Postage stamps and philately of India

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Indore postage stamps of 1904/08 - engraved, litho, or both?

Indore postage stamps of 1904/08 - engraved, litho, or both? I'm not the easiest kind of collector to get confused but the below Indore stamps with portrait of young Maharaja Tukojirao Holkar III have got me perplexed. In 1904 Perkins Bacon won the contract for printing of Indore stamps from Waterlow, and from there onwards all Indore stamps were printed in recess by Perkins Bacon until 1940. Simple and sweet, except when going through my recent acquisition I noted that a couple of these stamps did not feel engraved to tweezer tip, but they had the appearance of genuine stamp. This marked the beginning of another trip down the rabbit hole. ...(961 words,6 images, 7 comments)

Charkhari pictorial stamps of 1931

Charkhari pictorial stamps of 1931 The 1931 pictorial stamps of Charkhari make an interesting set of stamps. They are among the most common stamps of Indian native states, and the fact that I found 50+ specimens (over one tenth of the total) from my recent Indian states purchase says a great deal on the easy availability of the stamps. The stamps are so common because the Charkhari State administration lost (or gave away) control on the distribution of the series, and the stamps were dumped on philatelic markets in large quantities of mint and CTO specimens at much below face value; thus they are very cheap even nowadays. Genuine postally used copies, especially on cover are extremely difficult to find and totally different topic. Another characteristic of the series is that it contains a range of high values from 1 to 5 rupees (equal to 1-5 days wage at State service) that likely saw little to no real postal needs. So in number of ways this series is a forefather of modern day philatelic wallpaper. ...(522 words,8 images, 2 comments)

Charkhari stamps

Charkhari stamps Recently I've been bugging my head with a lot job of 300+ stamps of various Indian feudatory states. The stamps were ripped down from a number of vintage Big Blue remainders and other 'junior' stamp albums of the yesteryear, so I don't have huge expectations to find any rarities or as such, but who knows what lurks in an oddball lot like this. Needless to say the challenges of this lot are numerous. Some stamps of Indian native states are simply difficult to identify because they lack any comprehensible western characters. Few stamps are in condition far worse than what I wish/desire to include into my collection, but as I've got no clue on what's the 'average condition' for these is, I don't like to throw them out neither (at least yet). And then there's the question of forgeries - for many Indian native states the forgeries are said to outnumber the genuine, especially with mint/unused. So all in all I'm having one fun summer project that will hopefully educate me a lot about this complex area in weeks to come. As my first stop I've chosen Charkhari, a small (population ~120,000) princely state in Central India. ...(1824 words,10 images, 2 comments)

A Nabha postage stamp with fake overprint - possible a Hialeah forgery

A Nabha postage stamp with fake overprint - possible a Hialeah forgery Many worldwide collectors are wary with overprints, and maybe for good reasons. I was adding some stamps of Indian states to my collection, when I noted the overprint on one of the Nabha stamps looked very different from the crowd. Needless to say I had stumbled upon a crude fake that had sat on my collection for few years. If I had not received several duplicates to compare, I guess it would have gone unnoticed. ...(404 words,3 images, 4 comments)

The unidentifiable uglies - or how I deal with postage stamps of Indian states

The unidentifiable uglies - or how I deal with postage stamps of Indian states Though I'm quite knowledgeable about various worldwide stamps, one of those areas that give me a cold sweat are stamps of various Indian feudatory states (aka.the uglies). For the past week I've been going through a small pile of new additions from various Indian states, and here's some of my thoughts about them in general, as well as few 'tough nuts' to identify. ...(1071 words,5 images, 8 comments)

Indian Capital of Asoka Pillar official postage stamps

Indian Capital of Asoka Pillar official postage stamps Without a doubt, one of my favorite Indian stamps are the officials depicting the Lion Capital of Asoka. My love/hate relationship with these stamps goes back to my childhood, as back in the 1980s these stamps were substantial part of every 'kiddie stamp mixtures'. A bit surprisingly, these seem to have become much less common since. ...(979 words,8 images, 8 comments)

India 1924 Mount Everest Expedition label

India 1924 Mount Everest Expedition label Few weeks back I did something unordinary, and bought this fabulous item for 55 AUD (+ postage). Normally I don't spend this much on single item, but IMO this is truly attractive piece of philatelic history and worth it's price. ...(130 words,1 images, 8 comments)

Interview with Rainbow Stamp Club's Jeevan Jyoti

This week I'll be starting a new article category / series, which will introduce various more or less well know online stamp collectors. I have asked interviews from various blog owners, philatelic webmasters, online dealers etc. and kindly many have given some of their time. My first interview is with Mrs. Jeevan Jyoti who runs the excellent Rainbow Stamp Club blog. ...(789 words,0 images, 12 comments)

Q&A: stamps of India and Indian states

Do you have a question about stamps / philately of India or Indian states (and related territories)? Your questions answered. ...( 19 comments).