Information from NPS Members

Dear Bloggers,
In my last post, owing to lack of full knowledge on how the scams or photos get adjusted in a post, referred the scans as if two images are placed next to each other rather than top to bottom. Bloggers can discern the placement of scans as top to bottom .Accordingly the news paper cutting is the top scan and 4 pages of the Pakistani Publicity folder as the next 4 scans from top to bottom. I apologise for this error.

Mr. D Hemchandra Rao has sent in four souvenir cards, shown above, commemorating the four stamps issued on Indian Coast Guard on 12 August 2008. Whilst I admire his tenacity in getting valid photographs for his cards, I regret it can not meet the FIP Criterion on Maximum cards as the size he has chosen does not conform to FIP Specifications.
Discussion on Maxim Cards (Courtesy RAINBOW STAMPNEWS JULY 2010)
DH Rao, Chennai
Dear Ms Jyoti,
Regarding the nice article in your Rainbow News on "MAXCARDS".I would like to share few thoughts on the subject. I and Cdr Acharya are SHIP buffs, and so create our own max cards with ship theme. However, there are lot of grey patches on this subject .Every body agrees on One Thing - namely the maximum concordance between stamp, picture card and cancellation. It is clear that picture shall not be a replica of the stamp itself -eg GB PHQ cards.Now what is left is the cancellation. Let us analyse this with the three or four senior philatelists who provided good ,basic information on your news letter.emember, the Earliest Max Card created [by default] was with a pyramid picture card posted in Egypt with a Def stamp showing the famous pyramid and affixed on the picture side and posted at that Tourist spot.Remember the date was Not the First Day of Issue of stamp.The Tourist Spot Date cancellation beautifully tied the picture card with the Pyramid and the stamp also showing pyramid.
In my opinion there is no sanctity of First day Cancellation at least in India.
Most of the time we do not get stamps on the day of issue. To site an example, we are yet to get Udagamandalam Post Office Stamp. Then how to get First Day Cancellation from that PO., Further, Boucher issued along with the stamp are not very clear about many things. They are mostly silent on the exact post office for the Stamp Issued. So here comes the real research. One has to depend on external sources for the correct Picture and Pace for the stamp issued. Most often, no commercial picture cards are available in India. So, Philatelists like me, who want 100% correct Place Cancellation as well as Good Pictures Cards, create them ourselves.
During International Fleet Review at Mumbai and Fleet Review at Visakhapattinam ,Cdr Acharya and myself created beautiful cards with ships and got them cancelled at respective places. One caution -always it is not easy to convince the postmaster of the post office concerned, who will insist on Rs6/-, as he interprets a Picture Card to a "Printed Card",which attracts Rs6/- as postage. Most of the respected postmasters in India Post post offices simply do not know what is a maxim card. Why, even some officers don’t know this.
The main reason for this rejoinder is about proper PLACE Cancellation vis a vis Any Post Office First Day Cancellation. Let me explain this with some of the recent stamps - to have the maximum concordance of cancellation one must have :- FOR
Horses - Kathiavari at Kuvada bo,Marwari at Marwar JnHO,,Zanskari at Leh HO,Manipuri at Imphal GPO,
Textiles- Kalamkari at Sri Kalahasti, Banaras Brocade at Varanasi,Conjeevaram silk at Kancheepuram and Apa Tani at Ziro MDG in Arunachal Pradesh.
Jain Temples - Ranakpur at Ranakpur, Dilwara at Abu,
North East Animals - Shillong GPO,
Silent Valley at Mukhaly BO, Holy Cross Church at Madayikonam,Sacred Heart Church at Pondicherry.
The list goes on and on. Please let me know, how many seniors has these and other cancelled cards.
I would be most happy to interact with them, so I can enrich myself on the subject.
I am based at Chennai & Specializes on ships, lighthouses and explorers.
I Wish you all the best.
D H Rao
e-mail - dhrao1939@yahoo.com, mob - 0 9840870172