Postmark Theme, New, Old, How Or Why.

As hooded CDSs seem to get Rod222 all hot & bothered, he might enjoy this one from Chamba State



which seems to have done the rounds of the State, from Lylle (so far, unidentified - but it rings a distant bell) via Chamba Town to the village of Kihar. From those annoying days around the 1880s when the Indian Post Office had decided to omit the year from its cancellations.

A beautiful thing.
The hooded is a parapet exclaiming the news
of the circular date ring, a celebration of its genesis,
the ermine stole wrapping the golden orb.

Lylle try Lille Chamba State

Taking into consideration, anglicisation,
(eg: Chamba state...Chumba)

Do any of these ring a bell for Lylle ?

(could easy be lilwa, liluah, lilooah, etc & etc)


Lilahâr city State of Jammu and Kashmir India 33.95 74.93 5249
Lilam city State of Uttarakhand India 30.15 80.25 5679 2980
Lilam city State of Jammu and Kashmir India 34.46 74.14 5898 30167
Lilapur city State of Uttar Pradesh India 27.57 79.59 452 58034
Lilas city State of Haryana India 28.85 75.54 705 16025
Lilera city State of Rajasthan India 25.34 75.70 803 48779
Lilia city State of Gujarat India 21.55 71.35 364 28408
Lilia Moia city State of Gujarat India 21.55 71.35 364 28408
Liligumma city State of Orissa India 19.25 83.23 1758 12601
Liliya city State of Gujarat India 21.55 71.35 364 28408
Lillooah city State of West Bengal India 22.58 88.38 45 1253744
Lilon city State of Madhya Pradesh India 24.19 79.22 1489 14539
Lilooah city State of West Bengal India 22.58 88.38 45 1253744
Liluâh city State of West Bengal India 22.58 88.38 45 1253744
Lilwa city State of Uttar Pradesh India 25.37 79.32 593 25749


Lilapur sounds close...Uttar Pradesh?

Chamba State now falls under Himachal Pradesh, so the only possibility would be Lilam, now in Uttarakhand - but that's a bit of a stretch.

May have to get out my old map of Jammu & Kashmir, which covers most of my livingroom floor, and includes most of Chamba on its southeastern borders, and do a careful search.

Well, I did unravel my giant map of Jammu & Kashmir, with most of Chamba, and I found what looks like the most likely candidate yet: a village marked as 'Lil', at about 32°30' - 76°15', in the eastern part of the old Chamba State. Can't be sure from the cutesy description of the photo, but this http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/As...to600338.htm may well be Lil.

Is it near Jispa?

Here is your village again, alas only called "nondescript village"
I cannot see a post office being here?
http://himalayanodysseys.blogspot.c...-koksar.html

Rodney, my map is based on surveys made between 1848 and 1856. It doesn't include modern tourist attractions. Lil appears to be a couple of miles southeast of Chamba Town as the crow flies, although the 1848 road looks as if it might be a shade longer.

Anyway, this would make sense if the card did indeed pass from Lil to Kihar, since it would have had to pass through Chamba Town, and then out the other side and to the northwest.

Edit: I should have added that, on my map, Lil is marked in bold, indicating a larger settlement in the scheme of things. It could well be that it has declined in importance in the intervening years.

And now for something completely different: a nice squared circle of Jhalrapatan, then capital of Jhalawar State:



to Ujjain in Gwalior State, with Jhalawar SG 2 paying the postage within Jhalawar, and (just discernible) the pair of cobras, the symbol of Gwalior, in the Ujjain CDS:

While not so historically significant, I received this cover last week from Nells250 with an incongruous mix of stamps and nice red hand cancel, which I understand, she was allowed to apply herself.






How's that for value added.

Here, for the delight of the reptile lovers, is a better version of the Gwalior State cobras CDS from Ujjain:



taken, as it happens, from the back of another cover that travelled across State boundaries, from Jhalawar State to Gwalior State.

I've always thought the Hyderabad star & crescent cancellations were particularly nice



It was a great shame when they abandoned them for more conventional CDSs.

It was so nice to find this, after going through kiloware and see stamp after stamp that had a sprayed-on cancel or a slogan or a part of this or a part of that cancelled on them.

Searching through the last little bit and finding this beauty with the sprayed on date and also the circular date stamp cancellation and all nice and upright too just made it into an above-and-beyond kiloware batch and sorting experience.

Quite a gem, cancel-wise, after all the disappointments.



Now I have to go and find out where the place is and what goes on there when the sun goes down.

Middle Camberwell when the Sun goes down? I hate to disappoint you, but the average age of Middle Camberwell would be around 85: everyone goes to bed when the Sun goes down. (I know. I used to live in the next suburb out, Surrey Hills. The average age there, even after I moved in, was a more youthful 75 or so.) It is smack in the middle of what used to be known as Melbourne's Sherry Belt.