Philatelic Literature

  • Sold out! Notes on De La Rue

    Notes on the De La Rue Series of the Adhesive Postage and Telegraph Stamps of India by J. A. Tilleard

    Notes on the De La Rue Series of the Adhesive Postage and Telegraph Stamps of India by J. A. Tilleard This work covers the first stamps of India manufactured by the De La Rue Company from 1855 onwards. Clarifies many unanswered questions about these stamps. Appendix A gives a very useful list of each of…

  • Sold out! Essays Proofs Reprints James Spence 1Essays Proofs Reprints James Spence 2

    The Identification of the Essays Proofs & Reprints of the 1854 issue of India by James A. Spence

    Published by Robson Lowe in 1975, this is (almost) the last word on this maddening area of the first issues of India. Covering the Half, One, Two, Four, and Eight anna stamps with detailed listings of the many varieties under each value. The individual listings have their own ‘Spence numbers’ which are invariably referred to…

  • Sold out! Philatelic Journal of India 1Philatelic Journal of India 4

    The Philatelic Journal of India, 1900 to 1912

    The Philatelic Journal of India – An early run from the golden age. An early run of 11 volumes from 1900 (Vol. IV) to 1912 (Vol. XVI) lacking years 1909 and 1911 (in latter year only 5 issues came out due to the editor’s illness) from the golden period of this journal. In its heydays,…

  • Sold out! Indias Stamp Journal Jal Cooper 1Indias Stamp Journal Jal Cooper 3

    India’s Stamp Journal, 1945-89

    Edited by India’s greatest dealer and surely the greatest journalist of the modern era (post 1940), Jal Cooper. While The Philatelic Journal of India (PJI) is unbeatable in the period 1897 to say 1920s, it declined in its contents in the late 1930s / 1940s onward. Thankfully the void was filled by India’s Stamp Journal…

  • Sold out! Post Office India Great War CoversPost Office India Great War Contents1

    The Post Office of India in the Great War edited by Lieut.-Col H. A. Sams

    The Post Office of India in the Great War edited by Lieut.-Col H. A. Sams Published in 1922 by The Times Press, this is a very rare book edited by the then Director of Postal Services, Mesopotamia Expeditionary Forces and later Director General of Posts and Telegraphs for British India. Contains 23 chapters each authored…

  • Sold out! PostOfficeofIndia1PostOfficeofIndia2

    The Post Office of India and its Story by Geoffrey Clarke

    The Post Office of India and its Story by Geoffrey Clarke Published in 1921, this is a rare book of the Indian Post Office authored by the then Director General of Posts and Telegraphs for British India. Covers all facets of the post office including its origins, regulations, services, buildings, overland route and sea post…

  • Sold out! Indian Postal History Virk

    Indian Postal History 1873 – 1923 by Brig. D. S. Virk

    The author, well know for his army post office and military mail books, gives us something different here. Using old postal manuals, circulars, guides, and lists, he fleshes out information about the post office organisation and functions, postal facilities and rates, post marks including their illustrations, stamps and seals and postal receipts, acknowledgements and labels….

  • Sold out! Early Indian Cancellations Jal Cooper

    Early Indian Cancellations by Jal Cooper

    Published in 1948 this is the classic book on the subject of Indian Cancellations. It is perhaps the most referred to book on the subject and is the one more frequently quoted in auction descriptions, articles, etc. No collector of Indian cancellations can afford to do without this book in his library. Starting from the early pre-philatelic…

  • Sold out! StampsofIndia 2ed 1

    Stamps of India 2nd Ed. by Jal Cooper

    Stamps of India 2nd Ed. by Jal Cooper This is the 2nd and, in my opinion, the best edition of Cooper’s general book on Indian philately. It is also the rarest of the three editions. In the 1940s and 50s Cooper was at his peak and his writings in India’s Stamp Journal as well as…

  • Sold out! Indian States Stamps of Cochin Stanley Luiz

    Stamps of Cochin by S.P. Luiz

    Published in 1972, this is one of the few philatelic books written on Cochin. Very scarce and difficult to find. It covers various aspects of Anchal postal history as well as Anchal cancellations and stamps. It also contains a list of Anchal offices in Cochin and extracts from the Cochin Anchal Act. Containing 98 +…

  • Sold out! Aden HB 4

    The Postmarks of Aden: Postal Markings 1839-1939 by M. H. Robertshaw

    Along with A. L. Hine-Haycock, Robertshaw was the pioneer investigator into the stamps and postal history of Aden. Published in 1946, this is the updated and standard reference book on the subject covering the various post offices of Aden including Aden Steamer Point, Aden Cantonment, Aden Camp, etc. The rare hardbound version in grey cloth…

  • Sold out! UsedAbroad Postal Agencies Eastern Arabia Gulf Donaldson

    The Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia and the Gulf by Neil Donaldson along with the Supplement

    The Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia and the Gulf by Neil Donaldson along with the Supplement Published in 1975, the main book is perhaps the best on the subject of Indian & British Post Offices and Stamps used in the Persian Gulf. The book covers a vast time period from the 1850s to the early…

