United States 2018 - Stamp Releases & Designers

Click on the images to and right click to save. Print quantities of 20 million or less are highlighted in yellow.

I've not been able to post much about United States postal stamp this year. It was a busy year with some unplanned travel and work, but given the regular and detailed updates on usps.com, Linn's and APS, collectors are always able to find the relevant information, unlike India Post stamps. I'm posting print quantities and stamp artist details for all stamps issued in 2018 in the table below. I've noticed that over the last few years the number of stamps with less than 20 million print run has increased a lot, likely reflecting reduced use of stamps and mail. Surprisingly there was no postal stationary released and a butterfly stamp that was previewed last year was not issued this year either. Has that series ended? We'll have to wait to hear from the post office for more details. Let me know in the comments below if anything is missing or you'd like to see something else posted on here.

France-India: Joint Stamp Issues

Other than Russia, South Africa and Iran, France is the only other country to have issued two or more joint stamp issues with India.

The joint issue in 2003 (released on 29th November) showed identical designs, one each from India and France. India's national bird peacock and a rooster from France were selected to be shown on the stamps. The stamps were considered to deliver a message of renewal through these significant birds and the artwork in myriad of colors. I've been searching for the source of these designs for a couple of weeks, but I've finally managed to get accurate information for both the stamp images.

The stamp from France depicts a 15th century artwork in the Book of Hours (Heures a l'usage de Rome in French) created in Provence, France. Two artists, Barthelemy d'Eyck (also known as the Master of the Annunciation of Aix-en-Provence) and Enguerrand Quarton (1410-1466) illustrated this book consisting of 225 leaves, 10 large miniatures and 24 calendar illustrations. Book of Hours is Christian prayer book that was particularly popular in the middle ages. This French Book of Hours contains several illustrations showing months and zodiac signs. The rooster depicted on the stamp was likely done by d'Eyck. This book is currently in Morgan Library's collection in New York City. See an image of the page from this book below.

The stamp design from India shows peacock from the back of a 19th century Sarpech jewelry (turban ornament). This handmade sarpech used gold and precious stones done in an intricate art form called Minakari. Minakari was developed and promoted during the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's rule, and used gems and precious stones, and enamels to make jewelry, royal thrones etc. Minakari is still used to make jewelry, especially in Jaipur and uses flowers, plants, and animal forms as the main design elements. The sarpech shown on the stamp is likely a 19th century piece from Rajasthan, which consists of three clusters, a hexagonal center piece and two rectangular pieces, each showing chrysanthemum flowers and a peacock.

Indian stamp was designed by Kamleshwar Singh and was printed in sheetlets of 8 se-tenant pairs along with miniature sheets containing both the stamps. La Poste of France printed individual stamps in sheets of 30 each, which were designed by Claude Jumelet. I've seen the date of issue in France shown as 01st December, but that's the general sale date, and the first day issue date remains the same in both the countries.

France-India joint stamp issue from 2003

After 12 years of the first collaboration, India and France celebrated 50 years of cooperation in space science by issuing another joint stamp. The stamps, again one from each country, showed two satellites - Megha-Tropiques and SARAL, on one stamp each. India's space agency ISRO and France's CNES have cooperated in space research since an early agreement in 1964 to build and launch sounding rockets in India. Increased cooperation eventually led to launch of the Megha-Tropiques satellite in 2011 and SARAL in 2013.

Megha-Tropiques launched in October 2011 was intended to study water cycle and energy exchanges in the tropics. The satellite is expected to provide insight into the contribution of the water cycle to the tropical atmosphere. The main aim appears to be to understand life cycle of convective systems that influence tropical climate and their role in energy and moisture budget of the atmosphere in the tropical regions.

SARAL or the Satellite with ARgos and ALtika payloads was launched in February 2013 to study ocean circulation and sea surface elevation. The two main payloads were built by CNES along with one from ISRO. The satellite launched using ISROs' PSLV rocket will help in marine meteorology, climate and environmental monitoring, sea state and seasonal forecasting, oceanography, earth systems and climate research and protection of biodiversity and maritime security.

