Postal stamps depicting milestones in world and Indian history of posts, great personalities, flowers, unusual stamp issues and tales from epics are on display at Karnapex 2019.
The Scinde Dawk, the first stamp issued in India in Sindh Province in 1852 by the East India Company, is also exhibited. The stamps appeared in white, blue and scarlet and cost half an anna. Due to poor visibility of White Scinde Dawk in candle light, it was decided to change the colour of the stamp to blue. The scarlet one was made of sealing wax.
According to philatelist Krishnayya, the value of Scinde Dawk stamps is presently at Rs 50 lakh.
In addition, there were Queen Victoria half-anna lithograph-specimens, Queen Victoria half-anna one-die stamps to commemorate the first aerial post, 100 years of first airmail and so on. Stamps on Scout Jamboree highlighted activities – including camping, tent pitching, camp fire, map-reading and badge system. Unusual stamps like silver and gold postage stamps were the big attraction.
Lenticular/ motion stamps 3D on the Great Barrier Reef, plastic stamps, stamps using unusual materials like ceramic, rubber, crystals, unusual materials, odd die cut self-adhesive stamps, water-shaped stamps and tear-shaped miniature sheets attracted the attention of the visitors.
The gold-embossed heptagonal stamp, scented stamps from India on jasmine, rose, sandalwood, the world’s first scented stamp from Bhutan (1973) depicting variety of roses with an authentic scent, chocolate-scented stamp from France, a unique puffy – plastic heat-moulded – stamp issued by Bhutan on April 1972, silk cloth paper stamp from DPR Korea, a stamp printed on cloth-paper to mark the centenary of Gandhi’s khadi movement also left the visitors’ impressed.
There were stamps on Yoga, a variety of post boxes designed for outgoing mail, civilian award-winners, monetary heritage and so on.
Over 600 frames with lakhs of stamps from various periods and prominent social reformers made the visit memorable to many visitors.
The counters selling picture post cards, stamps and ‘My stamp’ also did roaring business.