The Hindu : New Delhi News : A historic stamp of approval

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Saturday, Feb 19, 2011
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New Delhi

A historic stamp of approval

Sandeep Joshi

Instant hits were khadi stamp on Mahatma Gandhi, My Stamp, rarest Indian stamp

Blast from the past:It was in India that letters were transmitted by air for the first time in the world from Allahabad to Naini on February 18, 1911, exactly a hundred years ago. Seen here, the first airmail flight.

NEW DELHI: The week-long Indipex-2011 World Philatelic Exhibition that came to an end here on Friday was an instant hit with philately enthusiasts and school children. The unique exhibition, where the world's top postal organisations marked their presence, saw around 1.25-lakh footfalls, while visitors bought unique articles to add to their philately collection.

“It is one unique show where the world's oldest postal organisation, the Royal Mail from Britain; the world's largest postal network with over 1.5-lakh post offices, India Post; and the world's biggest network in terms of turnover, the U.S. Postal Service; were participating,” Indipex-2011 director Harpreet Singh told The Hindu.

Exhibitors are elated as various collectors' items like old philatelic material, stock books for storing stamps, stamp albums, accessories, souvenirs and rare stamps brought from various countries have been sold out, he added. Friday's visitors were lucky as they got good bargains from exhibitors.

Instant hits at the show were the khadi stamp on Mahatma Gandhi, personalised ‘My Stamp' bearing a person's photograph, and one of the rarest Indian stamp — the “Inverted Head Four Annas” — issued in 1854 and priced in crores.

A set of four stamps was released to mark the centenary of the first airmail flight that took place in India on February 18, 1911. On Friday, a ceremonial flight also took off from Allahabad to Naini to commemorate the same.

To make the event memorable, India Post also released a set of stamps on six legendary actors — Meena Kumari, Nutan, Kanan Devi, Devika Rani, Leela Naidu and Savitri.

“Over 10,000 people got My Stamp printed from our stall, while the commemorative stamps on the first airmail were also sold out. The khadi stamp was in great demand, particularly among foreigners, and country commissioners, who represent a group of philatelists from their nation,” Mr. Singh said.

Apart from the three big postal organisations, 595 collectors from 70 countries, 28 philatelic dealers and 31 postal administrations took part in the exhibition. Secretary, Posts, Radhika Doraiswamy, gave away 600 medals in various categories.

Martha Villarrdel De Peredo from Bolivia was given the highest award — the Grand Prix d'Honneur — for her exhibit of stamps on the 19th Century Bolivia, while the Grand Prix International was awarded to Paul Commeli for his exhibit on Brazilian Mail to Foreign Destinations. The next show will be held in Yokohama, Japan, in July 2012.

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