The Feudatory States
India had a great many feudatory states, but not all issued postal stamps and/or stationery. The feudatory states issuing stamps were as follows (the dates are the starting and ending dates of stamp issuance):
- Alwar (1877-1899)
- Bamra (1888-1893)
- Barwani (1921-1938)
- Bhopal (1876-1932)
- Bhor (1879-1901)
- Bijawar (1935-1937)
- Bundi (1894-1941)
- Bashahr (1895-1900)
- Charkhari (1894-1943)
- Cochin (1892-1933)
- Dhar (1897-1898)
- Duttia (1893-1916)
- Faridkot (1879-1886) (a convention state from 1887)
- Hyderabad (1869-1949)
- Idar (1939-1944)
- Indore (1886-1941)
- Jaipur (1900-1947)
- Jammu and Kashmir (1878-1886)
- Jammu (1866-1877)
- Kashmir (1866-1867)
- Jasdan (1942-1942)
- Jhalawar (1887-1887)
- Jind (1874-1885) (a convention state from 1885)
- Kishangarh (1899-1928)
- Las Bela (1897-1904)
- Morvi (1931-1935)
- Nandgaon (1892-1893)
- Nowanuggur (1877-1893)
- Orchha (1913-1939)
- Poonch (1876-1884)
- Rajasthan (1949-1949)
- Rajpipla (1880)
- Sirmur (1879-1899)
- Soruth (1864-1937)
- Travancore (1888-1946)
- Travancore-Cochin (1949-1950)
- Wadhwan (1888-1889)
Since many of the first issues of these stamp issuing states were printed locally using primitive methods (generally typographed), they can be very rare. Due to this reason this is a challenging and an interesting area for stamp collecting. Beginners need be aware of the existence of forgeries, though most forgeries are crude and can be easily identified. Postal history forgeries (i.e. stamps used on cover/piece) are at times harder to detect - though this problem is not limited to Indian States. It is generally recommended to request expertization certificates from the British Philatelic Association or the Royal Philatelic Society London.
The standard catalogue for postage stamps followed by many (and one that is considered most accurate for Indian States) is published by Stanley Gibbons. A wealth of information resides in articles that have been published in journals like the Philatelic Journal Of India, the India Post (published by the India Study Circle), the London Philatelist (published by the Royal Philatelic Society London), and others that are available at many of the philatelic libraries (List of philatelic libraries).
Due to the very basic nature of the printing and design, stamps of the feudatory states are often informally referred to as "Uglies".
Read more about this topic: Postage Stamps And Postal History Of The Indian States
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