France's La Poste printed individual stamps in sheets of 42 each. Like most other joint issued in France, La Poste put a presentation pack for sale along with two types of pre-stamped envelopes and a brochure with cancelled stamps from both countries. India Post printed the stamps in individual sheets with 45 stamps in each sheet along with a miniature sheet with both the stamps. Sankha Samanta designed the stamp showing SARAL satellite and David Ducros of France did the artwork for the stamp showing Megha-Tropiques satellite. These stamps were issued at an event on 10th April 2015 when the Prime Minister of India traveled to France for an official visit.

If you found this to be an interesting read, do leave comments or suggestions below.

India-France joint issue (2015) on 50 years of cooperation in space science

Belarus-India: Joint Stamp Issue (2017)

Belarus and India issued a joint stamp on 12th September 2017 to celebrate 25 years of diplomatic relations. After the former Soviet Union was re-organized into several independent countries in 1991, India established diplomatic relations with the 15 new countries over the next couple of years. So, the 25th year of establishing these relations were celebrated in 2016-2017, including the joint stamp with Belarus i 2017 and a belated one with Armenia in late 2018 (see here). These two issues along with the one with Russia in 2017 (see here), are the three joint stamp issues with former Soviet republics that have so far been commemorated with India.

The theme for the joint stamp with Belarus was quite simple: National Symbols. Belarus has been issuing similar stamps with a host of other nations over the last few years, some joint and some unilaterally. Many recent stamps from Belarus just show national emblems from two countries and not much else. Belarus national emblem has several elements including an outline map of Belarus, partial globe showing Eurasia, partial sun emanating golden sun rays, stalks of wheat adorned by flax flowers and clovers. Remainder of the symbol is wrapped with red and green ribbons and official name of Belarus is inscribed at the bottom.

On the other hand, India's national emblem is quite simple. It contains a two dimensional adaptation of the Ashokan Lion Capital from Sarnath. The original sculpture shows four lions facing in four directions, symbolizing courage, power, confidence and pride. This resides on a circular base, which shows the Ashokan Dharma Chakra (wheel) and several animals including a horse, bull, elephant and lion. This entire sculpture is placed on a blooming lotus. The official symbol is a 2D adaptation shows a few limited features. A motto meaning Truth Alone Triumphs from the Hindu Upanishads is inscribed under the lion capital emblem.

Given Belarus Post Office has been using the same stamp format showing national symbols for the last few years, it's safe to assume Belarus designed the stamp and India Post used the same design. India Post issued the stamp in individual sheet of 45 stamps (Rupees 25 denomination) along with a miniature sheet containing one stamp. Kamleshwar Singh deigned the miniature sheet that shows the Lotus Temple in New Delhi and the National Library in Minsk. Belarus version of the stamp was issued in sheetlets of 6 stamps, with an element of embossing and red hot foil showing the National Library and Lotus Temple in the selvage. Belarus stamp was issued as minimum postage for international mail in 60,000 copies. India Post issued a total of 0.5 million stamps in individual sheets and 0.1 million souvenir sheets.

The stamps were dedicated at a ceremony in New Delhi when the President of Belarus was visiting India for an official visit.

India-Belarus: Joint Stamp Issue - Souvenir Sheet from India Post

Sheetlet from Belarus Post Office showing National Library, Misk and Lotus Temple, New Delhi

Serbia-India: Joint Stamp Issue (2018)

Updated on 22 Sep 2018: A joint stamp issue between India and Serbia was announced by Serbia Post Office as early as January this year, but India Post officials did not confirm the existence of this stamp set, despite repeated requests, until it's very issuance on 15th September. The stamp were originally planned for release on 9th October, but were later scheduled for release on 3rd September during an official trip of the Vice President of India to Serbia. Due to the national mourning period in late-August for the former Prime Minister of India Vajpayee, the dates of this trip were adjusted and changed to 15th September. So, even though these were issued a few weeks earlier than originally known, there was a minor last minute delay.

