august rainbow stamp news 2013

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Indian TelegramsEnd of an era

On 15th July 163 year old Telegram Service in India came to an end....

Cover Courtesy Prashant Pandya

Shimla August 2013 Vol. VI Issue # 68

Monthly e-Stamp Bulletin Edited by Jeevan Jyoti for free circulation among philatelists

Readers are requested to send reports of philatelic activities in their area for publication. Shortwrite ups by the readers about their journals, societies, publications and philatelic

requirements can be sent for inclusion in this bulletin [email protected] and by post to

Ms. Jeevan Jyoti, c / o Mr. Ajay Srivastav, CCF, GHNP & Pin Valley National Park, SHAMSHI,Kullu -175126. (H.P.) India

Note- This bulletin is only for circulation among a limited group of philatelists without any commercialpurpose. The bulletin will be sent to the readers only on request. Those who wish to receive itregularly please reply giving the name of your city / country with the subject SUBSCRIBE RAINBOW
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Dear Reader,

Sunday, 14th July was the last day of telegram service in India. As the dawn of Indiantelegram service approached , some enthusiasts had specially reached the telegraph officeto send messages to their dear ones by telegram to record their name on the pages of historyand the curtains came down on 14th July Sunday night on the 163 year old service. About

20,000 telegrams were booked on last day out of them 2,200 from Delhi followed by Keralawith 1867 and Bangalore with 1,500 telegrams. At the time of Closure, the telegraphdepartment had around 1000 employees in 75 offices across the country.

It was an emotional day for the telegraphists and cycle borne telegram messengers seeingthe end of a service which is marred by technological revolution.

Telegram was an important means of quick communication among each and every class ofthe society and it shared joys and sorrows of the people for many decades . Lets all have asweet memory of the telegrams and keep them in our collection for everThis issue isdedicated to Telegram service in India which was so close to the life of Indians.TelegramsWe will always miss you !!

This is all for this monthMore in next issue...Happy Collecting !!

-- Jeevan Jyoti

View this issue onBlog

Contents

From the Desk of Naresh Agarwal

Recent Indian Issues

In The News

Beginners Section

Specialized Section

New Issues from Other Countries

Readers Right

The Lighter Side

Philatelic Clubs and Societies Book Review

Editors Mail Box

Blogs & Websites on Philately

Current Philatelic Magazines - Newsletters
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From the Desk of Naresh AgarwalSo, ultimately the long era of telegraphy / telegrams is over. But it gives us pleasure and satisfactionto see that the old friend of ours who served untiringly the whole community of both undivided anddivided India for several decades with uninterrupted speedy and reliable service, has been given nicefarewell throughout India. Philatelists and general public and also the telegraph workers showed theirserious concern on the sad closure of telegraph service by BSNL. Special telegrams were exchangedby the people as memorable stuff. Special covers were designed at places. Sweet messages werewritten to give farewell to beloved telegraph services. Some of those read as under : Bye Byetelegram. We love you , Long Live Telegram in our hearts.

The short messages sent by telegrams throughout its journey contained big stories of happiness, joy,shock, grief, congrats and greetings. These messages though were very short but some of those hadbig stories behind those. Messages of Birth and Death were the most striking. However, telegraphservice has played a big role in business and trade. Dispatches and Receipts, quotations and rates,quality and quantity all the information was quickly exchanged through telegraphy. One mustappreciate that telegrams also served as advertising medium for various products. And so had playeda big role in business and trade development. Various new products were launched through themessage pane and its cover to the public.

Telegrams had beautiful faces in form of colorful and beautiful pictorial images on its message formas well as the cover containing it. The telegram was associated with various other services likePhonogram. These beautiful thematic pictures give a good scope of collectable material to thephilatelists. There is good scope for collections of telegrams. For me the best farewell would be tostart a new class of philately named as TELE-PHILATEY. There is tremendous scope of search intelegram and to develop a very good collection and exhibit. In various exhibitions this new classshould be introduced as this will bring lot of philatelists in to its fold. To further enhance the scope,various other such tele services can be brought in to its scope such as Radio License Services,Telephone services, Wireless Services etc. and the stamps and other related documents can bewelcomed.

One of my friends wrote "RIP ( REST IN PEACE ) Indian telegraph Service 1851 - 2013".Let's notconsider the telegraph as dead but has stopped moving... but the journey is continued.. by itssuccessors like Internet E mail, SMS, E-post etc.. So, for me, the one who stops is not dead but staysand stays with us.....My best wishes to telegram to stay long with us in our collections, album pages,

articles, books, journals.. and also live long in our hearts as a treasure to give us pleasure...

: Naresh A garwal :[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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On last day of telegram service.

Telegram service has gone into history now. Philatelists all over India celebrated the last day of

Telegram on 14th July by sending telegrams to their dear ones. I am pleased to share here a news

clipping. Mr Timir Shah of Baroda Philatelic Society tells here about his wonderful collection of

Telegrams. Memories of Telegrams from Dr Avinash Jagtap and MrPrashant Pandya.

Feast for philatelists

Vadodara: Sunday 14 July was the day on which philatelists from across the state used topreserve the memories of country's oldest communication service - the telegram.

"I have organized all these telegrams as per the change that happened with them. From thetime, the telegraph service was mentioned as post telegraph, to the day when it was sentunder the Department of Telecommunication and BSNL Limited, I will be able to showcase allthese telegrams," said Timir Shah, secretary of Baroda Philatelic Society. Shah has acollection of 70-odd telegrams, including the one dating back to 1919 during the British Raj.

" It was a thrilling experience to get last day telegram. I had done telegram on 13th also, as I gotinformation that 13th is last day, in the morning 14th I got information that today is last day to booktelegram, I rushed to telegraph office & booked telegram once again". - Timir Shah

Dr Avinash B. Jagtap writes from Switzerland

Today I saw a comparative lengthy coverage given by BBC to the closing of the last TelegraphServices in India after 163 years... I felt as if I have lost a great personality....India was the last countryto close down the telegraph services !


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I share here a telegram sent by my friends when I passed my B.Pharm Examination from L.M.Collegeof Pharmacy Ahmedabad in 1957.... as a remembrance of this thankworthy services in India, whichconnected tears and smiles even with the rural folks of our motherland...

Prashant Pandya from Vadodara

The telegraphic service had touched many of us in some form or the other. Telegram remained as aneffective and fastest medium to communicate feelings varying from joy, sorrow, applause, tocelebrations for several years. Popularity of telegram service was severely affected by the advent ofe-mails and text messages in the last two decades. It is to be noted that after introduction of Internetthe telegraph service also became Web Based Telegraph Messaging System in India.

The closure of India's 162 year old telegraph service has sparked different kind of feelingsamong the citizens of India and also among the philatelists. People rushed to telegraphoffices to send a "nostalgic last telegram" to their loved ones during last few days before theclosure of service.

Telegram service was extensively used to convey sad news about death or good news about birth ofa child or to convey greetings on various occasions.

I remember, as a college going student I used telegram service to send greeting telegrams on variousoccasions to friends and relatives. I have seen people receiving a telegram always had a tinge of

sadness on their face. I also remember that I got the news of my sons birth through a telegram.

Though the telegram service is discontinued, we still have an alternative to telegram which isknown as ePost service, which was introduced in year 2001 by India Post. ePost ischeaper than telegram ant it is also transmitted through web based system, but thedisadvantage is ePostmessages are treated on par with the unregistered letters under theIndian Post Office Act, 1898. There is no time bound delivery and no compensation is givenin case the sender reports delay in delivery or non-delivery of ePost.


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Farewell to Telegrams

South India Philatelists Association released a special cover to bid farewell to the telegrams

Recent Indian Issues

3 May 2013 100 Years of Cinema - 50 stamps of Rs 5 each issued in six

miniature sheets

10 May 2013 Wild Ass of Kutchh & Ladakh Rs 5 & Rs 20 + MS

24 May 2013 Security and Exchange Board of India Rs 5

3 July 2013 Delhi Gymkhana Club Rs 5M

Forthcoming stamp by India Post


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India Post will release a commemorative stamp on Kerala Legislative Assembly

on 7 August 2013.

Recent Special Covers

5 June 2013 : Haritkeralam : World Environment Day , Thiruvanthapuram

20 June 2013 : Competition Commission of India , New Delhi

1 July 2013 : Vasantrao Phulsing Naik Mumbai 6 July 2013 : 10th Anniversary of Vigilance Study Circle, Hyderabad

9 July 2013 : Stamp Show : Gandhi & Tagore 2013, Patna11 July 2013 :100 years of

Mumbai Postal Co-Operative Society Ltd., Mumbai

9 July 2013 : Central Tuber Crops Research Institute - Thiruvananthapuram

11 July 2013 : 100 years of Mumbai Postal Co-Operative Society Ltd, Mumbai

23 July 2013 : Kempe Gowda Tower,Bangalore


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23 July 2013 : All India Radio, Chennai

23 July 2013 : 50th Anniversary of Lady Ratanbai and Sir Mathuradas Vissanji Academy

27 July 2013 : Madras Christian College Globus Alumni Meet, Chennai

In The News

New Pictorial Cancellation

A new pictorial cancellation on famous Kempegowda Tower of Bangalore was released on 23July 2013 from Basavangudi Head Post Office , Bangalore .On the occasion,a special cover wasalso released .

