit Bahaclur !'\anandhar.
Lifa ~r5: ~rio C. Barbiere, Jeremy Brewer. p, Gupta, Richard HanChett . Wolfgang Hellrigl. Will i am Jans on , G. Lenser, Leo ~artyn. R. Murray. Peter Planken . Barbara Pray tor , S.l, Sh,estha, Roger Skinner, Oick van der Wa t eren , Robe r t Wightman. I' Alfonso G, Zu l ueta Jr. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Hima l ayan Views ...... • . . Leo Ma rtyn . 19 "The Two Paisa Postal Car d Proof of the Sri Pashupa t i De s i gn Stamps , 11 issue of 1934/ 1935-19 37 ••••• Or. Frank E. Vignola . . . 20 "I-\rmand Si nger Speaks at the Co llectors Club of New York " ...... , . • Alan Warren 21 "Some Int er esti ng Ti bet Postal Markingsll Nick Rhodes 22 "Ne pal 1881 -1 885 Issue : More on the 2 An nas T~t e - ~che " ,. . . . Wolfgang C. Hellrigl 26 "Nepal and Ti bet Philatelic Study Circle Meeting at Cape)\, 96 tI • Alan Warren . . . . 28 "Nepal Postal Card Wa .S. Further Inf ormation" .. . , Dick van del' Wateren 29 Classified Ads, Back Issues . , . . . . . 32 Printed in the U.S.A . We had a very fine meeting at Capex ' 96 . Canada ' 5 World Philatelic Exhibition . Mr . Ramesh Sh restha , the Na tional Commi ssioner from Nepal. gave everyone present a very colorful 1997 calendar . They were printed in Nepal using local paper and are designed t o hang on the wal l. Please see Alan Warren's report in this i ssue for more details r egarding Capex '96 .
o 0 000
Our meeting at Westpex (San Franc i sco - April 28) wa s attended by about 10 members . Geoff Flack gave a talk regarding the present "market conditi ons" of Tibetan philately. As usua L. our meeting and the show we r e very fine . Westpex will not take place in 1997 due to the World Philatelic Exhibition in San Franc isco (Pacific '97 - May 29 through June 8) . Th is promises to be a super show and I know that many members will be present at the two s cheduled Study Ci rcle meetings (June 1 and 7 - both at 10: 30) .
D D 11 0 0
The following awards were received by members for their exhibits :
Paul Hager : "Nepal : The Dashu;Jati Issuesll (4 frames) . Louipex ' 96 (Louisville, Kentucky . June 28 -30) Gold Award and the Reserve Grand Award. Cinpex ' 96 (Crea teI' Cincinnati Philatelic Society) - Gold Award . "Postal Markings of the PH of Nepal" ( !l One Frame Exhibit" ~. [inpex ' 96 - Gold Award.
Leo Martyn: "The Development of Nepal's Postal System. 1775- 1911 " (8 frames) . Capex: '96 - Gold. Award .
Ramesh Sh r estha: II Ne palese Classics" (5 frames) . Capex ' 96 - Gold. Award . Dick van del' Wateren : "Nepal Postal Stationery, 1887-1959" (6 frames). ALPHILA ' 96 (Netherlands National Stamp Exhibition) Gold Award, Special Pri ze and Felicitations of the Jury for "Best Exhibit" . Capex ' 96 - Gold. Award.
Frank Edward Vignola : "Nepal: The Sri Pashupati Local Printings. 1941-19ll6" {5 frames} . Pipex ' 96 (Salem, Oregon, National Philatelic Exhibition . May 17-1 9) - Gold award.
Alfonso G. Zulueta Jr . : "Nepal : The Classi c Period . 1881 -1 930". Sandical ' 96 (San Diego . California. Jan 19-21) - Go ld Award. ASOA Mega -Event (New York City , N.V .• Feb . 22- 25) - Gold Awar d . Fila telic Fiesta (San Jose . California, Mar . 16-17) - Gold Aj,lJard , The "Grand Award" , American Philat elic Society 111 900-1 940 Medal ".