The stamp subject for the joint stamp issue is quite interesting. The Serbian side chose well known inventor and engineer Nikola Tesla and the Indian government chose the well known philosopher and spiritual leader Swami Vivekananda. On the surface this appears to be a complete mismatch; with a scientist and a religious philosopher, but Tesla and Vivekananda have something in common and shared a friendship. Serbia and India are celebrating 70 years of their diplomatic relations and 2018 is also 125th year of Swami Vivekananda's landmark speech on Hinduism during the World Religion Parliament in Chicago (1893). So, kudos to the postal administrations for this well thought commemoration.

India-Serbia: Joint Issue (2018) - Swami Vivekananda & Nikola Tesla

The stamp on Tesla was designed by Boban Savic 'Geto' of Serbia and the one on Vivekananda was done by Gulistaan, an artist working with the Indian Post Office. Stamps from the Serbia Post Office were printed in sheetlets of 4 se-tenant pairs (65,000 stamps each). In addition to the two individual stamp sheets (45 stamps each), India Post also issued a souvenir sheet comprised of the two stamps. I'm still awaiting details on the print quantity for the Indian stamps, but will add it here once available.

Serbian version of the Joint Stamp Issue with India

I've noticed several collectors wonder about the links between Tesla and Vivekananda, so it was worth looking for some information about their connection and friendship. Apparently it all began in February 1896 in New York City, when Tesla and Vivekananda met after a play by actress Sarah Bernhardt. After discussions and exchanges about Akasha, Prana and Kalpa, Swami ji and Tesla's friendship seems to have begun. Vivekananda believed that if Tesla can prove matter can be reduced to energy, the concept of Vedanta would be backed by Western science as well. Tesla continued his research to prove this, and was influenced by Vivekananda in later years, even using Sanskrit words Akasha and Prana for matter and energy, respectively. Neither Tesla was fully successful in proving this theory, nor Vivekananda was alive much longer to observe this. But, there was clear connect between the East and West and is nicely represented in these stamps.

Armenia-India Joint Stamp Issue (2018)

Update (14 Sep 2018): After so many delays and rescheduled dates, the joint stamps between Armenia and India were dedicated at a ceremony in Yerevan, Armenia on 29th August 2018. Thanks to HayPost officials, the late-August date timing that I'd shared here and on Twitter was accurate. Even though the stamp subject of dances remained, Armenia appears to have changed their dance form at the last minute. India Post first day covers that were initially printed showed Berd dance, but the final stamps show Hov Arek dance form, so the FDCs were likely reprinted. The new envelopes from India Post show some architectural elements from unknown monuments.

Armenia Post issued the stamps in a sheetlet of 5 se-tenant pairs. HayPost's website stamps.am is selling singles and sheetlets, albeit higher than face value price, which is quite surprising. FDCs have been printed, in an unknown quantity and are not available on their website. Armenian FDCs show Etchmiadzin Cathedral and Taj Mahal. India Post on the other hand printed both the stamps in individual sheets of 45 stamps each, along with a miniature sheet with both the stamps. Suresh Kumar Achari and Vahagn Mkrtchyan designed the stamps for their respective postal administrations.

The joint stamp show Manipuri dance from India and Hov Arek dance from Armenia. India Post had issued a stamp on Manipuri dance previously in 1975 as well. I don't like the font used on the Indian stamps and it'd not even mentioned about Hov Arek being an Armenian dance. Armenian stamps have better overall design, but they messed up the Indian Manipuri dance stamp by adding the background details even on the white portion of the stamp. Anyways, I truly hope no more dances are used for Indian joint stamps; this was the fifth one since 2006.

Hay Post issued 40,000 stamps of each design (280 Armenian Dram each), printed at Cartor Security Printing in France. Indian stamps were printed in SPP, Hyderabad (5 Rupees and 25 Rupees denomination), but print quantity details are still awaited - I will add it here once I get my hands on a brochure.

Indian miniature sheet showing two stamps from the Armenia-India joint stamp issue

Manipuri dance: This classical Indian group dance, also known as Jagoi originated in the North-Eastern state of Manipur and is based on Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism themes of Hindu religion. This traditional dance includes slow, lyrical and graceful movements to the tune of Pung (drum), kartal, harmonium, sembong, pena and flute. Lyrics are typically devotional songs using Jayadeva's, Vidyapati's or other medieval poets writings in Sanskrit, Braj or Maithili languages. The dance is also inspired heavily by Radha-Krishna Raas. Female dances dress like brides in Poltoi and  Kumil, which is a barrel-like skirt whereas male dancers wear dhotis.