Chasing the telegraph

Parth Shastri, TNN | Jul 21, 2013,

AHMEDABAD: HG Wells famously said in the 19th century that the cardinal fact in the history of thepast fifty centuries has been the scope, pace and precision of inter-communication; everything else issubordinate. Nothing can be truer for the history of the telegraph in India. Started in 1851, the servicebreathed its last in the country one week ago.

While the SMS generation may be oblivious to how telegraphs shaped the world, right from India'ssepoy mutiny in 1857 to World War II which ended in 1945, two philatelists from the city -DhananjayDesai and Ilyas Patel - were intrigued by the service's history. They compiled anencyclopedic work 'Indian Telegraphs', meticulously tracing individual anecdotes and putting them

together in a masterful book.

Desai is a retired businessman and Patel a retired government engineer. Their common passion forstamps and postal paraphernalia led them to telegraph. The book traces the journey of the servicefrom 1851 to 1914 documenting its development into an individual service. The service later mergedwith the postal department.

"Diving into any hobby opens up many related subjects. The telegraph is hardwired in the history ofthe country. The British saw the opportunity this 'new' technology offered as an instrument to control avast country with fewer officers. During the revolt of 1857, the telegraph helped the British mobilize
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-Parth-Shastri.cmshttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-Parth-Shastri.cmshttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-Parth-Shastri.cms


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and concentrate troops at crucial times at cantonments in Delhi, Agra, Kanpur and Lucknow,ultimately suppressing the revolt. On later realizing that the first wired network had done them in, therebels destroyed 913 miles of telegraph lines, but the damage was done," says Desai.

India's first experiment with an electric telegram took place in 1839 after which the service developedin leaps and bounds. Lord Dalhousie paved the way for the Imperial Telegraph Department in 1850. Ayear later, British India's first telegraph line and office was opened in October 1851, between Calcutta

and Diamond Harbour along the busy shipping route on the Hooghly. By March 1854, there were 800miles of telegraph lines between Calcutta and Agra and this was further connected to Bombay andMadras. Overseas telegraph communication was made possible in 1865 by running cables along theseabed.

Patel says it is difficult to imagine how instrumental these short messages were in shaping thecommercial and military history of India. "We searched through 'The Bombay Times and Journal ofCommerce' and its successor 'The Times of India' for references and found plenty. The serviceromanced India for more than 160 years and set a number of landmarks in terms of the network,volume and services. It was heartening to see that the service did not die silently thanks tooverwhelming public interest," he says.

Rarest Chinese stamp sold for US $890,000

The rarest regularly-issued Chinese stamp the 1897 Red Revenue Small One Dollar Stamphas been sold for HK$6.9 million ($890,000) at an auction in Hong Kong, the auctioneers said .

With just 32 recorded copies, the Qing Dynasty 1897 Red Revenue Small One Dollar stamp isChinas rarest regularly-issued stamp, Interasia Auctions said in a press release. The bright redstamp, symbolising luck and good fortune in Chinese culture, is rare because the characters QingDynasty postal service, one dollar were considered too small, prompting the printing of a secondversion.

The stamp was part of a three-day auction of Chinese, Hong Kong and Asian stamps which endedMonday bringing in a total of HK$71.9 million, Interasia said. Philately has a special place in Chineseculture, with rare stamps regarded as important cultural icons and treasures, just like art, auction

house director Jeffrey Schneider said in the statement.A pnair of rare stamps bearing an accidentally


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inverted picture of Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-sen sold for more than $700,000 in Hong Konglast October.

Stamp Exhibition in Germany on Nature and Culture

From September 13th to September 15th 2013 a philatelic exhibition will be held in thecommunity Oepfershausen,Germany. Oepfershausen is situated in the rural region of the NatureReserve Rhn.

The title of the exhibition is "Nature and Culture " honoring the 20th anniversary of the CultureStation at Oepfershausen. The exhibition will be held in cooperation between the PhilatelicCollector Group Meaning(BSV),

The Staff of the Nature Reserve Rhn and the community of Oepfershausen with participation ofthe German Philatelic Collector Group ARGE ZOOLOGIE. 24 exhibitors from Germany and Italy willbe shown 26 exhibits in 45 frames. Two groups of philatelic friends of the Philatelic Collector GroupMeiningen from Italy and Poland will be visiting exhibition as guests of the BSV Meiningen.

National Commissioner from India for for PHILAKOREA 2014

PHILAKOREA-2014, World Philatelic Exhibition, 7- 12th August, 2014, Samseong 1-dong,Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea.Mr Surendra Kotadia has been appointed the National Commissioner from India. He may becontacted at following address :

Mr. Surendra Kotadia, Dimple Drums and Barrels Pvt. Ltd., 1119, Maker Chambers - V, 221, JamnalalBajaj Road, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400 021.Email:[email protected](M) + 919819903789 (O) + 91-22-22024130 / 31 (R) +91-22-23805125 / 3789

Philatelists, interested in participating in above exhibitions may contact Commissioner for moredetails.

International Philatelic Exhibitions

THAILAND 2013 - World Stamp Exhibition

THAILAND 2013, International Philatelic exhibition will be held in Thailand from 2 to 14 August 2013in Bangkok, under the patronage of FIP. The World Philatelic Exhibition will take place from 2 - 14

August 2013 at the Royal Paragon Hall 1-3, 5th floor, Siam Paragon, Bangkok. Mr. R D Binani as
http://www.philakorea.com/http://www.philakorea.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.philakorea.com/


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Commissioner for India, his address :33-B Rowland Road, Kolkata 700 020 E mail :[email protected]:9830073058Website : www.thailand2013.com

BRASILIANA-2013

WORLD STAMP EXHIBITIONBrasiliana

2013

will be held at PIER MAU in the city of Rio deJaneiro, Brazil from November 19 to 25, 2013 organized by the Brazilian Federation of Philately(FEBRAF) and Brazilian philatelists under the Patronage of Brazilian Enterprise of Posts andTelegraphs (ECT), in accordance with the F.I.P. General Regulations for Exhibitions.

Mr. Madhuk ar Jhingan is the National Comm issioner - India for BRAZIL 2013. e mail:

[email protected] Visit :http://brasiliana-2013.blogspot.com.br/

Read More..

Saudi 2013

The Saudi Arabia Philatelic Society is going to organize Saudi 2013 - 29th FIAP Asian InternationalStamp Exhibition. The Exhibition will be held at Kingdom Shopping Mall, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from11 - 16 December 2013. It will be a 6-day General Asian International Stamp exhibition and willincludes Traditional, Postal History, Youth, Literature and Modern Philately classes.

Website : http://www.saudi2013.com/
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.thailand2013.com/http://www.thailand2013.com/mailto:[email protected]://brasiliana-2013.blogspot.com.br/http://brasiliana-2013.blogspot.com.br/http://www.stampsofindia.com/Host/brasiliana2013.htmhttp://www.stampsofindia.com/Host/brasiliana2013.htmhttp://www.saudi2013.com/http://www.saudi2013.com/http://www.saudi2013.com/http://www.stampsofindia.com/Host/brasiliana2013.htmhttp://brasiliana-2013.blogspot.com.br/mailto:[email protected]://www.thailand2013.com/mailto:[email protected]


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Mr Umesh Kakkeri is the National Commissioner for this exhibition. He may be contacted at :Email:[email protected](M) +919969571767

New pictorial cancellations from Germany

On July 20th 2013 a new pictorial cancellation in 61239 Obermrlen will be available. Thecancellation is featuring a Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Bird of the year 2013 in Germany.

On August 8th 2013 a new pictorial cancellation will be issued at 29664 Walsrode in Germany.Thecancellation is featuring a European goldfinch(Carduelis carduelis

Interested philatelists may please contact :

Wolfgang Beyer,Vice Chairman of the German Collector Group ARGE ZOOLOGIE. Mail:[email protected] Postage rates: 0,75 Euro AIRMAIL, 2,80 Euro REGISTERED AIRMAIL..

Diwali postage stamp petitions submitted to US Postal Service

WASHINGTON: Efforts to have a Diwali postage stamp received a big push when over 1,300 letterpetitions, in addition to 400,00 signatures in an online campaign, were presented to US PostalService by influential lawmakers and community leaders at the Capitol Hill. A top postal officialhoped that the long awaited decision on this could come in as soon as two weeks.

Controversial French Stamp

A new version of the well-known French postal stamp picturing Marianne, a fictionalrevolutionary hero, has stirred debate after its designer explained that his inspiration was acontroversial Ukrainian feminist, now based in Paris."
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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The new French postage stamp, presented on Bastille Day by President Francois Hollande andavailable in all of the nations post offices, reportedly combines the physical and facial features of

Shevchenko and Marianne, the mythical embodiment of the French Revolution and republic and itsvalues as well as an allegory of liberty and reason. Marianne was made particularly famous after theartist Eugne Delacroix painted her bare-breasted in the painting La Libert Guidant Le Peuple(Liberty Leading the People) in the Revolution of 1830.

