25 years of Speed Post Service in India….

 

25 Years of Speed Post : 24 August 2011

A special Cover was issued in Ahmedabad on completion of 25 years of Speed Post service in India. CPMG, Gujarat Circle Mrs. Humera Ahmed through an elegant function held at Mahatma Gandhi Labour Institute, Ahmedabad arranged to release a special cover today .  The Chief-Guest at the function  was  Padmshree and Padmvibhushan Mrs. Ela Bhatt - founder of Internationally reputed organization SEWA .

Coutresy - Shrikant Parikh – Ahmedabad

Speed Post

It is an express mail service of India Post for letters and documents offered in league with the international EMS service. It was started on 24 August 1986 for providing time-bound and express delivery of letters, documents and parcels across the nation. It links more than 1200 towns in India, with 290 centres in the national network and around 1000 centres in the state network. For regular users, Speed Post provides delivery ‘anywhere in India’ under contractual service. For corporate customers, Speed Post provides ‘Home collection’, credit facilities, on-line tracking, account management and personalized services.

Speed Post ushered in a new era when ‘One India, One Rate’ scheme was launched @ INR  25 for all destinations across India, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Now, Speed Post delivers  ‘Value for money’ to every one every where, delivering local Speed Post upto 50 grams @ INR  12, inclusive of Service Tax.  .

Speed Post Home Collection

With a view to provide convenience for the customers , Speed Post provides collection from the premises of the customers  through on-call collection and regular collection at some of he towns.

Speed Post Passport Service

In a unique partnership, Department of Posts and MEA have come together to provide convenience in getting passports. Applicants need to buy the Passport application form available with the Speed Post Centre, fill it and submit it along with the fee. Speed Post Centres will check the forms , send them to the designated Passport Office for further processing and issue of Passport. The service is available only for issue of new passports and not for the renewal of passports.

State-wise list of post offices providing Speed Post Passport Service

Speed Post International Service

Backed by Universal Postal Union, EMS Speed Post offers economical and faster service to 97 foreign countries.  Be it an important letter or University application form, be it an export consignment or a business sample, Speed Post will take it across with care. For international Speed Post tariff and destinations, click here

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Owney, the canine mascot of US Rail Mail Service..

 

Date of Issue : 27 July 2011

The U.S. Postal Service commemorated Owney, the canine mascot of the Railway Mail Service on Forever stamp, issued on 27 Jyly 2011. The stamp art features an original illustration of Owney, with many of his famous tags and medals gleaming in the background.

Beloved of clerks on mail-sorting trains at the end of the 19th century, Owney was hailed as a symbol of good luck. Today he is an icon of American postal lore whose story highlights the historical importance of the Railway Mail Service.

Owney the Postal Dog FDC with Digital Color Postmark

In the 1880s, during the height of the Railway Mail Service, clerks in the Post Office in Albany, New York, took a liking to a terrier mix named Owney. Fond of riding in postal wagons, Owney followed mailbags onto trains and soon became a good-luck charm to Railway Mail Service employees, who made him their unofficial mascot. Working in the Railway Mail Service was highly dangerous: According to the National Postal Museum, more than 80 mail clerks were killed in train wrecks and more than 2,000 were injured between 1890 and 1900. However, it was said that no train ever met with trouble while Owney was aboard.

As Owney traveled the country, clerks affixed medals and tags to his collar to document his travels. When John Wanamaker, Postmaster General from 1889 to 1893, heard that Owney was overburdened with tags, he gave him a special harness to display them all. During his travels, Owney accumulated more than a thousand medals and tags. Today Owney is on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum in a case that includes some of his medals and tags.

: US Postal Service

Card from Freetown Christiania - Denmark

 

Hi ! I just received a very interesting Postcard sent by Abhimnayu  Pandey of Shimla  from the famous Freetown Christiania, Denmark . This is a very controversial independent  town of Denmark, located within Copenhagen and  one of Denmark’s most popular tourist attractions .This card is   a very good example of Modern Postal History with the stamps and postmarks from Christiania and Copenhagen.

Freetown Christiania (Danish: Fristaden Christiania) is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighborhood in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Christiania has its  own Post office and postage stamps which is evident from this Picture Postcard that bears a postage stamp of Christiania as well as red marking of date and “ Christiania Posthus” These stamps are valid for use within Christiania. But on the outgoing mail from Christiania, Dainsh Postage stamps are to be affixed. This card bears both the markings from Christiania and Copenhagen. This is a very special card   with the postally used stamp from Christiania.The stamp  depicts the flag of Christiania. Such local stamps create a postal history  when these are actually used on a cover or card for a valid postal purpose. Many thanks to Abhimanyu for this wonderful card !!  It’s very very special for me !! …..