Armenian stamps from the Armenia-India: Joint Issue (2018)

Hov Arek dance: Armenia's Hov Arek or Areq is performed using a lyrical folk song by the same name written by composer and priest Komitas. It is considered among the 100 most important songs in Armenian cultural heritage. I'm surprised at the choice of this dance, because it appears to be more of a song than a well known dance itself. In my opinion, Berd would have been a clear pick from the national dances of Armenia. Use the links below if you want to look at a couple of videos showing these dances.

Links to Youtube videos: Hov Arek and Manipuri

Update (07 Jul 2018): First day covers for the Indian version of this stamp have been printed and appear to depict Jagoi Manipuri dance from India and Berd from Armenia (like I had predicted in January this year). This issue has been delayed several times and the from the last update, HayPost Armenia indicated they are trying to get it done in August 2018. Let's see where this ends up. Looking forward to a good stamp design.

Update (21 Jan 2018): Just to be clear, the currently proposed date for issuance is 21st March 2018.

Original Post (17 Jan 2018): I've been trying to get details for the joint stamp issue between India and Armenia over the last year and a half. This stamp issue was discussed in bilateral meetings since 2016 and will likely materialize this year. I've been able to confirm from Haypost and India Post that the theme for this joint issue will be Dances. In the recent past, India has used dance as a subject for joint issues with Cyprus (2006), Mexico (2010), Portugal (2017) and Russia (2017). It would have been nice to see some more creativity from the India Post officials to find similarities between the two cultures and then select a subject. All these Indian dance forms can easily be commemorated on a separate set of stamps dedicated to Dances of India.

Diplomatic contact between Armenia and India were established in 1992 and the stamp issue will likely celebrate 25 years of this relationship. The joint stamp is currently scheduled for issuance in third week of March 2018, but I will confirm this as soon as additional information is available.

Possible Armenian Dance forms: Kochari, Berd or Trahag

Any guesses for Indian Dance forms?

South Africa-India Joint Stamp Issues

Update (29 Sep 2018): A total of three joint stamp issues have now been issued between India and South Africa, possibly among the most India Post has with any country other than Russia. Two of these were released in June and July this year itself. Two of the three collaborations have also prominently featured Mahatma Gandhi, a key figure in India's freedom movement who spent his formative years in South Africa as a lawyer.

The first joint stamp issue was released in 1995, couple of years after South Africa held its democratic elections. The theme for this commemoration was closing of 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Both countries issued identical stamps, designed by Alan Ainslie and the Indian Post office. The stamps showed Gandhi as young barrister in South Africa and as Mahatma during the 20th century freedom struggle in India. Along with individual stamps, India issued a souvenir sheet containing the se-tenant stamp pair, but South Africa's miniature sheet contained only one stamp. At a later date in June 1997, South Africa issued a second souvenir sheet with the stamp that was not on the first souvenir sheet (see images below).

After a gap of 23 years, philatelic cooperation picked up again this year. Since early 2017, the Indian embassy had been planning a joint stamp issue with South Africa and I'd shared some initial plans on Twitter as well. I'd thought a set of 4 stamps showing Deendayal Upadhyaya, Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo (all three birth centenaries from 2016-2018) and Mahatma Gandhi (150th birth anniversary) would be issued at once, but there were two separate issues in store.

A set of 2 stamps designed by Alka Sharma for India Post was issued in early June during the 125th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's Pietermaritzburg Station Incident. These stamps commemorated 20 years of strategic partnership and 25 years of diplomatic relations, while showing images of Deendayal Upadhyaya and Oliver Tambo on the stamps. Background image in the souvenir sheet shows national flowers of both countries (lotus and protea) along with unknown mountains. Stamps and souvenir sheets for both the countries were printed at SPP Hyderabad, and surprisingly South Africa post office is yet to receive their supplies, almost four months after actual issuance. It is not confirmed, but South Africa will likely only put souvenir sheets for sale and no individual stamps.