It shou ld be noted that Rishav Shrestha (not a member) r eceived a "Certificate of Participation" for his 3 f n.nle ~xh ibi t . " The Him~laya:: ". shot~n in thE" II Youth- UD to 15 ve~r-~ (.1':1 11 "'JU!UP 'It [;:.l[J"'" t c)F.. Chungthang , , , , , " - '\1 ,-, M , ,.' _',0, ....., . ~" _" M I A printing problem occur red with the map on .. ' ,.. \ ~ . ,. '''~' , page 11 o f Postal Himal No . 85 . The post offices ) ~.. ~. , referred t o in the text we r e highlighted by an . ' MANGAfJ orange marker but could be easily read on the , original . Upon being printed , the post office , towns we r e blacked out. "1 have retyped the names '\ , , on this map . I suggest that thi s map be ,, photocopied and the names cut out anc' glued on -, the original illustration (page 11) sorry for , the inconvenience . , D ' ·' · J / . " .. - GANGTDK , ," . ' ~ " . .. II I J.. I H .- .~o .. ~ I Nathanc CEZlN, G 50sing (Keoling) ,._ .' ~ .r "
'". , -" Rinchingpong Singtam .... Pakyong .. ' .. Rangl i ", /" , Rangpo ,I" NAMCH! , Rhenok , ./ '\ . .. H O ' ~ '\ Manjhitar -+- /1/"''' -,'-' ":/'
THE ThJO PAISA POSTAL CARD PROOF OF THE SRI PASHUPATI DESIGN STAMPS, ISSUE DF 1934/1 935-1 937. Dr . Frank E. Vigno l a
Pr inted by the Gurkha Patra Press in Kathmandu. the locally designed rectangular Sri Pashupati 2 paisa imprinted stamp design is very similar to the 1935 issue of the Sri Dashupati stamps printed by Perk ins - Bacon and Co ., LoMdon{illus trated on the front cover} . The 2 paisa proof was printed in light brown ink on thick , heavy . buff "fIIative paper , whereas the imprinted stamp on the 2 paisa postal card was printed in blue ink on stiff native paper o f poor quality in shades o f buff to gray. The t ex.t . ornaments and "Hors e Type " design also were printed in hlue on the post al cards o f this i ssue . Apparently the 2 paisa postal card proof was printed in broilln so that it would be a match of the cal or of t he new 1935 issue of the paisa stamps . It wa s a good , logical idee , but those in charge decided to keep this new issue of 2 paisa postal cards the same color as the previous lI Horse Typesll and "Kukris tl imprinted stamp design and text in blue ink . All that can be recalle d regarding the s ource o f t he pr oo f i s t hat it was purchased f rom a deal e r i n Ne pa l a r ound 197n by my father, frank J . Vi gno la. and pr~~~"t;;!d l e) m1': by hin t o !ldd to t he ~epale='2 po-:. r.a l s t a U onl?r v collec tion I was s t.:lrting 3t tint. ti.me.
,.. :' ~, l! ~, ". " !! Postal Hima l 20 £nd Quarte r /1996 Armand Singer Speaks at the Collectors Club of New York
by Alan Warren
On May I, Arm and Singer was the featured speaker at the twice-a-month meetings of the Collectors Club of New York. His topic was specialized Nepill. Members MId guests gathered for il socia l hour beginning at 5 PM. Shortly after, viewers could in spect some of Annand's nicer items which he had on displily in the club frames. About 6:30 PM the Progrr'IIll Chai rman Robert L. Markovits introduced Armaml and his Wife who ilccompanicd him from West Virginia.
