Post Script

It was English educationalist Rowland Hill who introduced stamps to reduce postal costs in 1840. Several sheets of the iconic Penny Black stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II were distributed by the postal department,Royal Mail...

The British stamp company,Royal Mail,is launching stamp sets onTagore and the Commonwealth Games

It was English educationalist Rowland Hill who introduced stamps to reduce postal costs in 1840. Several sheets of the iconic Penny Black stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II were distributed by the postal department,Royal Mail,across Britain and thats how the stamp was born. A decade later,Queen Victoria made an appearance on the first stamp of India in 1854. Now,a 150 years later,the Royal Mail is back in India,this time with its entire collection of stamps,publications and albums. The Queens portrait is now available in pink,lime green and sea green in the Definitive Stamp Set priced at Rs 152 and the Edward VII and George V Ingot Collection boxed set for Rs 15,826.

India is the only place outside the United Kingdom where Royal Mail is directly selling its products. The move was prompted by the fact that India and the United Kingdom are inextricably linked,historically. India also has a lot of philatelists and stamp collectors, says Manoj Joshi,official representative,South Asia,Royal Mail. While the company launched its India operations in November in Delhi with a stall at the international pavilion at the India International Trade Fair,the products will be available at Oxford Bookstore across the country from next month. The site,www.royalmailsouthasia.com also has the catalogue of the products. One can browse the website and we will start taking orders once the required permission is taken, adds Joshi pointing out that the entire Royal Mail collection available in the UK is on sale in India.

India-specific series of products,meanwhile,are also being designed. Artists in West Bengal,for instance,are working on stamps that will document ten important moments from the life of Rabindranath Tagore. Another set of artists is shortlisting monuments that will feature on a generic sheet on

Delhi. This will comprise images of India Gate,Red Fort and Qutub Minar. These will be launched in February after being printed in Edinburgh. Also in the pipeline is another generic sheet that will be released before the

Commonwealth Games.

Compared to the UK,the prices are 10-15 per cent higher due to the taxes, says Joshi. So he has the Darwin Prestige Stamp Book,written by Eugene Byrne,that also comprises stamps for Rs 790 and the Christmas 2009 stamp set showing Madonna and Child,Angel,Joseph,Wise Man and Shepherd costs Rs 458. The book Queen Elizabeth II – A Portrait in Stamps,that features the changing face of the Queen through reproductions of Royal Mails stamp sets issued over the last 55 years,is priced at Rs 995 and the limited edition Cathedral Stamp Collection costs Rs 2,442. The Elizabeth I silver proof coin is priced at Rs 3,910. More products will be added to the collection soon, promises Joshi,drawing a list of cities where he intends to have promotional road shows,all across India from Mumbai to Chennai,Bangalore,Jaipur and Ahmedabad.

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