Deendayal Upadhyaya (1916-1968) was an eminent thinker and political leader of India's right of center ideology post-independence. He espoused the thought of integral humanism and social welfare of poor, downtrodden ('last person in line'). Even though he lived only 50 years, his philosophy left a deep impact on developing a new idea of India.

Oliver R. Tambo (1917-1993) was a socio-political leader from South Africa that led African National Congress (ANC), the foremost political organization fighting Apartheid. Tambo started his political journey in 1943 forming the youth wing of ANC. The youth wing had developed new ways of protests and was working in tandem with ANC. Tambo was appointed as the secretary of ANC in 1955, deputy president in 1958. He was then tasked to garner support from other countries and international organizations by traveling abroad. He was then appointed as acting President of ANC in 1967, and president in 1969, a position he held until 1991. For majority of his life in ANC, Tambo was working in exile, but returned to South Africa in 1990, after having spent 30 years out of his home country. He handed over the reigns of ANC to Nelson Mandela, who was eventually also elected as the first President of post-Apartheid South Africa in 1991.

The third and most recent stamp set shows Pietermaritzburg train station located near Durban in South Africa. In June 1893, Mahatma Gandhi, then Mohandas K. Gandhi, was removed from a first class train compartment due to his color and asked to moved to end of the train. The young Gandhi did not board the train and spent the night at the station waiting room. This event led to Gandhi fighting for racial equality for Indians in South Africa, eventually giving birth to Satyagraha - the concept of non-violent resistance or holding firmly to the truth using civil resistance. This year is 125th anniversary of the train station incident, and is being commemorated on the identical stamp sheets issued by both the countries.

Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) was also a socio-political leader from ANC like Oliver Tambo that led protests and political movement to fight Apartheid in South Africa. He started in the youth wing of ANC in 1944, going on to become its president in 1951. His struggle to abolish Apartheid took shape from 1952 onward, where he devised various plans for defying the minority white government, some actions even turning violent. After several skirmishes and arrests, Mandela was imprisoned at Robben Island from 1964 to 1982. He was transferred to other prisons until his release in February 1990, totaling to 27 years of incarceration. Immediately after release, he begins negotiations with the government to end racial discrimination and establish an equal democracy. He was elected as the first President of democratic South Africa in 1994, a position he held until 1999. Thereafter he immersed in social improvement through his foundation. He continued to remain in public life, until his passing due to ill health in late 2013. Mandela was awarded the Bharat Ratna and Nobel Peace Prize for his work in abolishing Apartheid peacefully and establishing a new democracy in South Africa.

It appears that India Post designed the June 2018 stamps (Alka Sharma), and South African artists did the July 2018 issue (Thea Clemon and Alan Ainslie). Nenu Gupta from India is also credited with the July 2018 stamps, but that's likely for adjusting the images and fonts. The basic design likely came from South Africa. These stamps have tried to commemorate so many events and personalities, it's difficult to clearly explain everything. See below for all possible reasons that I think can be cited.

List of events for 2018 India-South Africa joint stamp issues:
1. 20 Years of Strategic Partnership (1997-2017)
2. 25 Years of Diplomatic Relations (1993-2018)
3. 50 Years of Deendayal Upadhyaya's passing (1968-2018)
4. Birth Centenary of Deendayal Upadhyaya (1916-2016)
5. Birth Centenary of Oliver Reginald Tambo (1917-2017)
6. Birth Centenary of Nelson Mandela (1918-2018)
7. 125th Year of Mahatma Gandhi's Pietermaritzburg Station Incident (1893-2018)
8. 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (1969-2019)

Latest collaboration between India & South Africa post offices for a joint stamp issue (July 2018)

Second joint stamp issue between India and South Africa (June 2018)

Joint Issue between India and South Africa issued in 1995 and another souvenir by SA Post in 1997

Update (07 Jul 2018): I will post details for all the joint stamps issued between India and South Africa here. I've previously shared - on another post and on Twitter - with fellow collectors that the two countries have been working on commemorating several personalities in 2018 and turns out there will be two joint issues in 2018 itself - one each in June and July.