Armand apologiz.ed for inadvertently leaving some slid es at hOllle th,'\1 he intended to show. However, with his spry humor and wonderful anecdotal reminiscences, his tillk ,ve nt very well, supported by the wonderful matcnal in the frames. He began with a 1772 document with the seal of the first he le Next was a Kathmandu to Calcutta cover dated Februaf)' I. 1&49 followed by the o nly recorded example of a 19th century {~OVer sent from Nepal 10 Latin America. this one being an 1891 item to Guatemala. Some mouth watering items from the first issue included an imperf sheet of setting 1 of the one ann a llilramarine from 1881-85, and a settin g X of the 2 annas with damaged cliche from about 1898. He showed several sheets wi th missing cliches and inverted cliches. Another beauty was th e only recorded sheet of the 'kanna. setting 4. with bum marks caused by the fire I'll Perkins. Bacon in London in 1940, Onc it em with association for those of LI S who collcct Tibet was an official cove r to Lt. Col. F. M. Bailey in May 1938. the year in which he retired from government servi ce. Another registe red cover o f August 1884 bore copies of the three values of the first isslle-- 1, 2, and 4 annas. A unique item was a cover with a tete-beche pair of the recut onc anlla 011 white wove European paper, dated December 1904 -- the only recorded example of this rare pair on cover. Other rare items o n display included a mint tete-be-che pair of the 2 annas first issue. and a unique used strip of three wi lh positi on 22 inverted (see Posw/ Hima/. No 77). Still another unique item was the 1J2-a nn a provisiOlwl seal. In addition to the classic issue.s of Nepal Armand also had a few examples of the Sri Pashupati issues. He is in the process of writing up and mounting this material in hopes of preparing a photocopy of this collection similar to the recent edition of hi s Tibet collecti on. I • * ·1 Postal Himal -'n::J lJUa rt.er 11995 Some IlIlcrrsting Tibet Postllll\larkings -By Nic k Rhode !!. 11 :1\ Ill ,;! jU:-.1 n:l:ch cd iI COP) ofT" !! I'osf(I/ .\/arklllJ!,s q/ Tlhel . b) Wolfgang lIellrigl. il lh:curred 10 me that the. items illu strated bclo\\ m a~ be ofintcrest 10 readers. as they provid ::! onc entire!) IIC \\ marking. and extend the period of recorded issue ofccI1ain oflhe scarcer Tibetan poslalm:!1 ~ings : · "eo\cl. SC III by regi stered mail. fTom Lha sa a 1 A Postal Receipt bcalillg the rare GYflllt se Po st alln~ Scallllilrking ToO . lor a Registered letter. orig inall1 sent iTOIll S.W.Laden La in Daljcclin g 10 Ku sho Malldo. clo the Bri tish Trade Agcll(,;) in Uya llt se. and thell fOI"\\ardcd 011 Frollllhe Trade Agency to Lha sa . MO ll do was. of t.: oursc. ulle orlhc Tibetan boys who was sellt 10 school 31 Rugby ill England during the first world \\:lr 'ntC Ilostal Receipt is attached 10 a leller frol11 S.Tohdcn oflhc 1 rade Agency 10 Laden La dalcd 28th Ma y 1932. confimling the dale of this usage. S.Tobdell writes "'n lC cover addre:-.se d 10 Kusho MO lldo ha s heen fOI"\\,llrded through the Tibetan Ilost Office Ul ater registered CU\ er. The Po sta l reccipt is enclosed YOllllecd 110 1 ent cl1ain any anxious (sic) for the paYlllclH or stamps. as it is too meagre a SUIll to gCI refimd." lllis ilemlhus extends the recorded use oflhis ilel11 up 101932. and it seems appropriate. therefore. 10 extend the presullled use up to I t) 33. as ror the other similar posta l sea ls 3. /\ Telegram form addressed to "General Dzasa Laden Ut" in Lhasa in 1923/4, and bearing an unrecord ed I n~ Sea l wi th the Tibetan letter "Lha" in Ihe centre. presumably referring to the Lha sa l)ost ilnd Telegraph Office. I feel that thi s Illllrk deserves 10 be added to the recorded Postal I II~ Seals on p.37 - T59 might be an appropriate Type No. - Apall fro m the ... e llirec ilems. I call e~ICll(llhe recorded pcriod of issue ora few other Tibelan cancc ll,lIion s: T,I3. \\hieh I havc used in October 1934 . and 1'.46. which I ha vc used ill the 71h Tihetan month orlhe Wood-Hog yea r (1935) I also have a fine pilir of Itr ro se-lake perforated st amps. can celled with Ihe sc arce PFLTI cancellation. T45, which came trom th e WilliatllSo n collecti·on. and hence mu st pre-uale Mr.Wil1iamsou's death in November 1935. I reg.ret that Mr WilliamSOIl only preserved th em "on piece". and not on Ihe whole envelope. so no more acc urale datc is possible. Finally. I \ ... ould liJ...e to congratulate Wolfgang. l lellrig\ flnd Gcomey Flnek. on a \ ery ", ell plOdw.:cd book wi lh int eresting. illfonnation clca rl y set out. and I hope Ihat more people like me will bc lempt ed to loo~ ca refully at Iheir co llection s to see whal additional information call he added. Postal Hi ma l 22 2nd Quarter/1gg6 -- ..., ''''''' .. ~" '.'" . ' /~ .:. '. . ~ ., .. ... ':-.' ~ . '. ...... _. I _ .