My name is Abhishek Bhuwalka and I am based in Mumbai. ​The goal of this site is to share my collection of philatelic literature, articles, blog posts, tweets, and some offers and wants with you. Please get in touch with me at abbh [at] hotmail.com.

Bibliography

Please note that one particular title is classified under only one subject and not under multiple. This is to avoid duplication and for me to maintain some degree of control. I do understand that certain titles are such that they need to be classified under more than one section; in case you do not find a work in the section where you think it should be, use the Site Search facility available on the Home Page.

Literature Collecting Scope

My collecting spheres include the following:

  • Handbooks on India and States
  • Auction Catalogues
  • Journals published in India & Early Journals from worldover
  • Handbooks on routes and rates
  • Works on Philatelic Literature including auction catalogues and journals
  • General Handbooks on Philately

I am interested in the history of philately and particularly of its literature and am always on the lookout for late 19th and early 20th century) handbooks, journals, and catalogues. I, however, do not usually collect single country handbooks. Further I avoid books published in languages other than English unless the work is extremely important to my interests, for example the series of books by Raymond Salles on La Poste Maritime Française.

I intend to possess most (>95%) philatelic literature published on Indian and related topics be it handbooks, auction catalogues, journals, etc. Further I like to have important classic handbooks and journals (usually 19th century) in my library. Space is always a constraint in a city like Mumbai; so is how much one can read (though some books look great on the bookshelves!) Hence I do not intend to ever own stuff for the sake of making up a large personal library.

Condition

I am particular about collecting hardbound books with their original dust jackets, if issued with one. In my opinion, a hardbound book enhances the look of any library and is preferable to one softbound; further such a book without its dust jacket is like a body without its soul.

Format

In making this bibliography, I have tried to broadly follow the style which Sir Edward Denny Bacon used in cataloguing the Earl of Crawford’s library in his magnificent Bibliotheca Lindesiana Vol VII: A Bibliography of the Writings General Special and Periodical forming the Literature of Philately. It has been more than a hundred years since this work was published but I doubt if Sir Bacon’s meticulousness and detailing of individual works can be much bettered. Some important guidance also came in from James Negus’ Philatelic Literature: Compilation Techniques and Reference Sources (1991) as well as Kellow and Turner’s The Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria Library: A History and Catalogue​ (1996).

Dimensions

Dimensions are stated in millimeters. For hardbound books, the dimensions mentioned are those of the outer hard covers (without the dust jacket) and not those of the pages. For perfect bound, staple bound, or other softbound books, the dimensions are once again of the card covers which will of course (with very few exceptions) be equal to those of the pages. Books which are oblong i.e. where the breadth of the book is more than its height are mentioned right after the dimension.

Memberships

  • Fellow, The Royal Philatelic Society London (FRPSL)
  • Association Internationale des Journalistes Philatéliques (AIJP)
  • American Philatelic Society (APS)
  • The India Study Circle for Philately (ISC)
  • The Philatelic Congress of India (PCI)
  • The Philatelic Society of India (PSI)
  • South India Philatelists’ Association (SIPA)

Other Philatelic Interests

Apart from philatelic literature and bibliography, I am intersted in philatelic history. My collecting interests lie in Indian International Mails pre-UPU.