welcome to my website

My Blog

• 

  Postal History and Philately

  French Entry Stamps on India Mails, 1837-39

  ByAbhishek Bhuwalka March 2, 2026March 3, 2026

  The 1830s and 1840s were exciting times for mails sent across the seas and oceans. These two decades saw a rapid transition in the carriage of letters from sailing ships (wind-assisted) to steamships (coal-assisted though they did have sails as an additional source of propulsion if needed). This meant that mails could be carried regularly…

• 

  Postal History and Philately

  What Sayeth the Earliest Missive from Hong Kong?

  ByAbhishek Bhuwalka January 27, 2026January 31, 2026

  The dawn of the 1830s saw the introduction of British steamers in the Arabian Sea (between Bombay and Egypt) and the Mediterranean (connecting Egypt with Europe). Simultaneously, the overland route across Egypt was also developed (Figure 1). These happenings revolutionised communications between the East and the West. Time to destination reduced from a few months…

• 

  Postal History and Philately

  ‘Forbes’ Fails to Pick up Steam, 1834

  ByAbhishek Bhuwalka December 4, 2025January 31, 2026

  Much has been written on the two voyages of that pioneering steamship Forbes from Calcutta (see references). The first failed to go beyond Madras while by reaching Suez, the second trip proved to be a success. In this article, I will focus on letters from central and south India which were dispatched to Madras with…

• 

  Bibliographies

  House Bound Volumes of the Arthur Hind Sales, 1934-35

  ByAbhishek Bhuwalka November 23, 2025January 5, 2026

  A short post as I continue to recover from the hangover of the memorable two-day philatelic literature summit and auction of the “PARIS” library of Tomas Bjäringer by Heinrich Köhler held 13-15 November 2025 at Wiesbaden, Germany. It was great meeting some old and making many new friends; learning from and gossiping with them is…

• 

  Postal History and Philately

  A History Book Solves a Postal History Problem

  ByAbhishek Bhuwalka October 2, 2025November 19, 2025

  Sometime back, I was browsing an old 1988 Stanley Gibbons auction catalogue featuring the ‘Springer’ Collections (Figure 1). A claim is made inside: The lots of the Indian Army P.O. included in this catalogue form probably the most comprehensive study of this service ever formed. Indeed, it contains many Indian Army postal history items –…

• 

  Postal History and Philately

  Perhaps the Pair of Ps will Parley

  ByAbhishek Bhuwalka August 28, 2025November 19, 2025

  Philatelists collect and sometimes research/write on and/or exhibit postage stamps. Postal historians do the same with entire letters and envelopes. As far as being interested in what the other does, it seems that a chasm exists. Quite many philatelists, who possess items of postal history, do not care to investigate postal rates, routes, regulations, or…