Special Projects of Association of British Scholars.

A special cover was released by Special Projects of Association of British Scholars, Chennai to celebrate 25 years of its service in Chennai from 1985 - 2010.

Thanks to P.Prabhakar, Chennai.

G.K.Moopanar

India Post released a stamp on G.K.Moopanar on 30.08.2010 a great statesman and political leader.

O.P.Ramaswamy Reddiar

O.P.Ramaswamy Reddiar was a freedom fighter and was the first Chief Minister of Madras Presidency. He had brought many social changes and was able to implement several far reaching schemes. He introduced the Employment Exchange system and established the Home Guard system.India Post issued a stamp on 25th August 2010 which completes his 30th year of death.

P.Jeevanandham

A stamp was released on P.Jeevanandham on 21st August 2010, a freedom fighter and Tamil writer. He was the founder of Tamil literary magazine "Thamarai" and the communist newspaper "Janasakthi".

Surathkal Point Lighthouse.

A  private special cover with the cancellation of Mangalore Philatelic Bureau was handed over to the Deputy Commissioner Shri. V. Ponnuraj at Surathkal Lighthouse on 16th August 2010 by Lions District Governor 324-D5 - J.K.Rao MJF, at Amateur (HAM) Radio Special Event Station as part of the International Lighthouse and Lightship week celebration.

This cover has Lions International President's Logo of Lighthouse and slogan "a Beacon of Hope" with Permenant Pictorial Postal Cancellation of 18th Century Monumental Lighthouse of Mangalore (WLOL IND 171) and is released on occation of International Lighthouse and Lightship Week 7th to 22nd Aug 2010 from India's only Special Event Amateur Radio Station - VU0LH being putup with assistance from Lions Clubs International Amateur Radio Club Station VU2LCI.

For further news and Photos Visit : http://www.qrz.com/db/VU0LH

Independence Day.

Wishing all my friends, viewers and fellow bloggers a very

   HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY.

Vethathri

India Post released a stamp on Vethathiri Maharishi on 14th August 2010. He was a yoga guru and his contribution to yoga and meditation is of great importance. He established a World Community Service Centre having its headquarters at Chennai with more than 1500 meditation centers in India and abroad. He was also a practitioner of alternative system of medicines like Siddha, Ayurveda and Homeopathy. On 9th Jan 1975 he was invited to the United Nations to give talk on the "Value of Yoga and Meditation". He has written many book and poems in Tamil and English.

National Institute of Technology

A special cover on National Institute of Technology, Surathkal, Karnataka, was released to celebrate the golden Jubilee year ( 2009-2010) on 06.08.2010.

The photograph depicts Shri. U. Srinivas Mallya, founder of the National Institute of Technology, Karnataka (NITK) Surathkal. It is one of the Technical institutions of National Importance and it enjoys a very good reputation at National and International levels.

Jewel of Muscat.

The Jewel of Muscat is a replica of a 9th-century Omani ship, built through a joint effort by the governments of Oman and Singapore.

On 3rd July 2010, Jewel of Muscat arrives in Singapore to a spectacular and joyous welcome. She is welcomed by the President of Singapore H.E. S R Nathan and H.H. Sayyid Harib Bin Thuwainy Al-Said, representative of H.M. Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of the Sultanate of Oman. In a formal ceremony Jewel is handed over to the people of Singapore as a gift from Oman. Jewel will now be prepared for transfer to her permanent home the Experiential Maritime Museum at Sentosa Resorts World.

For more information and details visit the website of Jewel of Muscat

Syed Mohammed Ali Shihab Thangal

A stamp was released Syed Mohammed Ali Shihab Thangal on 2nd August 2010, a great religious scholar and social worker. He worked for the uplift of the downtrodden and in providing them with quality and value based education.He was also involved in politics as the president of the Kerala Muslim League.

Commonwealth Games - Stadiums

India Post released a set of two stamps on 1st August 2010 on two stadiums - The Talkatora and the Jawaharlal Stadium for the Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi.

India Post on eBay !