- I r . '.' • ., ,'- \ ' . . • .• v . 1 ... • t. ( . .. \ " Pos tal !:!l..!!@1.. 23 2nd Quarter/1996 . ,'. = - q ,' --- ~ .--~- Postal Himal 24 2nd/Quarter/19g6 ..,• , o TIC E. ;.;: •. • 'I'. , /).~ " "'~ "~ I" '1)",\ Reeo ' n }J ~ Y 6 \~"II'J"lly " ,,,..le 11 ) ' ·~ ,i :"II,. ";'.':'" ,1.1. / .: I , ;i,. tJ ~ .. ' .. .\1 .., "1- • II.~ " • . J ----. TO .' / ( , . '-- ( . \ ," /. .- , - 0,'--'; .. , ''- 1 , " / //'. ! ( r .. ·( ._ /- ( I / ~- l. , "r -, ,.' s· i '.' ....', -rl ' ''''''''-'''')' .... ·",Id ," "-P,''' I ),',L ,'1,1, ., ,01" I •• I.\!. L~I , ": .. , , ,\ <:"'" - :l cI 7 ._~·-: ~~- ~"", (I " ; ;1, •. (Above seal enlarged and enhanced) Postal Himal 25 2nd Ouarter/1996 Nepal 1881-1885 Issue: More on the 2 Annas 'rE!te-Beche by Wo lfgang C. Hellrigl In Postal Himal No. 77 (1994) I r published an article on the famous 2 annas tete-beche, on European pap e~ (Hellrigl/Vigno la No. Sa). In particular, I recorded a newly discovered vertical strip of three containing pos. 14, 22 and 30 in which pas . 22 was inverted. The position of this inverted c liche enabled me to plate two o ther tete-beche pairs (ex Haverbeck and ex Heddergott, respectively): both consist of pas , 22 and 23, with pos. 22 i nverted. A~ this stage I believed to have definitely solved the long-standing problem of tne position of the inverted cliche. Now) new evidence has come to light Hhich faeces me to revise, at least partly, some of the points I made in my previous article. The f i cst additional clue =ame in the form of a photograph of t he well- known, but previously unplated tete-beche pair in the Tapling collection of the British Library. I had closely examined t he original in London - David Beech, the most co-operative curator of the collection had even taken it out of t he frames for me, in or-der t o p r ovide better viewing facilities - but it was only after obtaining a clear photograph that 1 could actually attempt plating it. However, to my indignation, the plating procedure proved to be so extremely difficult that , in the end, I had to surrender wi thout coming to an acceptable conclusion. But help was on its way: an unrec orde d, vertical tete-beche pair appeared on the scene and was k ind ly brought to my attention by George Alevizos. Although this pair was equally difficult to plate, it enabled me to establish a common feature with t he Tapling pair and this fortunate circumstance eventually lead to t he solution of the plating puzzle: it is now proven that the Alevizos pair consists of pas. 13 and 21, the latter being inverted, while the Tapling pair comprises pos. 20 and 21, again pas. 2 1 being inverted. Following my earlier announcement that the inverted cliche was in pas. 22, it was, of course, a most unexpected surprise to find that the adjacent pos. 21 was also inverted. ' In ~his context I should perhaps explain that the plating problems were due to t he fact that the early, clear printings of the cliches involved are virtually free from flaws. Besides, there are only two multiples of the first issue with which to compare t he group of cliches- centering o n pas. 2 1 and 22. At any rate, now that five of the six kno wn tete-beches have finally been plated, the Situat ion is that two different c liches .,.Iere actually inverted: pas. 21 and pas. 22. We know nothing of the sixth tete- beche pair, except that it appeared in the Dawson sale ( Ro bson Lowe , 1967) , is pin-perforated and damaged at one corner . Postal Himal 26 2nd Duarter/ 1996 At this point, I must revise my earlier s uggestion that the setting with pos . 