The image on the stamp, co-created by French artist and gay-rights activist Olivier Ciappa andillustrator David Kowena, was also influenced by Renaissance art, French comic strips and even thegraphic novels of Japanese manga. Ciappa told Agence France-Presse that he thinks Shevchenko isan appropriate model for the stamp since the mythical Marianne would have been a member ofFEMEN if such an organization had existed in her time. (It is instructive to note that Shevchenko andher fellow FEMEN cohorts often bare their breasts during their well-orchestrated public protests).

"My Marianne is one of several different women's faces, but the main inspiration was InnaShevchenko, Ciappa said. As her struggle is a manifestation of French values" -- liberty, equality,fraternity.

Each new French president chooses a new image of Marianne to appear on stamps during his five-year term. But the choice of stamp this time was somewhat unusual as it was left to the discretion of apanel of high school students, who selected three designs. The final decision was made by Hollande.

As the depiction of Marianne is more youthful than in her previous incarnations, Hollande said hewanted the stamp to reflect the promises he made to help the countrys younger generation. Idecided following my election that the republic's new stamp would have the face of youth, that it wouldbe created by youth, and that it would be chosen by youth, Ho llande said.

To celebrate the new stamp, on its website FEMEN slightly altered Frances famous national mottoLibert, galit, Fraternit to Libert, galit, FEMEN. FEMEN also said that the stamp reflects itsuncompromising struggle against patriarchy and aesthetics of sextremism.

But not everyone is pleased with this manipulation of Frances national emblem. Christine Boutin, theformer leader of the Christian Democratic Party -- a center-right party -- and a former minister underex-President Nicolas Sarkozy, has called for a boycott of the stamp, stating that the image provides abad example to French youth and blamed Hollande. "[The stamp] is an affront to the dignity of womenand the sovereignty of France," the Christian Democrat party said in a statement. A group called


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French Spring that opposes gay marriage tweeted: Are there not enough beautiful and emblematicwomen in France that we have to import our models from Ukraine?"

For Hollande, already reeling from low opinion polls over the poor state of the economy, the stampcould prove to become yet another thorn in his side. An avowed supporter of same-sex marriage (orwhat the French call le marriage pour tous -- marriage for everybody), Hollande was booed duringSundays Bastille Day parade in Paris by conservatives and Catholics over his stances on social

issues.

Read More....

2013 EUROPA Stamps Competition !

PostEurop presents the 2013 Europa stamps entries for the theme Van of the Postman inconjunction with PostEurops 20th Anniversary and declares the 2013 EUROPA stamps competitionofficially open!

Europa stamps emphasize the co-operation between postal operators, particularly in promotingphilately to further contribute and raise public awareness on European common roots, culture andhistory as well as its common objectives.

From n ow ti l l 31 August, it is now u p to y ou (the voters) to vote for the mo st beauti fu l Europa

stamp 2013.

For voting, Please visit :http://www.posteurop.org/europa2013
http://www.ibtimes.com/new-postage-stamp-combining-features-legendary-marianne-femen-leader-sparks-outrage-france-1349471http://www.ibtimes.com/new-postage-stamp-combining-features-legendary-marianne-femen-leader-sparks-outrage-france-1349471http://www.posteurop.org/europa2013http://www.posteurop.org/europa2013http://www.posteurop.org/europa2013http://www.posteurop.org/europa2013http://www.ibtimes.com/new-postage-stamp-combining-features-legendary-marianne-femen-leader-sparks-outrage-france-1349471


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RPSL Regional Meeting

Regional meeting of RPSL was held at New Delhi on 29 June 2013.The meeting was a great successas 11 new members have applied for membership. Meeting was started with new member'senrollment and introduction where Markand Dave honored and welcome Mr. Anils Suri by offering himthe RPSL badge. A tribute was given to Mr. Jeffrey Brown on his sudden death, Doyen of Indian

AeroPhilately . Mr Somani brought an excellent example of QV - East India used from Malcca,cancelled with B-109 , an unrecorded example in SG which was an exceptional item enjoyed by themembers very well. Mr. Harsh Gupta's 1929 Airmail cover - Redirected more than 7 times was again agreat pleasure for members- Mr. Anil Suri's Gold Medal winning collection of Indian states - Cochinwas also on display. Mr.Markand Dave's presentation sheets of Danish Sett in India was very muchappreciated . He also displayed his articles on 1854 India Lithograph stamps.

Special Cover on Tagore and Gandhi

India Post, Bihar Circle and Rabindra Parishad released a Special. cover on Gandhi & Tagore on 09July 2013 at Rabindra Bhawan Patna. The special Cover depicts a photograph of Bapu, Baa& Tagore at Shantiniketan in Spring festival (Basanta Utsav) Kolkata, and where Mahatma Gandhi

and Kasturba were the Chief guests and Spl. cancellation impression shows Tagore's Nobel prizeMedal .

The covers are available at Philatelic Bureau Patna GPO @ 50/ per piece through Counter or Mailorder. Kindly send Money Order to the Chief Postmaster Patna GPO Patna 800001. Ph. 0621 -2236937

DiscussionWhy do stamp collectors like errors?

Sometimes discovering philatelic errors is easy, particularly when examples have beenidentified and are accurately described. This is not always the case and many hours can bespent searching philatelic material to find that illusive mistake. Such items are keenly soughtby collectors who need to satisfy a unique personal desire.

Why do we find printers mistakes so alluring? It was around the turn of the last Century that the so-called French Method of collecting became fashionable, no longer did the best collections simplyaspire to total completion but the proofs, drawings, subtle colour changes, plate alterations & damage,


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and all the other fascinating stuff that makes our hobby so interesting became de rigueur in thehighest collecting circles, but errors were already popular long before then...

THE RAREST ERROR is widely considered to be the world second most valuable stamp. TheSwedish 1855 3 skilling-banco printed in yellow instead of the correct green colour. It was discoveredin 1885 by a Stockholm stamp dealer who bought the stamp from an unsuspecting schoolboy. Thestamp has been shrouded in controversy but it has been a famous error for over 100 years and it is

generally accepted that a single 3sk clich had found its way into a printing of the 8sk orange- yellow.Back in those early days of stamp production anything was possible!

DIFFERENT TYPES OF ERRORS exist, mistakes made by the printer are the most dramatic,perhaps the most well- known of these is the American so-called INVERTED JENNY stamp. TheUnited States issued a set of Air Post stamps in 1918, the top value was a splendid 24c depicting aCurtiss Jenny biplane in blue within a red frame. The day after issue a stamp collector, Mr William T.Robey visited his local post office to purchase a sheet each of these first airmail stamps. He didnt likethe centering of the sheets available so at the suggestion of the clerk he returned later that day andwas amazed to find a complete sheet of 100 24c values with the plane upside- down!

This discovery, perhaps more than any other in philately convinced collectors to carefully check newly

issued stamps for printing errors! A block of four from this sheet is currently the most valuablephilatelic item.

DESIGN ERRORS CAN BE FUN (AND DANGEROUS) as they are often mass- produced the mistakecan be available to thousands of collectors, a typical example would be the Monaco 1947 Air Poststamps depicting President Roosevelt inspecting his stamp collection look closely and you will seehe has been given SIX fingers by the engraver! Sometimes design errors can be a lot more serious,for example the Peoples Republic of China issued, during the height of the Cultural Revolution an 8fstamp known as the Whole Country is Red depicting workers with a map of China coloured red however Taiwan was left in white, a terrible mistake (albeit accurate as the Communists nevercontrolled the island). The stamp was withdrawn after 2 days and is a renowned rarity. There is norecord of what befell the hapless designer...

During the 1960s many other countries saw exciting (and less dangerous!) new concepts in stampproduction with modern multi coloured artistic designs. Printing errors occurred and many collectorsspecialise in locating examples from this period including missing colours & and incorrect values (toname just a couple). The choice is virtually endless. Perhaps one of the most infamous errors fromthat period would be the Falkland Island 1964 6d stamp depicting HMS Glasgow instead of HMSKent. Examples of the error are extremely rare with only seventeen known to exist. The committedcollector will still seek to find number eighteen!

Collectors follow their desires. Psychologists have identified a need in many of us to acquire andcollect. Philatelic errors probably fulfill those who may possess that particular gene! This could be justone of the many reasons why stamp collectors like errors but there must be many other reasons.Compulsive collectors cannot bear distractions, just as my friend focused on the details of the

Australian discovery, they are immersed in their subject and driven by the need to accumulate andacquire. Philatelic errors offer just such an opportunity. Human nature relishes and thrives on thesearch, the hunt, the hope of finding something unique, the use of the sharp eye and discovering theunexpected. This alone makes the subject more exciting, dramatic and also challenges the dull imagethat is often associated with stamp collecting !

