So Who's Afraid Of The Indian States?

For the route from Punch to Kahuta in British India (and now the site of Pakistan's nuclear facility) http://www.kashmirstamps.ca/MapI.html and scroll down most of the page to 'The Blue Line'. This page should sate your curiosity about mail runner lines in and around the Kashmir of yore. But do, if you haven't already, read the story of the cover from Yarkand, in Sinkiang/Xinjiang/Chinese Turkestan: hard to find a cover more steeped in romance.

I do like the colour scheme of that Poonch card, though. The red on blue (no AFL allusions, please!) is rather pleasing, and it contrasts nicely with the rather dowdy Indian card.

(And the Mac Gillycuddy arms are much more prosaic, I'm afraid, with a distinctly uninspired Latin motto.)

I think I shall have De gustibus non disputandum, but for you Rodney, I offer Rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno. (I warn you, I won the Year 11 Classics Prize, against stiff competition from ten other boys...)

What about "Sic Gloria Transit Mundi"
"Gloria was ill in the van on Monday"
(90% in my Latin Standard Grade)

De Gustibus Non Disputandem was what my group of friends in High School used to say to each other when one of us fancied a guy that the others thought was an Ugly....

Quod erat demonstrandum ...

Hahaha,
you guys are too funny.

Refreshing to see the gals also had shallow
interest in the opposite sx.
I was always seeking the gal who
was brave enough to kiss the
frog.

Quoting Latin, collecting stamps, and into Star Trek???
I was pretty much the ugly duckling
I like to think of myself more as a cygno now

Edit - or should that be cygnus? Its been a while since those latin exams...

You'll have to make do with a masculine cygnus, I think, Stampgal ...

Hi Tony,

The 2nd issue of Cochin (with Umbrella water mark on each stamp) are more thin and more translucent than the Ist issue with a sheet watermark. I am sure these stamps will not be available at the price quoted by Gibbons. Regarding the 1 puttan stamp with the colour of 2 puttans deep violet, I remember having seen one with postal cancellation in an exhibition. I don't know whether the cancellation is forged or not.Revenue used 1 anna stamp of IV & V Rajah (SG 85c,90,106) and II Rajah 1anna surcharge on 2 1/4anna (SG50) were also seen with postal cancellations.

Thomas Paul

Hi Thomas

I'd love to know if that 1 Puttan deep violet really was postally used. I suppose it could easily happen, because the colours are close enough to have been passed by an inattentive postal clerk. However, even if one copy (or more) were accidentally used postally, I don't think it alters the status of the stamp: AFAIK, it was never officially authorised for postal use.

I have to admit that I've neglected earlier Cochin badly, so I'm interested in your comments on the relative scarcity of the second watermark on the Puttan issues. However, the other day, I did buy this sheet of SG 22



to go with my copies of the tête-bêche pair and inverted overprint. It may not be very obvious, but the surcharge at Row 3/2 was applied by handstamp, to substitute for the missing '2' at that position. If you look very closely, you can see that the '2' there is a little out of alignment with the other 2s. Not a big (or even small) rarity, but it's nice to add to the group.

As regards the later stamps, lately I've been seeing some examples of what I believe are clever forgeries of the rarer surcharges. I haven't yet had time to compare them properly with genuine examples, but I'm becoming very cautious about buying them from anyone except the most unquestionable sources. I certainly won't buy from ebay sellers I don't know.

star trek you said stampgal? hmm interesting

tony come here and I will take you to some raddiwallahs and you can have your fill of the indian states before it either becomes expensive or they decide to recycle it.

Heaven forbid that either happen ...

they are becoming expensive by the minute even pies are being sold for more than 100 dollars :( and ignorant fools are selling these by the kilo

Back from Indipex....

Bought this Kishengarh - just for the heck of it.

Inverted overprint - request feedback from veterans...

Also got some Cochins - will post them in the correct forum.
Regards
Thomas

Unfortunately, Thomas, inverted Service overprints are common from Kishangarh. I just looked at my copies: I have four singles of this stamp, and two of them have the inverted overprint. But who cares? It's certainly a spectacular looking strip, and well worth a place in any Indian States collection.

What were your impressions of Indipex? I would have liked to attend, but I just couldn't get away from work.