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Figure 1 shows an entire (ex-Paul Bulterman) sent from Boxtel, Netherlands to Batavia, Dutch East Indies sent in November 1845. Fragile yet beautiful with various rate marks and handstamps, the letter shows the intended routing at the bottom: “via Marseille / Alexandria / Singapore”. The black borders indicate death and/or mourning. Unable to read the…
This article was translated and republished, with some modifications, as “Non rubare se non per il Bene (la Storia Postale)! / Thou Shall not Steal but for (Postal History) Good!” Cursores, no. 30 (November 2022). Cursores is the journal of the Associazione Italiana di Storia Postale. Members get yearly two copies of this high-class journal…
This article was published,with some modifications, as “India’s First Ship Despatch Handstamp″ in India Post 57 no. 1 whole no. 226 (January – March 2023). India Post is the journal of the India Study Circle for Philately. I have made changes to this blog post in January 2023 so that it is up-to-date. The appearance…
Collectors of postal history of the classic period (time prior to mid-19th century) would be no strangers to the ‘entire’ – a letter on paper which, when folded, serves as its own envelope. Before the introduction of postal reforms, starting from Great Britain in late 1839 and thereafter talking hold rapidly across the world, letters…
A few weeks back I wrote a blog post on an 1834 entire from Calcutta taking the curricle from Morpeth to Edinburgh. In it, I discuss how one needs to know the distances between the various towns the letter passed through in order to figure out the inland rate markings in Great Britain. Further, I…
Some months back, when I was writing up some postal history covers, I came across the one pictured in Figures 1 and 2 from the Indian Mutiny period of 1857-58. It was sent by (later Sir General) Robert Cadell (more about him hopefully in a future post) to Cockenzie House in Prestonpans, nor far from…
This article was republished, with some modifications, as “The Calumnies of Samuel Singer, Charles Phillips, and Stanley Gibbons” Philatelic Literature Review 71 no. 4 Whole no. 277 (Fourth Quarter 2022). Philatelic Literature Review is the journal of the American Philatelic Research Library. Some years ago, while leafing through the auction catalogue of the George T….
Seasoned postal historians caution the inexperienced, who is unable to explain the route or the rate or markings on a particular cover, against jumping to the conclusion that ‘the post office made a mistake’. At the same time, one cannot rule out the possibility, however slim, of them indeed committing errors. Secondly, the postal historian…
A few days back, T. Kesava Prasad of Bengaluru (earlier Bangalore) shared images of a cover (no contents) (Figure 1 and 2) and requested me to help him understand its postal history. Noting on the front right by the recipient indicates it was sent on 14 November 1828. A black rectangular OOTACAMUND / POST NOT…
Webb’s (Figure 1) The Philatelic and Postal History of Hong Kong and the Treaty Ports of China and Japan (PPHK) has been on my purchase short-list for some time now. A few days back I saw a reprint of book on eBay but it looked, well, different. I bid and managed to bag it. Having…
A few weeks back, Frank Walton RDP, was kind enough to alert me to the sale of his six-volume The De La Rue Collection (2014) at an Australian auction house – Abacus Auctions; he knew that I have been searching for the set. While I had placed an alarm to wake myself up early that…
More than a 100 years back, the best philatelic bibliography ever, Bibliotheca Lindesiana Vol VII: A Bibliography of the Writings General Special and Periodical forming the Literature of Philately or more popularly, ‘The Crawford Catalogue’, was published. Since then many libraries and private collectors (such as Dr. Stanley Bierman and Albert Kronenberg) have published bibliographies…