Read More.
http://www.sandafayre.com/philatelicarticles/errors.htmlhttp://www.sandafayre.com/philatelicarticles/errors.htmlhttp://www.sandafayre.com/philatelicarticles/errors.html


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Beginners Section

Social Philately is a new class in the exhibitions. There is no clear guideline to develop acollection for this class. The philatelists are rather confused about this class. While Net

surfing I came across this article and found it very useful for the readers .I am sharing herefor the beginners of this class. The article was originally published inUK Philately.- Edito r

What is a Social Philately ??

Social Philately is a fairly new concept in collecting, although it can probably be said that it hasexisted within the hobby for many years, but not recognised within the various classes ofcollecting. Generally speaking Ephemera, or Collateral Material, within a collection of postalhistory; aerophilately; and thematics, may be considered as components of the social aspects.These collateral materials postcards; official documents; shipping and airline routes;

commercial services etc., not only add interest to the collection but frequently enhance the story,often forming the basic framework on which the philatelic items are constructed.

The idea is to link the social/economic history to the historical content of philately. The aim ofSocial Philately is to present a historical story, or to illustrate the relevance or impact of thepostal system within society.

You can tell the story of the development of a town or country by using the stamps, covers anddocuments; likewise the historical background to an important event (eg. The Olympic Games,the American Revolution, the English Civil War, the Siege of Paris, etc.) can be brought to life ina collection of Social Philately. Social conventions, such as sending Valentines, or thedevelopment of a business or industry (such as the timber, textile, mining or brewing industries)

can also be subjects for a Social Philately collection.

Getting Started

Step 1. Choose your subject - if you already collect stamps or postal history you may have itemswhich are sideline to your main collection, and which could be incorporated into it. Alternatively,you might have a special interest which would lend itself as a theme - ask other collectors ordealers at fairs to gauge how much material might be available in your chosen area. Try not to
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pick a topic which has a scarcity of material available, or you may become easily frustrated !

Step 2. Look for philatelic items and non-philatelic items which relate directly to your topic.Remember - the wider the variety of items, the more enjoyable your collection will be to you, andothers! The items listed under What to Collect are just some of those possible - Stamp andPostcard magazines, for example, can give you lots of ideas on the range of philatelic materialavailable.

Step 3. Arrange the material in a sequence which makes your story flow - this may bechronologically, or by grouping items together. This is your Plan and is most important if youintend to display your collection. Step 4. Mount your items on album pages, using stamp hingesor corner mounts for envelopes, postcards, etc.

What to collect?

Social Philately represents a study of the development of social systems and products derived fromthe operation of postal systems. It includes material which can be included in other classes of philatelyas well as non-philatelic items which are directly related to the operations and products of a postalsystem, either as post office equipment or as material developed by commerce to use or reflect postoffice services and products.

A social philately collection forming the history of Philatelic Exhibition could be advanced by theinclusion of tickets, catalogues, souvenirs, etc. The British Philatelic Exhibitions have used a variety of


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venues during their colourful history.

Examples of Social Philately

Airgraphs; Airline & Shipping Routes; Aspects of the effect of the postal system on commerce or industry;Greeting Cards including Valentines; Illustrated Advertising and Pictorial Envelopes (including Patriotic Covers;Letterheads; Trade cards; etc.)

Locality studies based on postal and social history using the materials of Social Philately; Objects associatedwith postage stamps and their use (letter balances, stamp boxes, model post office implements etc);

Officially issued documents bearing illustrations of postage stamps; Philatelic History other than literature(including albums, hinges, perforation gauges etc, the impedimenta of philately); PHQ Cards -objects associatedwith postage stamps and their use; Post Office and Official office stationery (without imprinted stamp); TelegramServices.

Developing the collectionAs you can see from the previous examples, almost anything can be included into a Social

Philately collection. Of course there are practical considerations of how to display your material, especially if youare entering your collection as a competitive exhibit. But solely from the point of view of collecting, the range andscope of the material is only limited by YOUR IMAGINATION! Remember -You do not need to be anexperienced philatelist to be a collector of Social Philately, the emphasis is on history and society - not thepostal rates or the different stamp printings !

Try to organise your collection so that it tells a story, with a beginning a middle and an end, rather than justan accumulation of material of all the same subject. Find out as much as you can about your chosen theme.Youd be surprised how much easier it is to find relevant material that belongs in you collection, once you reallystudy your subject. If it is work or hobby related you probably know quite a lot about your chosen subjectalready. If it is a completely new concept then there will be the further challenge of not only finding suitablephilatelic and ephemera type material for your fledgling collection, but finding information about the subject aswell. Research the local Library, or if you have access to a computer the Internet is a useful research tool. Buildup as much data about your topic as possible, that way it will become easier to find the relevant philatelic andnon-philatelic material to fit your theme.

Remember, the function of the non-philatelic material is to amplify, and not merely to add an element of

decoration to the collection.

Exhibiting Social PhilatelyOnce the basic collection has been formed, some collectors are keen to display or exhibit their work. Local: A

good place to start is the local club or Society, most have an annual competition and many are including SocialPhilately to encourage more participation. National: Social Philately as a UK National level Class made its debutat Glasgow 2000. It was introduced to enable exhibitors who wish to enter exhibits based on a theme related tosocial history, Up to 50% of non-philatelic material was allowed to be included. Today, this Class has beendropped in favour of the OPEN CLASS which has much the same rules and concept. International: Many


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international exhibitions are now including an experimental or Open Class in their shows.

Anyone wishing more information on collecting, displaying, or exhibiting Social Philately should contacttheAssociation of British Philatelic Societies. c/o RPSL, 41, Devonshire Place, London W1G 6JY.

Read More

Specialized Section

Some remarkable Cancellations and Postmarks11

- Dr. Avinash B. Jagtap

The First Duplex Cancellation containing Renouf Type 7 for Bengal

This obliterator is composed of three complete octagons, one within the other. There is anincomplete octagon springing from either end of the horizontal line below the letter B. The width ofthe obliterator is 19 mm. This type is found in a singular and duplex forms. The earliest date is

August 1861, numbers recorded are: 1 (Wellesley Street/Calcutta), 51 (Burrisaul), 52 (Moharajgunge),"62 (Dacca)", 144 (Patna), 183 (Nya Doomka), 269 (Battery/Chittagong). An interesting and rare

variety shows B/1 in duplex form, with a void space of 10 mm between the right and left duplex.
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1861 Cover from Calcutta to Liverpool (England) cancelled by B/1 duplex RenoufType 7a, showingthree complete octagons and one arising from each end of the horizontal line below B is incomplete.The above letter shows the cancellation Type 7a in a duplex form with a space of 10mm between theleft and right duplex. This total d uplex cancel lat ion con taining 7a to the r ight and the

town -name to on the lef t hand together forms Renou f Type7b.

On the front is the Foreign Mail Mark INDIA / PAID (T.64a). Back-stamped: STAMPED &FORWARDED/ GLADSTONE WYLLIE & CO. /CALCUTTA cachet of the Forwarding Agent andarrival mark of A5/LIVERPOOL/JA 6/62. Postal Charge Paid: 6 As, as per 3 July 1861 rate for lettersnot exceeding half an ounce for UK via Marseilles.

- Dr. Avinash Jagtap - email : [email protected]

Telegram, Telegram, Telegram

Cover Courtesy Prashant Pandya

Indian Telegraph - End of an era

- Prashant Pandya
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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For most people telegrams are merely a memory or something they saw in an old movie. We nowhave far more efficient ways of sending messages such as emails and texts - but nothing quite aselegant and dramatic as the vintage telegram.

Telegraphy word was coined from Greek words tele means at a distance and graphein ()means to write.

Facts & figures:

1794: The non-electric telegraph was invented by Claude Chappe.

1809: The first electrical telegraph was invented in Bavaria by Samuel Soemmering.

1825: British inventor William Sturgeon revealed an invention of the electromagnet.

1828: The first telegraph in the USA was invented by Harrison Dyar who sent electrical sparks

through chemically treated paper tape to burn dots and dashes.

1830: Joseph Henry demonstrated the potential of William Sturgeon's electromagnet for long

distance communication by sending an electronic current over one mile of wire to activate an

electromagnet which caused a bell to strike.

1837: Samuel F. B. Morse and his assistant Alfred Vail successfully exploited the electromagnet and

bettered Joseph Henry's invention and created the Morse Code which sent signals in Morse to

produce written codes on a strip of paper which was known as Morse Code and that were translated

into alphabetic letters.

1900: Fredick G. Creed, devised a machine that could punch holes in a paper telegraph tape direct

from a typewriter-style keyboard.

1932: UK was the first country to set up a service Telex Service.

Telegraph Service in India:

1850: The first experimental electric telegraph line was started between Calcutta and Diamond

Harbour.

1851: It was opened for the use of the British East India Company

1854: A separate department was opened for telegraph facilities.