22 i nverted may have preceded the Hellrigl/Vignola setting 2. While t h is statement might still hold true, the existence of an inverted pos. 21 now reopens t he field to any s peculation . Most importantly, the strong link with sett i ng 4 ( whic h a lso has pas. 21 inverted) has now been re-established . In vie w of the fragmentary nature of the information at hand , perhaps the wisest t hing t o do would be to r etain the original sequence of the He11rigl / Vignola settings and to note t hat setting 3 presumably had two inverted cliches, pas. 21 and 22. Ho we ver, t he fact that two inverted cliches have now been proved beyond doubt does not necessarily imply t hat both inversions occured in the same setting. Theoretically, the tete-bec hes could have involved two distinct settings, each of which featuring o ne inverted cliche in a different position; these could have occured in lieu of, or in addition to, a setting with two simultaneous inversions. I calculated that, all i n all, there are no less than thirteen different possible comb i nation s of the sequences of settings involving these two inverted cliches! Perhaps one day, t his mystery can be solved compl etely, but at the moment we must be content with the discovery that not only one, but t wo cliches of the first issue o f the 2 a nnas were actually inverted . The Alevizos tete-beche pair of 2 annas, on European paper, (pos. 13 & 21), featuring the i nverted cliche in pos. 21 Postal Himal 27 2nd Ouarter/19g6 Nepal and Ti bet Phil atelic Study Circle Meeting at CAPEX 96 by AJan Warren The Study Circle held ('\ meeting on the second day of the international exhibition CAPEX in Toronto on June 9. Our featured speaker was Armand Singer of West Virginia, who had received a special honor earlier in the day. During the spring meeting of the American Philatelic Society that morning, APS President Randy Neil presented Armand with his certificate and pin for being a membe r for 25 years. The Study Circle meetmg was ca lled tu uldcl by Leo Martyn. editor of Postal Himaf with 20 members and guests present. including Armand's wife. He spoke about his Nepal classics collection which will be issued shortly ib a mounted exhibit, sillli lilr 10 his Tibet book last year. He began with the British presence in Nepal and showed us slides of many unusual items including a forged " IS.t9" l\epaul cancel. an example of the B137 canceller. a 191h century cover from Nepal 10 Guatemala, inbolllld mail from Chinil , and an 1875 "Calvary stamp" of which five arc known We also saw i1 (ul1 sheet of the one anlla 1881 imperf first setting. Some other mouth watering material included a 2 annas lI sed 5tt rip of three with a tete beche pair, and onc of two known covers bearing all three values of the first issue·· l. 2. and 4 ann as. Armand also showed us a %·anna stamp which appears to be a possible essay. Another striking item was a large block of 12 of setting 6 of the 'h·anna orange with telegrotph cancels. Armand concluded his talk by showing some proofs of the Shri Pashupati issues, and examples of postal cards and stamped envelopes of Nepal. We then went around the room so everyone could introduce themselves. One attendee was an international judge fTom Sweden, Hasse F. Brockenhuus von LOwenhielm. lllen Tibet dealer and publisher Geoffrey Flack of British Col umbia spoke about how "Tibet is Alive and Well." He discussed the recent flurry of major auctions and collections coming onlo the market. Some of the new material that is coming 10 light includes correspondence from the 1888-89 Sikkim Expedition. the telegraph stamps on documents, and the discovery copy of FPO No. 82 at Chumbi. Geoffrey also mentioned a trader's tombstone mark in an unusual rJ:d calor on a 1938 registered cover from Pharijang 10 Katmandu, as well as a telegram which ties Younghusband and Sandbach together. In the CAPEX exhibition hall there were no Tibet entries but there were three on Nepal. Leo Martyn won a gold with hi s 'The Development of Nepal's Postal System 1775· 191 I." He began with some early prestamp covers which were carried by horse and runners and then a letter from the Nepal-Tibet war of 1855·56 from Sik;u Jung, Another cover was sent from Tibet to