Indian Philately History

POSTAGE STAMP

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination (price) on the face, and gum adhesive on the back side. The Scinde Dawk of 1852, the first Indian postage postage stamp is a round red sealing wafer. The first all India regular stamps were issued on 01.10.1854 in the denomination of ½, 1, 2, and 4 annas.

Commemorative Stamp

Commemorative stamps are issued to commemorate personalities, events of national or international importance, cultural heritage, fauna, flora, literature, art, education or to draw attention to a special occasion, subject or function. They are printed in limited quantities and are never reprinted. 

The first Indian commemorative stamps were issued in 1931 on the occasion of inauguration of New Delhi depicting the different government buildings viz. Parliament House, India Gate etc. Indian postal department issues 40 -60 commemorative stamps in a year. Presently they are issued in the denomination of Rs. 5, 10, 20 and 25. These stamps are only available are at Philatelic Bureau and counters or under the Philatelic Deposit Account Scheme.

Definitive Stamps  

A definitive stamp is a postage stamp that is a part of a regular issue of a country’s stamps available for sale by the postal service for an extended period of time. India has issued 10 series of definitive stamps till date. The present series is on ‘Builders of Modern India’ and are available in the denomination of 25p to Rs. 50.

Miniature Sheet

It is a small souvenir sheet and consist of anything from one to about a dozen stamps either of one or two kinds or all different specially printed together with a margin around. They may be either regular issue that just happens to be printed in small or special issues often commemorating some event such as national anniversary, philatelic exhibition, or government program. The first Indian miniature was issued on 14.11.1973 on the occasion of India International Philatelic Exhibition, INDIPEX-73.

First Day Cover 

This is cover which is brought out along with commemorative/definitive/special postage stamp. This is issued on the day of issue of the stamp, and bears the stamp franked with a special cancellation of the day of issue. It can either be sent through post on the day of its release or can be retained as philatelic collection.

Sheetlets

Sheetlets are issued with 9-24 stamps in each sheet. They contain occasion and description about the stamp on the sheet. The 1st Indian sheetlet was issued on the occasion of 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic relations between India and Japan.

Special Cover

These covers are issued on the request of sponsoring organization on payment of prescribed fees. The legend on the cover depicts the name of the event/occasion being commemorated in Hindi and English. The covers bear a stamp with a special cancellation of the day of issue.

Brochure

Whenever any commemorative/special stamp is issued, a publicity brochure is also brought out. It contains a brief article on the subject and technical data of the stamp.

Maxim Card

It refers to a postcard issued to include the maximum number of allusions to a subject. For example, a picture postcard of the birthplace of Gandhi may bear stamp containing his portrait and cancelled in the same town with a pictorial postmark showing the spinning wheel. These are issued by India Post and private organizations. 

Exhibition Covers

Exhibition covers are issued during Philatelic Exhibition. These covers depict the theme and bear a stamp franked with a special cancellation of the day of issue. 

My Stamp

My Stamp is the brand name for personalized sheets of Commemorative postage stamps of India Post. The personalization is achieved by printing a thumbnail photograph of the customer images and logos of institutions or images of artwork, heritage buildings, famous tourist places, historical cities, wildlife etc., alongside the selected Commemorative postage stamp.

Presentation Pack

A presentation pack is a folder, produced for philatelists and stamp collectors, which contain a full set of stamp issue. It normally consists of a cardboard folder with notes about the stamps, a holder for the stamps and a clear sleeve on the outside. The packs are usually sold at a small margin above the face value of the stamps.

Se-tenant stamps 

Se-tenant stamps are attached stamps that are different from one another in any way, such as design, colour or denomination (face value). "Se-tenant" translates from French as meaning "holding together."

Year Pack  

This is a specially designed, full color, high quality laminated pack containing the complete collection of the year's commemorative stamps. They come in plastic sleeves for protection and are published annually to coincide with the last stamp issued of that same year. Year packs offer information on each issue