The hand-drawn ‘primitives’ of Shah Jahan Begum, the Sultan Jahan Begum series and Bhopal’s post to its merger in 1908.
Bhopal, ruled by Begums through the stamp era, ran its own post from 1862, issued hand-drawn primitives from the 1870s and official stamps until 1950: the rulers, the chronology and the stamps.
Bhopal’s own post from 1862: forty offices in 1890, 600,000 free official letters in 1901, the tariff reported in 1906, and the transfer of the public post to the Post Office of India in July 1908.
Bhopal’s lithographed ‘primitives’ bearing Shah Jahan Begum’s name: the 1872 or 1876 question, the embossed octagonal control, hand-punched perforation, sheets of six to thirty-two, spelling errors and remainders.
Sultan Jahan’s stamps of 1902, the 1908 one-anna arms corrected from Waterlow to Perkins Bacon, and the history of Bhopal’s official stamps: Nasik and Archer, triangles, palace pictorials and surcharges.
Bhopal’s postcards and green envelopes with Sultan Jahan’s seal, the official view cards, intaglio seals on covers, a 1905 cover to Pasumalai with an Edward VII stamp, and what is still unknown.
Every Bhopal issue and value, 17 entries, with pictures where available and a box to tick for each stamp you have.