the Prime Minister in Katmandu via Kuti. Leo's exhibit contained examples of various dispatch, transit, and arrival markings from the stampless period. Another nice ilem was ,tit 1897 I·Chan cover to Katmandu·· the only I·Chan cover known with a Nepalese stamp. Two other key items were a registered 1894 letter with quad ruple rate and ackn owledgment due, which is the only to anna cover 28 2nd Qua rter/1996 known, and a registered octuple rale (8 lolas) cove-r which is also the only cover kn own at the rate o f 13 ann as. Dick Van def Watere ll also received a gold for his "The Classic Pe ri od of NepaL" He began with prestamp letters carried by messenger during the late 18th and 19th centuries, inclu ding an 1867 A mban letter from Lhasa to NepflL He also shows manuscript postmarks and postal seals. The fi rst iss ue o f three values is shown with color varieties. in multi ples, and 0 0 cover with many examples of different postm arks on the stamps. Si milar treatment is given for th e reeut o ne anna and th e 1/·Hl.Ilna iss ues. Ramesh Shrestha received a Jiuge si lver for hi s "Nepal Classics," in whi ch he exhibits a few prestamp covers fo ll owed by the L,2, and 4 annas wi th va ri eties, various cancels, and some typi cal usages. He also showed multiples of the 1/:H'\Il1l a and examples of the postal card . Leo announced that pl ans (Ire already made fo r two Study Circle programs next year at PACIFIC 97 in San Francisco. !I n n M ., a n ~ n Ne pal Postal Ca rd Wa 5. Further information. Dick van der Wateren In Postal Himal No. 84 I described an interesting postal card sent from Dharmsala to Darjeeling and forwarded lO Chongtong, aski ng the members for more infannation concerni ng the location of Chongtong. On Or. Boecks map of Sikkim, which was sent to me by Mr. 10hannes Bommann and depicted already in Postal Himal, one can fi nd 'Kloster Chungtong' and I suggested this monastery (Gompa) could be the destination of the card though not being sure. After all, the distance in a st raight line from Daljeeling to this monastery. being some SO miles, covering in one day is too much for a post runner. It must not be forgotten that the dispatch took place in February and DaJjeeling is situated some 7000 feet above sea level. An interesting letter has been sent to me by J\llr. D Dawso n of Edinburg, referring to a book. entitled "Lands of Ihe 17l11l1derho/r" published 1923 In relation to this monastery Schuogtong the Earl of Ronaldshay wrote: "The spot was a striking one - a tongue of level land thrust oul at the foot of a mountain wedge at the apex of which the waters of the I,achlmg and Lachen ri vers mingle, to be knovtn thenceforward :lS the Tiska, for which reason the people have ,given it the name ofChung Thang, Of the 'milnii!ge of the. nvers', .At. ft:w hunderd feet above LIS a small gompa, enshrined all Image of GUIU Rllnpoche" This gompa is the monastery "Kloster Schungtong" on Or. Boccks map ofSikklm, but for Ihe ;"Ibi) \ e reason most likely not the destinauon of my postal card. P05lal Hima L 2nd Quarler/1995 That is why Mr N. Rhodes enjoyed me very much by sending me 2 letters and I am sure his view is the correct one. He kindly agreed me to copy completely his fi rst letter for Postal HimaL Dear Mr van der Wateren, I was very interested to read your article in Postall-lim.al No.84, illu strating all wlU sual Nepalese postal stationary ca rd, used from Dharamsala to Dadeeling. I can shed no light on why someone should post such a ca rd in Dbaramsa la, the present home in exile of the Dalai Lama, but then a rather small village. I assume. However. I can tell you that the card was addressed, ill a ~ i c atl y difficult to read manner, to lahardhoj Sirdar at "Datjiling, Marekbung" (Itn rrl :qr~q; ~ , in lin e I of the address), so I assume that the ad dressee li ved in or near Mariboug Tea Estate. According. to my 1885 Datjeeling Village Directory. the local Post Office for that Tea Ga rden was CbollglOng. at th e tea estate of that name. Tllese two te3 estates are situated close to each other, 011 the e3st side of. and reaching right dm\-ll to, the littl e Ran git river. just to the west of, and several thousand fee t below, Dadeeling