1885: The Indian Telegraph Act was introduced in India

1902: India drastically changed from cable telegraph to wireless telegraph.

1914: On 1st April, 1914 Post Office and Telegraph departments were merged and Indian Posts and

Telegraph Department was formed.

1949: India introduced Hindi script telegrams.


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1985: From 1st January 1985 Post Offices were separated from Telegraph and department was

bifurcated in to Department of Posts and Department of Telecommunications.

2000: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) was established by the Government of India, which

provides a wide range of telecommunication services including Telegrams.

2010: In order to keep pace with technological developments BSNL introduced Web Based

Telegraph Messaging System in India by 31st March 2010. The WTMS changed the way of sendingtelegrams through computers.

2010: Realizing the declining usage of Telegraph Services, the Establishment branch of BSNL

Corporate Office defined Telegraph Services as diminishing services vide the circular No. 19-

1/2009/TE-II dated 19-02-2010.

2011: The international telegraph service was terminated by BSNL on April 30, 2011.

2013: BSNL decided to discontinue the Telegram Service and issued circular on 11.06.2013. It was

also requested to all telegraph offices to take photograph of booking of five telegrams message with

sender of telegrams and all the staff working on WMTS on 14.07.2103 i.e. last working day of

telegrams and to keep record of such photographs in album and to send one set of such photographsto Sr. GM. Office.

2013: With effect from July 13, 2013, 162 years old telegraph service discontinued in India.

Closure of telegraph service in various countries:

1982: In UK telegram service was taken out of use on 30th September 1982.

1999: New Zealand closed its telegram service in 1999. It later reinstated the service in 2003 for use

only by business customers.

2002: Ireland discontinued telegram service on 30th July 2002.

2006: Pakistan withdrew telegram and telex service in the first week of January 2006. 2006: United

States closed its telegram service on 27th January 2006.

2007: Lithuania closed it on 15th October 2007.

2009: Nepal closed the service on 1st January 2009.

2011: Australia closed its telegram service on 7th March, 2011. 2012: Malaysia ceased its telegram service effective 1st July 2012.


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Philatelic Tribute to telegraph service

Souvenir Sheet showing five obsolete telegraph stamps and two commemorative stamps were issuedto commemorate Telegraph Centenary on 1st November 1953.

Stamp issued to commemorate Centenary of Indo-European Telegraph Service issued on 9.11.1967.

:http://www.indianphilately.net/travelogue.html: Prashant Pandya : email :[email protected]

Telegram. 15thJuly2013 R.I.P

-Vikas Singh

The golden era of telegram was ushered in the year 1850 when under William O'Shaughnessy asurgeon by profession, Asias first telegraph line between Kolkata and Diamond Harbour was laid.
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With a length of just 43.5km, the line was opened in 1851 for exclusive use by the British East IndiaCompany. The succeeding years saw phenomenal growth of telegraph services, with 6,400 km oftelegraph lines being laid in the next few years connecting Kolkata and Peshawar with major Indiancities like Agra, Mumbai Chennai and Bangalore. In 1854 telegraph facilities were opened for use bythe common man.

Even after the telephone system was launched in India in 1882, telegraph continued to remain the

most popular system of communication. Over the years, telegrams have played an important role indefining our nation's history.

Sir Robert Montgomery, a British administrator in colonial India, had remarked after the mutiny of1857 The electric telegraph has saved India." HC Fanshawe's Delhi: Past and Present published in1902 provides a brief account of the "incident of the Telegraph Office". On the morning of 11 thMay1857, the telegraph master, Mr Todd, left early in the morning to see what was wrong with theline which had been cut by the mutineers. He was met and murdered by them. His two assistants,Brendish and Pilkington, remained at the Telegraph office till two o'clock in the afternoon and fromtime to time, informed the Ambala office of what was going on in Delhi. As fighting spread they wereadvised to retreat to the Flagstaff Tower. About three in the afternoon Brendish returned to the officefrom the Flagstaff Tower which was by now under siege, and sent the following message to Ambala:

We must leave office. All the bungalows are being burnt down by the Sepoys from Meerut. Theycame in this morning Mr Todd is dead I think. He went out this morning and has not returned Weare off.

This telegram enabled Montgomery who was the Judicial Commissioner at Lahore to disarm thenative troops before the news of the revolt reached the barracks; and to flash the warning over thelines to Peshawar. Narrowly escaping capture by the mutineers, Brendish later joined the Meerut LightHorse and subsequently the Bengal Yeomanry Cavalry. In 1902, at the unveiling of the TelegraphMemorial obelisk by the Viceroy, Lord Curzon, he was honoured with the investiture of the Medal ofthe Victorian Order. He died in Calcutta in 1907. The other signaller, Pilkington, died 10 years afterthe revolt in Roorkee on March 24, 1867

This heroic effort by the two signallers was later commemorated by 20-foot obelisk, The TelegraphMemorial. Made of gray granite, it was unveiled on April 19, 1902 by Lord Curzon, Viceroy andGovernor General of India. Speaking on the occasion he said Finally it gives me great pleasure, asthe representative of our illustrious Sovereign, to pin this medal of the Victorian Order onto the breastof William Brendish, the survivor of those immortal days. I felt that in his Coronation year His Majestywould like to honour this old and faithful servant who helped to save the British Empire in India nearlyhalf a century gone by; and accordingly I wrote to His Majesty and placed before him the facts of thecase. He sent me this medal in reply, and asked me to confer it, with an expression of his graciousinterest and esteem, upon the retired veteran who earned fame as a young lad in those imperishablescenes that were enacted within a few hundred yards of this very spot forty five years ago. I nowgladly comply with His Majesty's behest as regards Brendish, and I also proceed to unveil thisMonument to commemorate the loyal and devoted services of Delhi Telegraph office staff, on the

eventful 11th May 1857.


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1.Kashmeri gate Post Office, Delhi 2. Central Telegraph Office, Delhi 3. Telegraph Memorial

The Telegraph memorial can still be seen today at the busy intersection near the Kashmeri gate postoffice.

On 4 September, 1947, the British Chief of Staff of Jammu and Kashmir State Forces submitted areport on armed Muslim residents, infiltrating into the State. On receipt of this report the PrimeMinister of Kashmir sent a telegram to the Chief Minister of West Punjab to take prompt action. TheDeputy Commissioner of Rawalpindi replied to this note on behalf of the Chief Minister, West Punjabdenying that the raiders had moved into Kashmir." No infiltration has been seen by any of my officersor village officials anywhere at various points. I do not expect any trouble of any kind. TheGovernment of Kashmir then conveyed to Pakistan that if raids were not stopped it would be left withno alternative but to seek help from others to protect the life and the property of his subjects. Thismade Pakistan suspect that state could accede to the Indian Dominion. Organised massive raid of thetribesmen took place on 21-22 October, after which the Maharaja, finally decided to ask for help fromIndia, on 24 October. The request of the State Government for military assistance was considered byIndia's Defence Committee on 25 October. Jawaharlal Nehru sent a telegram to the then British PrimeMinister, Clement Attlee, We have received urgent appeal for assistance from Kashmir government.We would be disposed to give favourable consideration to such request from any friendly state.Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India on 26thOctober1947.

When Gandhi was assassinated in the year 1948, the Centre sent telegrams to all presidencies andprincely states. The message read "Government of India. Regret. Mahatma Gandhi was victim ofshooting outrage. Gandhiji expired yesterday evening. Cremation will take place Saturday 4 pm.Prime minister has broadcast Saturday 31st be observed as day of fasting and prayer. Suggestsoffices should close entirely and flags half-mast from sunrise."

However, with rapid development and advent of newer modes of communication like mobile phones,fax and internet; it was only a matter of time before Telegraph was to die a slow death. BSNL tookcharge of the loss making telegram services from the Department of posts in 1990. The Morse codeservice was abolished in 1994. Then electronic keyboard concentrators (EKBC) which used secondgeneration computers with huge hard discs were then used to send telegrams. An electronicteleprinter received the messages on rolls of paper which was then cut and pasted on forms anddelivered. In 1996 BSNL started using web-based telegraph mailing service which used emails toconvey messages. The server of this computerised system used to be at Thiruvananthapuram.

Due to bifurcation of post and telegraph there were fewer telegram receiving centres. The last milebetween the recipient and the receiving point nearest to him was now bridged by ordinary mail. BSNLtried to make up for the consolidated losses by raising the fees in May 2011. In the first hike in over 60years telegram charges for inland services were raised to Rs 27.50 from then prevailing ridiculouslylow charge of Rs 4.50. But even this steep rise in fees could not make the service viable. BSNL


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stopped international telegrams services from 30th April, 2011. From over 60,000 Telegraph offices inmid 80s the number had shrunk to less than 75 in 2011.