Card from Freetown Christiania ( Denmark) to Shamshi – Kullu (India)

Danish stamp and Cancellation of Copenhagen

Christiania stamp with red marking of date and “Christiania Posthus”  and cancellation from Copenhagen.

 

The card bears stamp and postal marking from Christiania  as well as stamp and cancellation from Denmark.

 

The Pagoda, Northern Area - Christiania

 

 

The freetown Christiania was founded in 1971 by a group of hippies who developed their own set of rules, completely independent of the Danish government.

Entrance to Christiania

Christiania is  one of the greatest tourist attractions in Copenhagen, and abroad it is a well-known "brand" for the progressive and liberated Danish lifestyle. Many Danish businesses and organizations also use Christiania as a show place for their foreign friends and guests. The purpose is to show something Danish that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania (Danish: Fristaden Christiania) is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares (85 acres) in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Civic authorities in Copenhagen regard Christiania as a large commune, but the area has a unique status in that it is regulated by a special law, the Christiania Law of 1989 which transfers parts of the supervision of the area from the municipality of Copenhagen to the state. It was closed by residents in April 2011, whilst discussions continue with the Danish government as to its future, but is now open again.

Christiania has been a source of controversy since its creation in a squatted military area in 1971. Its cannabis trade was tolerated by authorities until 2004. Since then, measures for normalising the legal status of the community have led to conflicts, and negotiations are ongoing.Among many Christiania residents, the community is known as staden ('the town'), short for fristaden ('the freetown').

The Postal System

Christiania has its own Postal system  and postage stamps which are valid within Christiania.

Currency

Although the Danish Krone is accepted on the streets of Christiania, the official currency is the Løn, which are minted each year. Locals are paid in Løns, and the coins can be used throughout the town. The Løn has been issued since 1997; previously Christianites used a currency called the Fed and, in one year, the Klump. Hemp tokens, also known as "Nemos", which could be exchanged for cannabis, were also in circulation

The flag

Flag of Christiania

The flag of Christiania is a red banner with three yellow discs representing the dots in the "i"s in "Christiania".The colours were supposedly chosen because when the original squatters took over the former military base, they reportedly found a large amount of red and yellow paint.

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City Within a City…

The World’s Smallest Postal Service…

 

Hi ! In today’s post just wish to share a wonderful forward with all of you which I recently received from one of my friends….Its related with mini letters…posted  with a magnifying glass for identifying the mailing address.

The World’s Smallest Postal Service was created by San-Francisco- based postmistress 
Lea Redmond, who decided to put the crazy idea into practice as soon as it popped into her head. She just strapped her small desk to her back, hopped on her bicycle and set-up shop in one of the local cafes. Since then she came to realize many other people are simply charmed by her miniature postal service.

At the Worlds Smallest Postal Service, your letters are written in tiny letters, carefully wrapped and sealed with a miniature was-stamp bearing the senders initial. To make sure the tiny messages don't get lost in the traditional mail, they are packed in transparent envelopes equipped with a magnifying glass for identifying the mailing address.

 

For Valentines Day the mailing rates at the Worlds Smallest Postal Service are: $8 plus shipping for letters, and $10 plus shipping for small packages containing an antique china button and a note saying You are as cute as a ....

 

 

Wine from Ukraine on stamp

 

Here is a new sheetlet issued by  Ukraine Post commemorating viniculture of Ukraine and featuring the famous wine Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Sauvignon is a king of red wines having intensive dark-red color, full-bodied fragrance and taste of black currants, and black currants leaves.

The wine industry of Ukraine is well-established with long traditions. Several brands of wine from Ukraine are exported to bordering countries, the European Union, and North America. Main vine-growing regions of Ukraine are Crimea (Balaklava), Bessarabia, Carpathian Ruthenia, Southern Ukraine (Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and Odessa region).

The most popular varieties of wine are Aligote, Muscat, Isabella, Traminer, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Feteasca, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Rkatsiteli.

My recent cover from Poland

Andrzej Bek, Poland

Post office with Gandhi name

A speed post cover posted from Gandhi Eye Hospital Aligarh to Gorakhpur

: Ashwani Dubey, Gorakhpur

New Baton Cover from Bhopal

Queen's Baton Relay - Bhopal -17 September 2010

Madhya Pradesh Postal Circle issued a Special cover in commemoration of arrival of Queen's baton in Bhopal on 17-09-2010. Cover design features eight sports images.

: Sreejesh Krishnan, Trivandrum

Post offices with Gandhi names

Gandhi Nagar Bazar, Delhi

: Ashwani Dubey: Gorakhpur