itse lf. I imagine that the address was \V1itten out in English by the POSt office, and the Chongtong wa s added in a different handwritill g at th e Darjeeling Post Office, when forwardin g th e card to the P. O. nea rest the addressee. I am sorr)i th at I cannot confinn this an a Sikkimese cancellation, but I have been tryi ng, ra th er unprofessionally, to locate as man y cancellations fro m the Darjeel in g district as I can , alld this is the first Chongtollg mark that T have seen. With very best wishes, Yours sincerely. rn his 2nd letter he sent me a very detailed map of Darjeeling and surrounding area showing a number of Tea Estates. West of the village Darjeeling we can find the Chongtong Tea Estate. Mr. Rhode-s al so has sent me a copy of the cover and a page of the "Vii/age Directory of the PresidenCy of Bengal" Volume XVll, Darjeeling, compi led by the Postmaster·General, BengaL Calcutta 1885 (Bengal Secretariat Press). In this Directory the Chongtong Tea Estate is li sted, served through the Darjeeling P.O., whereas Chongtong had its own Post Offi ce. This.p.O. and the Tea Estate is within easy reach of Darjeel ing P.O. in one day . I am sure it must be Jhi s P.O. in which the card has been post mark ed with the small Chongtong dale stam p, '. , " , , , ; . ,, ,, ..., ,, ~. .!" Q.. , , ' , , , .' ,, ~-! --_ . .!.' , ,. ~- ,' " ./ f \ \ , I -'. ...' f I .. - .- .-.- 31 2nd Ouar t er/lggfi -. Postal ~ CLASSFIED ADVERTISING : FOR ~EI'1I3ERS ONLY One Insertion. per line $1.00 Four insertions . per l ine $3.50 To calculate the nllTlber of lines your advertisement will require. count 74 letters . m.merals. punctuation marks and blank spaces between words . Appropriate headings will be used if not indicated. After receipt . the ad will appear in the next Postal Himal. NEPAL: I am selling Nepalese stamps . Errors. Varieties and Postal Stationery. Ajit Shah . GPO Box 2159 , Kathmandu , Nepal . fOR SALE: TIBETAN STAMPS AND POSTAL HISTORY. I currently have a large stock of Quality material from all periods. I wou l d be glad to send you a selection tailor ed to your specifi c needs . Want lists invited. I also have a list of out-of -print books and articles on Tibetan philately for which I can provide photocopies. This will be sent to anyone requesting it. George Bourke . P .O. Box 1174 , Jackson Mr , 49201. U.S . A. TI BET FOR SALE: Ask f or available items at very competitive prices . r am also interest ed in buying everything from Tibet. \~rite or send a FAX to the following address (I am on duty here for the next few years) : Rainer Fuchs , P . D. Box 2711, 22028 Salmiyah. Kuwait . FAX : 965 -5316403. WANTED: CL ASSI C AND PASHUPATI COVERS FR(JYI NEPAL. r will purchase and or trade bet ter stamps and covers . Also wanted , better postal histor y of ' India Used n Nepal'. and unusual Nepal ese covers from the 1950's and 1960 ' s . E.xtensive price list of Nepal free for the asking. Leo Martyn. P.O. Box 49263 , Los Angeles, CA 90049-0263, U. S. A. o 000 0 BAQ( ISSl£S AVAILABlE 0 , • • " • .. • , " , . , , . ,- . -,. NEWSLEIT(R ' 1- 24 @I $.30 each plus following postage per i ssue: U. S .A. EUROP£ AS IA $ . 29 S. BS $.95 $ 15.00 for a complete set (11-24) in c luding postage to all areas. POS TAL IUI'IAL K25 -6B @ $2 .00 each plus following postage per issue: U.S. A. EUROP[ ASIA $.52 $1.35 $1.61 $90. 00 for a complet e set (125-6B) in ~ eluding pos tage to a ll areas. POSTAL IlIl'IAl '59-current issue @I $5 . 00 each plus following postage per issue: WI splc!al!:e In tile Stamps U.S.A. [1.JR{J.l[ ASIA and Pos tal History 01 Tibet. T.7S $1 . B5 $2 . 27 Ma intaining one 01 the WOlld', l8Igesl and most INOCX[S comp,ehensive stocks 01 To 311 Newsletters and Postal Himals this Mysterious Lil nd. 11 $5.00 (includes post age to all areas) , SELLING? $140 .00 f or a comp lete set of w. a,. alway. Iftl.,nl.d 'nhll., Newsletters , Postal Himals Indi.ldijal !t.m. 0' CoIletlionl. "no Indexes (includes postage to a ll areas) . GEOFFREY FLACK Please send orders to: p.a. Box 65987 Station F, Vancouver, B.C. Roger D. Skinner Cilnada VSN 5L4 1020 Covington Road Phone (604)986-3898 Los Altos , Ca. 94022 FAX: 604_986_4177 U.S . A. Postal Hi.mal 32 2nd Quarter/1996