Brass Plate of the CTO, Kolkata

Most of the Central telegraphs Offices (CTOs) were located in heritage buildings. CTO, Delhi waslocated in 1920s built colonial building designed by R.T. Russel. With its three storied block in stuccoplaster and Etruscan columns, it once served as guest house. CTO, Kolkata was located in buildingbuilt in 1873. With its slender Corinthian columns, decorative tablets over doors and windows and aremarkable campanile that stands at thirty six metres with two mock chimneys to its left, it is one ofthe finest surviving examples of Victorian era. The CTO Mumbai was located in a beautiful buildingconstructed in Victorian Gothic style. The building was inaugurated in 1870 for accommodating theGeneral Post Office. It was converted to Central Telegraph Office in 1909 when the GPO was shiftedto the present GPO building It used to face the sea until reclamation took place and a series of ArtDeco structures beginning from Eros cinema to the buildings on the Marine Drive front came up.

Finally with few takers for the telegram services and high cost of operations, BSNL stopped telegramservices from 15thJuly2013. The last telegram was booked at 10pm at various centres across thecountry. And with it ended the glorious era of telegram in India.

Footnote

On 14th July at 10pm, telegram services stopped in India. At some offices people protested againstthis closure, at some other offices the staff got an opportunity to go on strike in protest! In someoffices the staff cried because they suddenly found themselves without the luxury of getting fatsalaries without having to do anything. In some other offices the gullible common man distributedsweets to the staff. At Central Telegraph Office (CTO) New Delhi the media channels vied with eachother to do their two bit story. People suddenly became nostalgic and started singing the virtues ofTelegram the moment they saw any reporter. Some even pretended to protest against the closure byprotesting violently.

But in this entire episode nobody bothered to do a reality check. Like hundreds of other people (in thisnation of billions) I too wanted for myself a piece of postal history. So I asked my friend in Kolkata tosend me telegram. She sent one Telegram on 5th July from CTO, Kolkata. On 12th she sent twomore telegrams again from the same CTO. None of them have arrived so far. I too sent Telegrams on11th and 13th July from CTO, New Delhi. Both didn't arrive. I took my 12 year son to CTO, NewDelhi on 14th so that he could see a piece of postal history before it disappeared for ever. We stood inthe queue and after a long wait of 3 hrs, finally managed to send the telegram. Even that telegramnever reached us. 5 telegrams, sent from two different cities. None of them reached their destination.100% failure rate. Long live BSNL and long live Department of Posts. Both have managed to provehow the government has been taking us for a ride for the past so many years by spending tax payershard earned money on a pathetic service that should have been killed decades ago!!

Vikas Singhis a professional rail philatelist and amateur numismatist. A tea enthusiast andserious Tintinologist, he holds Limca Book record for largest collection of tea. He also holds aGuinness record for his collection of Tintin comics in 102 languages. His articles on Tea,


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Train and Tintin have been published in various national and international magazines andjournals. He can be contacted at email :[email protected]

Ta, ta dear Telegram- Bhumika K.

I am sharing this article here which will take you to the Telegraph office of Bangalore andwould reveal the story behind a telegram.Its working and operation over the years Editor

Katta katta, kada katta, kada kadaits not a language we will understand easily. But, for mostemployees of the countrys telegraph department, it comes as easily as their mother-tongue. Its thesound of the language of Morse Code, the secret code of telegrams that only the trained knew. Ofcourse I remember it its like learning cycling or swimming. You never forget it for life, says an

employee at the BSNLs telegraph office in Bangalore, with pride.

While telegraph department employees wont forget this service so entwined with their life, we havebeen quick to bury this 160-year-old telegram service, with faster means of connectivity entering ourlives. Having been perceived as obsolete and loss-making in an age of mobile phones and theInternet have taken away the urgency of communication that was once the privy of telegrams, itmakes a nostalgic exit.

Morse Code, the romantic language of telegrams, was in use in the country up to 1990. The sounderin the mechanism would strike the same sound at the other end as was created at the telegram-sending end. The person had to hear with concentration and decode the message. There were codesfor alphabets, numerals and punctuation.

All the employees currently in Bangalores telegraph department, have been trained in Morse Code,because most started their service before they were 25, when the code was still in use. They weretrained first through an eight-month English Morse and tele-printing course. The rigorous traininglasted seven hours a day for eight months. Then came a four-month stint of Hindi Morse training.There were two Telegraph Training Centres in Karnataka at Mysore and at Hubli.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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When we entered service, most employees were Anglo-Indians; some British officials who were inthe British service were also there till they retired. It was a job of great discipline. A small mistake andwe would get a memo, recalls another employee. Knowledge of English was mandatory, as also agood handwriting. Because we would hand-write the message we received, and deliver it!

Talking of the regular users of the telegram, apart from the layman who often used it to send

messages of birth or death, an employee directs his attention at newspapers. We worked on a telexsystem on a dial up circuit. Each newspaper press had a separate number. We would get weatherand rainfall reports, and prices of commodities from the district correspondents even importantevent reports from the taluks. The department would be invited to set up a camp office on locationwhen there was a political meeting like the AICC sessions, or cricket matches, billiards or golftournaments, so that reporters could transmit their reports from the spot.

But the telegram was a highly regarded means of communication because it was a governmentchannel If one sent a telegram, it was an authentic record, points out an officer whos been with thedepartment for 30 years. Private loan companies that lend out money and are unable to getrepayment, seize owners vehicles, and send a telegram to the police! Thats also for authentication.Court stay orders are sent as telegrams. Its a government channel.

While most of us associate the department of posts and telegraph together, in 1986, the departmentsplit, and telegrams went over to the department of telecommunications, which later became BSNL.

From the more mechanical devices used to send out telegrams, the country slowly progressedtowards electronic variations. We would work 24 hours, recalls a veteran at the department. Anaverage employee was able to send 30 to 100 messages per hour. Pressure was a big factor in ourlives, he says! Gradually, with a widespread telephone network in the country, the department startedoffering a phone-o-gram service where you could place a telegram over the phone from your home ifyou had a BSNL landline; it was charged to your phone bill. When computers came into the picture,the Web Based Telegraph Message Switching System came, and is the system currently in use. To

the taluks without Internet access, it goes by teleprinter.

Its not like telegrams went kaput the moment mobiles and the Internet spread their wings. Thisofficial channel status that telegrams commanded meant that when MLAs from all over the stateneed to be called in for a meeting or special assembly session, it was the telegram that was dashedoff. Why, even after the recent 2013 state assembly election in Karnataka, we sent out 224 telegramsto the MLAs. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) in their recent recruitmentdrive in 2013 also sent out 2,000 telegrams. The Indian Army regularly uses the telegram service tosend messages on recruitment, leave whether its granted or not granted and other suchpurposes, to record it. And for the Army, the payment is collected from the Army headquarters inCalcutta!

Some employees nostalgically point out: We should have retained the service. Its a public need. Thepostcard is priced at 50 paisa and the government incurs a loss on it. Yet the postcard remains in usebecause its an obligation and service to society. The telegram service should also be retained as aservice to people of the country.

Ever since the Indian Government announced that the telegram service in India will breathe its last onJuly 15, there has been furious activity in the department. The desire to send that one last keepsaketelegram is on. Specially ones where nostalgic parents have sent it to Gen Y saying: This may be the


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first telegram you receive, and the last. I hope you keep it as a memory of an era gone by. You maynever understand its real meaning, you have no idea how it feels to receive one

Read More

New Issues from other countries

Australia

22 July 2013 : Birth of a Prince : Instant stamp from Australia Post

This instant stamp sheetlet from Australia Post celebrates the birth of a Prince to the Duke andDuchess of Cambridge on 22 July at 4.24pm BST. The newest member of the Royal Family wasintroduced to the world the next day on the steps of the hospital, with his proud parents. The Dukeand Duchess of Cambridge have since named their son George Alexander Louis.

The stamp features an image of the Royal couple leaving St Mary's Hospital Paddington with theirnewly-born son. The birth of a future monarch is always a highly anticipated event and the child of theDuke and Duchess of Cambridge, who will be third in line to the throne after Prince Charles andPrince William, was no exception.

Hungary

20 June 2013 World Fencing Championship
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Magyar Posta issued a commemorative stamp with a label to mark the World FencingChampionships to be held in Budapest between 5 and 12 August 2013. The stamp design shows twofencers competing in a bout with a birds-eye view of the strip, the area where the competitors fence,in the background printing. The label at the side of the stamp honours the centennial of the foundationof the International Fencing Federation.

15 June 2013 Hungary Azerbaijan Joint Issue

Magyar Posta and Azermarka issued a joint miniature sheet featuring the peacock motifoften used in the applied folk art of both countries . Cross stitch embroidery fromTransdanubia is featured on a light background on one of the stamps of the miniaturesheet, and a detail from a horse blanket from the Caucasus is shown on the other.

South Africa

14 June 2013 The African Fish Eagle

South Africa Post issued a souvenir sheet featuring African Fish Eagle It is a part of theSouth African Post Offices bird series . This is the first lenticular stamp issued by South

Africa. In 2012, the African Fish Eagle was named Bird of the Year one of several initiativesby Bird Life South Africa aiming to raise awareness about birds, their habitat andconservation.