It is news for all Stamp Collectors that India Post has opened its online shop at eBay. visit the India Post site at www.indiapost.gov.in for the news.

http://stores.ebay.in/indianpostagestamps

But I am surprised that why did it have to go to e-bay? Why not sell stamps through its own website? Interesting! I would like comments on this.

     

250th Anniversary of Birth of Nelson.

Gibraltar celebrates the 250th anniversary of the birth of Horatio Nelson with an issue of 6 stamps.

Horatio Nelson was born on 29 September 1758 in a rectory in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, England, the sixth of eleven children of the Reverend Edmund Nelson and Catherine Nelson. The FDC features 6 stamps on the vessels HMS Agamemnon, HMS La Minerve, HMS Vangaurd, HMS Captain, HMS Amphion and HMS Victory.

For further reading click here.

Postal Stationery - Indipex

Here are some of the Postal Stationery released by India Post with the Logo of Indipex - The world Philatelic Exhibition to be held at Delhi from 12 to 19 Feb 2011.

Inland Postcard

Inland Registered Letter Cover

Inland Standard Cover

Battle of Trafalgar

The battle commenced on October 21, 1805 with Nelson's famous words signaled to his fleet: "England expects that every man will do his duty." It was one of the greatest sea battles in British history and gave birth to a legend. Off the coast of Spain's Cape Trafalgar Peninsula, the British Fleet, led by Lord Horatio Nelson, took on a combined French and Spanish force to determine who would be the master of the waves. England's very existence was at stake for France's Napoleon Bonaparte was poised to send his powerful army across the English Channel to conquer the island. The only obstacle standing in his way was the British fleet.

The battle of Trafalgar was the most decisive British naval victory of the war. Twenty-seven British ships of the line led by Admiral Lord Nelson aboard HMS Victory defeated thirty-three French and Spanish ships of the line under French Admiral Pierre Villeneuve off the south-west coast of Spain, just west of Cape Trafalgar. The Franco-Spanish fleet lost twenty-two ships, without a single British vessel being lost but Lord Nelson was killed.

The damaged HMS Victory is being towed towards Gibraltar by HMS Neptune on 28th October 1805 after the battle of Trafalgar.

Philatelic Terms: Imperforate, Specimen and Die-cut stamps

Earlier in this blog, I had tried to discuss Miniature sheets, Souvenir Sheets, Maxim cards etc. Recently I had questions from beginners regarding a few Philatelic terms which I have decided to answer today.

Imperforate - simply speaking, stamps without any perforations. Stamps in the beginning did not have any perforations and had to be separated using a blade or scissors from a sheet, which sometimes was cut through the design and keeping it straight was an art not specialised by many. Also one had to keep a cutting instrument at hand. Late on an easy way that was devised, was to use perforations to separate stamps from a sheet which is in use even today. A few countries still print imperforate stamps occasionally as collectors fancy. But Imperforate stamps that were intended to be perforated are treated as errors.

A classic example of imperforate is the world’s first stamp the Penny Black.

Specimen Stamps – Generally sample stamps overprinted using the words “SPECIMEN” and are not valid for postage. They are samples of new stamps, distributed to the various countries through the UPU for purposes of identification and record or to the philatelic press and trade for publicity purposes.

A recent specimen Stamp of Philippine - 2006  

Die-Cut stamps – Die-cut is also a form of separation of stamps like perforation which is used recently and are mostly common in case of self-adhesive stamps. In countries like U.S., die-cut stamps are usually separated by serpentine (wavy) cuts. Other countries often use straight cuts. They also use various shapes or patterned edges and also have been die cut into the shapes of country maps, flowers, fruits and many other shapes. In few of the recent Miniature sheets we come across both die-cuts and perforations. Die-cut stamps are not used in India.

 A die-cut stamp from Australia (serpentine)

A die-cut Miniature sheet  from South Africa (straight-cut) 

A die-cut stamp from Japan in odd shape and two types of cut are used.

A die-cut Miniature sheet  from Pitcairn Islands where the outer shape of the MS is odd shaped  (dragon fly) and stamps with perforation. 

There may be other types of combination too.

Your COMMENTS are most welcome.

(I request all Readers, Senior Philatelist to comment on the above terms and to add a few points which may further enlighten and help all of us)