  • Sold out! JK Maasson1JK Maasson2

    The Stamps of Jammu and Kashmir Parts I and II by D. P. Masson

    The Stamps of Jammu and Kashmir Parts I and II by D. P. Masson The pioneering work on the stamps of this popular state, Masson was one of the founding members of the Philatelic Society of India. He was not short of money being the Managing Director of The Punjab Banking Co. Ltd in Lahore!…

  • Sold out! Auction Catalogue C D Desai India 1949 1Auction Catalogue C D Desai India 1949 2

    The World Famous Collection of The Classic Issues of India formed by C. D. Desai

    The World Famous Collection of The Classic Issues of India formed by C. D. Desai A set of two books (1) the prospectus / preview of the auction and (2) the main catalogue itself. It will be no exaggeration to say that there has been no greater collector of Indian Classics of 1854-55 than Desai….

  • Sold out! Ferrari1Ferrari111 1

    The Ferrari Sales – 2 ‘India’ Catalogues

    The Ferrari Sales Ferrari was the greatest stamp collector the world has ever seen. His collection was auctioned over 15 auctions held in Paris between 1921-25 and in 1929. Catalogue of the collection of Ferrari de la Renotiére – Sale No. 5 held on 17 Nov 1922. This auction catalogue contains stamps from across the world…

  • Sold out! Haverbeck scaled

    The Harrison D. S. Haverbeck Gold Medal Collection of Indian Native States

    The Harrison D. S. Haverbeck Gold Medal Collection of Indian Native States Haverbeck was arguably the greatest collector of Indian feudatory states. Apart from Indian states, he was also interested in the stamps of Nepal and Tibet on which he has written standard works. He was a signatory on the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP),…

  • Sold out! BritishIndiaSurchargedNativeStates

    British Indian Adhesive Stamps (Queen’s Head) Surcharged for Native States by C. Stewart-Wilson and Gordon B. Jones

    British Indian Adhesive Stamps (Queen’s Head) Surcharged for Native States by C. Stewart-Wilson and Gordon B. Jones This is the 2nd and last edition of this work published in 1904 on the stamps of India surcharged for the convention states i.e. Chamba, Faridkot, Gwalior, Jhind, Nabha, and Patiala. Authored by two of the greatest Indian…

  • Sold out! Marques De Passages Van der Linden 1Marques De Passages Van der Linden 2

    Catalogue / Katalog Marques de Passage / Postvertragsstempel Katalog 1661-1875 by James Van der Linden

    Catalogue / Katalog Marques de Passage / Postvertragsstempel Katalog 1661-1875 (= Catalogue of Marks of Passage / Postal Stamps) by James Van der Linden Here is the combined original book from 1993 and the supplement from 1997 (total around 400 pages). The work is about the various accountancy and postage markings on letters travelling all…

  • Sold out! Book of T Edward Leahy 1

    The Book of T, Volumes I and II by Edward W. Leahy

    The Book of T, Volumes I and II by Edward W. Leahy A book on Taxe (T) markings, these markings were used to identify underpaid or unpaid mail after the UPU came into being. A monumental effort, the author lists and describes all the known “T” marks of the World (including India and Indian TPOs)…

  • Sold out! British Revenues Barefoot 1British Revenues Barefoot 2

    British Commonwealth Revenues by John Barefoot

    The 10th and latest edition of this standard work on revenues was published in 2019 (equivalent to the Stanley Gibbons catalogue of postage stamps). Soft bound with all illustrations in colour. It covers the revenue stamps of all the Commonwealth countries. Fiscal stamps include those used for Court Fees, Agreement, Foreign Bill, Forest Department, Postal…

  • Sold out! IMG20210217093811IMG20210217094049

    British Letter Mail to Overseas Destinations 1840-1875 by Jane and Michael Moubray

    This is the first edition published in 1992 (a second came out in 2017). When it came out, the book broke new grounds in the literature of postal history since it covered a vast area – mails going to ALL countries from Britain. Following a very useful introduction to postal history terms and a chapter…

  • Sold out! A Century of Stamp Production Williams 1A Century of Stamp Production Williams 2

    A Century of Stamp Production 1852-1952 by L. N. Williams and M. Williams

    This is a rare booklet on the history of the British stamp printers – Waterloo & Sons – by the famous Williams brothers. Over the years starting from 1852, the firm has printed stamps of many countries: some listed in alphabetical order are Alwar Rajputana, Belgium, British Guiana, Brazil, Columbia, Cyprus, Costa Rica, Spain, Thailand,…

  • Sold out! Sperati1 1Sperati2 1

    The Work of Jean De Sperati

    First published by the British Philatelic Association in 1955 followed by a second edition in 1956, this is the official reprint edition of 1997 by James Bendon. Sperati was perhaps the most famous and skillful of all philatelic forgers. He falsified the most valuable rarities of the stamp world including India. His work was so…

  • Sold out! PostageStampsJapan Woodward

    Postage Stamps of Japan and Dependencies by A.M. Tracy Woodward

    Reprint edition from 1976, the original book published in 1928 is a set of two volumes of a print run of just 100 and has been for a long time the most valuable work on philately for $10,000+ on the rare occasions it comes up in auctions. This book covers the stamps of Japan from…