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The African Fish EagleThe African Fish Eagle is one of the most widespread birds of prey south of the Sahara and isofficially acknowledged by many African nations. A very distinctive bird in flight, the white head,neck, upper belly, and tail contrast sharply with the chestnut and black body feathers.

The African Fish Eagle is most frequently found at the rivers, dams, lakes and estuaries of Africasouth of the Sahara. Although they can hunt at any time of the day, they usually do so in the earlymorning for about two hours. Fish make up 90% of their diet, while the other 10% consists of youngwater birds or carrion. They are able to snatch fish weighing 1.5 kg, carrying them off in flight.

Anything heavier and weighing up to 3 kg (roughly the same mass as their own body) is caught andplaned across the water onto the shore. It takes an average of eight strikes for a successful catch.

In 2012, the African Fish Eagle was Bird of the Year one of several initiatives by Bird Life SouthAfrica aiming to create awareness about birds, their habitat and conservation.

The flight of the African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) stamp sheet was issued as part of the SouthAfrican Post Offices bird series. For the first time in South Africa the lenticular technique is applied tothe stamps.

What is a lent icular?

According to Paul Meijboom from Joh Enschede Printers in the Netherlands, a lenticular is acombination of a special lens and an arrayed image that simulates animation or depth. Autostereoscopic images refer to pictures that take advantage of how the human eye processes the two

images that the left and right eyes receive. They interpret them as depth and three-dimensionality. Alenticular uses the movement of our bodies in relation to produce a pseudo-hologram that looks like aperson running, an apple popping out of a flat poster, or a distant car approaching.

Monaco

10 July 2013 Monacophil2013 & Grand Bourse 2 val


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A major international event, MonacoPhil 2013 will be held from 5th to 7 thDecember on the FontvieilleTerraces. One hundred exceptional philatelic rarities from world-famous collections including those ofH.S.H. Prince Albert II, and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, will be exhibited at the Muse des

Timbres et des Monnaies. Alongside the trade event bringing together international postaladministrations and dealers, there will be a collective exhibition on Sweden and philatelic literature.

The 21st Grande Bourse will take place on 1st December 2013 at the Espace Leo Ferr (previouslySalle du Canton) in Monaco. This international event brings together dealers and collectors in thefields of coins, postcards and stamps.

UK

8 August 2013 Andy Murray Wimbeldon Champion

Four stamps will be issued by Royal mail to honour Andy Murray to celebrate his victory against

Djokvic. It is the first mens singles title for a British tennis player since Fred Perry won in 1936.

USA


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13 July 2013 Lighthouses 5 val

New England Coastal Lighthouses from USPS features the lighthouses at Portland Head,Maine; Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire; Point Judith, Rhode Island; New LondonHarbor, Connecticut; and Boston Harbor, Massachusetts.These five lighthouses are amongthe oldest in the U.S..

Readers Right

Incomplete Collectors pack by India Post

Mainak Kathiara, AhmedabadGPA News

The Lighter Side

Ten famous telegramsBy Harriet Alexander

Dr Crippen, an American-born homeopath, was one of the first criminals to be convicted with the help

of the telegram. Following the murder of his wife Cora at their home in London in January 1910, Dr
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B60BgaOPmZ2hQ3BuQ253dDdwclU/edithttps://docs.google.com/file/d/0B60BgaOPmZ2hQ3BuQ253dDdwclU/edithttps://docs.google.com/file/d/0B60BgaOPmZ2hQ3BuQ253dDdwclU/edithttps://docs.google.com/file/d/0B60BgaOPmZ2hQ3BuQ253dDdwclU/edit


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Crippen and his lover escaped on a ferry to Canada but were spotted by the ship's captain, who sent

a telegram to Scotland Yard just before the ship lost reception. A police officer took a faster ship to

Canada, and arrested Dr Crippen on arrival. He was hanged at Pentonville Prison on November 23

1910.

Samuel Morse sent what is thought to be the first telegram, on May 24 1844. Morse sent a message

from Washington to Baltimore saying: "What hath God wrought?"

When American authorMark Twain heard that his obituary had been published, he sent a telegram

from London in 1897 saying: "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated".

The shortest telegram in the English language was from the Irish write Oscar Wilde. He was living in

Paris and he cabled his publisher in Britain to see how his new book was doing. The message read:

? The publisher cabled back: !

The first successful flight, by the Wright brothers, was announced by telegram from North Carolina in1903. "Successful four flights Thursday morning."

Early on April 15 1912, the Titanic is believed to have sent its last wireless message. "SOS SOS

CQD CQD Titanic. We are sinking fast. Passengers are being put into boats. Titanic."

America was spurred to join the First World War after the interception of the Zimmermann Telegram.

Berlin sent the telegram on January 17 1917 to Mexico, urging the Mexicans to join the war as

Germany's ally against the USA. President Wilson, who had previously wanted to keep America out of

the war, then used the telegram to gain support for American intervention.

American journalist Robert Benchley sent a celebrated telegram to his editor at the New Yorker,

Harold Ross, upon arriving in Venice for the first time. "Streets full of water. Please advise."

Perhaps one of the most famous historical telegrams is one sent by the head of the Navy on

September 3 1939. It read simply: Winstonis back.

Physicist Edward Tellersent a telegram in 1952 to colleagues at Los Alamos about the first hydrogen

bomb detonation, saying: "It's a boy".

John F. Kennedy used to joke during his 1960 presidential campaign that he had just received a

telegram from his father. "Dear Jack: Don't buy one more vote than necessary. I'll be damned if I pay

for a landslide."

Read More.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6494297/Ten-famous-telegrams.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6494297/Ten-famous-telegrams.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6494297/Ten-famous-telegrams.html


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Underwater Post office at Sabah, Malaysia

Ever heard of an underwater post office? A rare phenomenon found in only 5 countries of theworld, Malaysia takes pride in hosting one of its first ever underwater post offices in Sabah.

Apparently an old 40 foot wooden cargo ship of a resort on Mataking Island which was a partof Malaysias conservation program sank. This old wooden ship thereafter became one of the5 similar underwater post offices in the world. The underwater mail box was placed on thefront of the wheel house of this cargo ship.

Now an amazing facet unfolds here: you could write or just buy a postcard at the resorts giftshop and seal your letters a special water proof plastic postal wrap bag to take it down and

deposited into the box. All your mails shall be collected twice per week. And even before yourealise your mail is sent that too in any part of the world. Exciting? Im sure it is.

Also it is fascinating to know that the sunken wooden ship initially was an artificial reef whichacted as a catalyst in attracting many tropical reef fishes. As for today, this wreck has areputation of housing some of the most incredible species from this spectacular island.

STAMP COLLECTING : DURING HARD TIMES, SOME PEOPLE LOOK TO STAMP

COLLECTING

By Breck Pegram/Ky. Stamp Club

During the hard financial times of the Great Depression of the 1930s, instead of declining stamp

collecting actually went into boom times. This was helped by such famous stamp collecting icons as

H.E. Harris & Co. of Boston and the storied stamp dealers of the times Max Ohlman, Robson Lowe,

Herman Pat Herst Jr. and many others.


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One of the basic reasons for the stamp collecting boom was that it was and is a hobby that lends itself

well to providing a lot of enjoyment and education for a very small financial outlay. While a family didnt

have the funds for a cruise or a new car, a small amount spent on stamps was usually affordable.

By this time it was well known that King George V and President Franklin D. Roosevelt along with less

notables, King Farouk ofEgypt and Hetty Greens son, Ned, were stamp collectors. This notoriety did

not hurt the hobby at all.

One prominent promoter of the Depression era was the radio talk program, The Ivory Stamp Club with

Captain Tim. As you might guess Proctor & Gamble Co. played an important role in this part of stamp

promotion.

Additionally, Walter Kaner, a well-known journalist with the Long Island Press had a stamp program on

WWRL in New York City that drew many listeners who went on to become well-known stamp

collectors on their own. Elmer Long, a stamp dealer in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania discussed stamp

collecting in the 1930s on WKBO radio. Even later in the 1950s, J. & H Stolow produced a weekly

stamp show in New York City.

There are other media accomplishments such as the part stamps played in Alfred Hitchcocks movie,

Charade. The famous radio detective Nero Wolfe, played by Sidney Green street brought notice to

the Hawaiian Missionary stamps in an episode titled: Stamped for Murder. There are many other

examples like these in the media.

