Bussahir (Bashahr): the Tiger Stamps of a Himalayan Hill State
Bashahr, the hill state on the Sutlej with its capital at Rampur, ran a runner post with its own tiger stamps from 1895 to 31 March 1901: the rulers, the chronology and the stamps.
Bussahir
Bussahir’s tiger stamps of 1895–1901, for runner routes from Rampur to Chini and Rohru in the Himalaya.
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The Bussahir State Post, 1894–1901: Runners from Rampur to Chini and Rohru
Why a hill state set up its own post, the three offices and their runner lines, the quarter-anna letter rate, registration receipts, the end of the State post on 31 March 1901 and the Imperial offices that followed.
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Bussahir’s Tiger Stamps: Karam Bakhsh, the Copper Plate and the Lithographic Stones
How the tiger stamps were made: Maulvi Karam Bakhsh’s drawings, the Bombay printing house of Haji Nawab Ali, a copper plate transferred to stone, rare engraved singles and the sheets of 24, 28 and 50.
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Bussahir Values, Monograms and Reprints: Reading the Two Tiger Families
The eight values of the white-letter STAMP family, the coloured-letter POSTAGE family, the RS monogram and its exceptions, laid paper, unissued high values and the revenue ‘essays’.
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Bussahir Covers, Postmarks, the Stamped Envelope and Cancelled-to-Order Material
Rampur–Rohru covers of 1896 and 1899, the town datestamps and the bogus marks, the violet stamped envelope whose value is disputed, and how to recognise favour and CTO cancellations.
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Bussahir: the Collector’s Checklist
Every Bussahir issue and value, 17 entries, with pictures where available and a box to tick for each stamp you have.