Read More

The unissued stamps of the WorldPart 1

This is a series from the collection Hedley Adams Mobb. He had the finest collection ofunissued stamps. Some great philatelic enthusaiasts like Franklin D Roosevelt, Pope PiusXII and Boswll Sisters donated him their collections. The details have been taken fromwebsite :The World of Hedley Adams Mobb

Like most boys of the period Hedley Adams Mobb collected everything frombirds' eggs to cigarette cards. By his fifteenth birthday he had amassed a fine collection ofPenny Blacks. His grandfather Adam Adams, a local Liberal politician, was friendly with Mr.Gladstone and Sir Ewerby Thorpe - Keeper of the King's Philately. In 1919 Thorpe gaveHedley Mobbs the responsibility of looking after the 'Unissueds' that were in The RoyalCollection. This was because King George V didn't appreciate or want them and they could
http://www.state-journal.com/spectrum/2013/06/01/stamp-collecting-during-hard-times-some-people-look-to-stamp-collectinghttp://www.state-journal.com/spectrum/2013/06/01/stamp-collecting-during-hard-times-some-people-look-to-stamp-collectinghttp://www.state-journal.com/spectrum/2013/06/01/stamp-collecting-during-hard-times-some-people-look-to-stamp-collectinghttp://www.horrywood.co.uk/#!http://www.horrywood.co.uk/#!http://www.horrywood.co.uk/#!http://www.horrywood.co.uk/#!http://www.state-journal.com/spectrum/2013/06/01/stamp-collecting-during-hard-times-some-people-look-to-stamp-collecting


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not be sold. Hedley Mobbs put together the finest collection of 'Unissueds' from the worldover. The collection spanned a period of fifty years. In 1969 Hedley Mobbs died - thecollection lives on.

Panama - Chiriqui

In 1949, to commemorate the Centenary of the Incorporation of Chiriqui Province, six stampsmostly from the 1942 pictorial series were overprinted with "CHIRIQUI" and a picture of amountain. There were several errors to this issue, the most notable - the overprint applied toa 2/- Bahamaian Tercentenary stamp.

The Postmaster General, Alessandro Gormlez in a statement, "Fue un mal da en la oficinade correos, pero nadie consigui matado!" These stamps were fortunately never issued.

SudanGordons Zoo

The 1931 Sudanese airmail definitives show the statue of General Gordon of Khartoum astride theship of the desert. H. L. Bennett - Bigley, the eccentric stamp designer and engraver, decided thatGeneral Gordon should be seen 'up' on a variety of animals. Originally each denomination depicted adifferent species. The elephant, ostrich, horse and tapir were all represented.

After much slaughter only the camel survived. H. L. Bennett - Bigley was sent to a rest home at NorthRauceby, Lincolnshire for a lie down. And the stamps were released six months later.

Japan


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In 1967 the Japanese Post Office decided to celebrate Christmas for the first time. PostmasterGeneral Yakuda Fukame Si-waze instigated a competition to find the best design. The winner wasgraphic artist Itzazozo Taki whose design showed father Christmas in a somewhat unfortunateposition. This unwitting piece of kitsch was spotted by the British Ambassador, Sir Carlton Scroop,who was sent a courtesy copy a week before the release date. Seventy-three million stamps weresubsequently incinerated. It is hardly surprising that Japan has issued neither a Christmas nor anEaster stamp since.

To be contd

Acknowlegements

GPA NewsJuly issue from Gujarat Philatelists Association

Vadop hil issue # 134 - 135 from Baroda Philatel ic As soc iation

Book Review

Year Bo ok of Indian Philately 2012 , Editor and Pub lisher, Madan Middh a Pages 300

Price Rs 300

Year Book of Indian Philately by Mr Madan Middha is just released. The book is very

informative for all stamp collectors. It gives complete details of Indian Philately of the year

2012 with very comprehensive articles by renowned philatelists. The book contains about 300

pages and is divided into 29 chapters which include articles and other details about

exhibitions, stamps, special covers, award winners at international shows, news from

philatelic societies and other important topics related to Indian Philately.

The articles by Mr Ashok Bayanwala, Naresh Agarwal, Dr Satyendra Agarwal, Ilyas Patel,

Sudhir Jain and Madan Middha covering a variety of subjects are the gems of the book . The

articles give a complete guideline to the reader about the concerned subject. The book is


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recommended to all philatelists and stamp lovers. It will prove an excellent reference book for

all collectors and a necessary guide for those interested in Indian Philately. The book has won

a Silver Medal at the IPhLA 2012 held at Mainz, Germany, the largest international exhibition

on Philatelic Literature and a Silver Bronze at 28th Asian International Philatelic Exhibition

SHARJAH 2012 .

The book w ith a nice layout is pric ed at Rs 300 ( inclusive of postage by Registered Post ) isavai lable from Mr Madan Middha at fol lowin g address :

Madan Mid dha, Saket Vihar, Phalka B azar, GWALIOR - 474 001.

email :[email protected]. in

Editors Mail Box

I liked the July 2013 Rainbow issue as I wonder how you find time to compile so many articles and displays on avariety of recent and past philatelic subjects. Al the contributors must love and respect you for this timeconsuming hobby . A foreigner has commented appreciatively and appreciatively such efforts in a letter to theeditor. Goes to prove a universal appeal of your blog. - Hemant Kulkarni, Milwaukee - USA

Thank you for this interesting issue of Rainbow,the same was very informative and inspiring for me.The coverage of Farewell to Telegraph service was really emotional.

I would like to add that since the month I have started receiving Rainbow issues this is somethingwhich I await like nothing else as the month is about to end and your effort to provide adequate andaccurate information in every issue is commendable.

For me Philately was always a hobby where I used to look at my small collection once in the bluemoon and feel happy,but now I enjoy every moment of it more often and feel proud to ever havechosen this as a hobby and encourage my nephew to inculcate the same in him.

Thank you for making me a part of this community. - Ankit Beri-Kul lu

July edition of Rainbow on TELEGRAM is the most interesting edition of your bulletins. Yourcomments and writings from your readers/contributors on this subject of Telegrams makes me feelnostalgic and somewhat sad too because I retired from Telegraph department in 1987 after 36years of handling Telegrams sending and receiving on Morse, transmitting on Teleprinters, Telex etcMust have handled several thousands of telegrams Verses written by one of your importantcontributors on Telegrams is particularly is simply wonderful and makes me remember all the yearsworking in Telegraph offices in Delhi. Thanks again.

In case any special cover is issued anywhere in India to bid 'farewell' to telegram is issued i will beglad to have such covers, on payment of course I have saved many Telegrams , unused formsalso from India and other countries . I will be happy to receive telegrams from any of your readerson 14 or 15th July 2013. Will reimburse costs please.

- Ranjit Singh

AN/18-c, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi-110088 Ph 011-27472189www.indiatelecards.org
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.indiatelecards.org/http://www.indiatelecards.org/http://www.indiatelecards.org/mailto:[email protected]


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New Blogs & Websites

1. Welcome to the World of Indian Philately -http://www.indianphilately.net/

An exclusive websitecreated by Mr Prashant Pandya dedicated to Indian Philately .Thephilatelists can register for Online Philatelists Directory on this website.

2.Virtual Stamp Clubhttp://www.virtualstampclub.com/index.htmlIt is website for On Line collectors.Membership is free. Many collectors around the world are its members.

3. Stamp Magazine -http://blog.stampmagazine.co.uk/This blog is updated by Adrian Keppelevery Friday with new Articles on a variety of subjects.

4.Indian Thematics - http://www.indianthematics.blogspot.in/- A new blog created by notedThematic Philatelist Mr Dinesh Chandra Sharma. This blog is all about Thematic Philately.

5. Indian Philatelists Forum - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indianphilatelists/ This is an electronic discussion forum dedicated exclusively to Indian Philately that allows members toengage into meaningful discussions on all aspects of Indian Philately. Membership to the forum isopen to all philatelists who have interest in Indian Philately. Members can share and discuss theirideas, knowledge, research, collections, events, exhibitions, auctions, publications exclusively relatedto Indian Philately.

6. The best stamps - http://thebeststamps.blogspot.co.uk/ Its a beautiful blog created byJulianFernandes of Pune ( Now living in UK) featuring lovely stamps of birds with the photos of the samebirds giving a wonderful look !!

7. Robin Stamps Criticism : http://robin-stamps.blogspot.in/ : This blog is about new issues

of postage stamps and the critical study of their design

8.This Numismatic & Philatelic Association -http://numismaticphilavellore.site40.net/index.htm - This Numismatic & Philatelic Association is a nonprofit and non-trade motive association that aimsto promote the hobbies Philately (Stamp Collection) and Numismatics (Coin Collection) amongchildren, students, interested individuals among the general public and especially for the buddingphilatelists and numismatists.

9. How to Collect Stamps - http://www.howtocollectstamps.com/ : The Complete Guide ToStamp Collecting

10.GANDHI Stamps & Philately Study Circle : http://gandhistampsclub.blogspot.in/- A new

Blog by Ketan Patel .. Saving Gandhi Philately by trying to bring awareness and exposing illegalactivities in Gandhi Stamps and Philately.

11. Europa Stamps :http://europa-stamps.blogspot.in/: A blog on Europa, cept, norden & sepacstamps

12. Phila Mirror :http://philamirror.info/: The Indian Philately Journal

13. Se- tenant Stamps of India -http://setenantsofindia.blogspot.com/ It is a specialized Blog onse-tenant stamps.
http://www.indianphilately.net/http://www.indianphilately.net/http://www.indianphilately.net/http://www.virtualstampclub.com/index.htmlhttp://ww

august rainbow stamp news 2013

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