Issued by India

Issued on Jan 26, 1950

Issued for : A new series of postage stamps commemorating the inauguration of the Republic of India was issued by the Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department.

Picture : 

• 2 annas : A boy and a girl watching a procession of cavaliers carrying flags and blowing trumpets which herald India’s attainment of full nationhood. This stamp was intended for inland postage. Colour of the stamp is Red.
• 3.5 annas : A quill dipped into an inkpot with a number of leaflets in the background inscribed in Hindi with Mahatma Gandhi‘s favourite hymn ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram‘ and in illustrative of India’s nation building programme in the realm of Education. This stamp was intended for foreign letter mail. Colour of the stamp is Blue.
• 4 annas : An ear of grain set vertically in the centre with an indigenous ploughshare placed diagonally behind a star-spangled background and is symbolic of India as an essentially agricultural country. This stamp was intended for registration. Colour of the stamp is Violet.
• 12 annas : An indigenous handloom (Charkha), symbolic of India’s Cottage Industry and of her progressive evolution with each round of the wheel. In the background is a piece of cloth which is hand spun and hand woven and which in its turn symbolises the importance of the ‘Charkha’ in India’s rural economy. This stamp was intended for foreign air mail. Colour of the stamp is Maroon.
• Common design for all the stamps above : The words ‘Republic of India‘ and ‘Inauguration January 26, 1950‘ are inscribed along the sides of the stamps. On one of the sides appear the word ‘POSTAGE‘ and the denominational value in English. In the top right hand corner of the inset is inscribed the word ‘BHARAT‘ and the value of the stamp in Hindi (Devnagri) script.
• The 2 annas denomination is intended for inland postage, the 3½ annas for foreign letter mail, the 4 annas for registration and 12 annas for foreign air mail.
• Simultaneously with these commemoratives, a First Day Cover and a Folder will also be brought out. The designs for these have been obtained through the courtesy of the Commercial Arts Section of Sir J. J. School of Arts, Bombay.

Designed by Messrs. D. J. Keymer & Co. Ltd., Calcutta

Type : Stamps, Postal Used

Watermark : Yes [a multiple of five pointed star]

Denomination : 2 annas, 3.5 annas, 4 annas & 12 annas

Size : 1.14″ X 1.54″

Perforation : 13 x 13

Stamps Printed : 2a – 19.7 Million, 3½a – 1.2 Million, 4a – 6.9 Million and 12a – 2.5 Million (each in sheets of 128)

Printing Process : Offset

Printers : India Security Press, Nasik Road

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Issued by United States of America

Issued on Jan 7, 1950

The Historic Stamp :
The 3¢ stamp was issued on the centennial of Samuel Gomper’s birth. It honors the famed labor leader who devoted nearly 60 years to the union movement in America. During that time, he tirelessly promoted workers’ interests and helped them become a powerful force in the nation’s economy. He was one of the principal architects of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and served as its president for 37 years.

V. S. McCloskey, Jr. designed the stamp, part of the Famous Americans Series. It features a portrait of Gompers in a Colonial style frame, with laurel leaves over the lower left portion.

The Samuel Gompers Stamp was printed in red violet by steel engraving. It was first placed on sale in Washington, D.C.

Type : Stamp, Mint condition

Denomination : 3 cents

Colour : Red Violet

Name : Samuel Gompers

Born on Jan 27, 1850 at London, England

Died on Dec 13, 1924 at San Antonio, Texas, United States

The Subject of the Stamp : 

• Samuel Gompers (1850-1924) believed that every wage earner should be a trade union member. He joined the Cigar Makers’ International, a union within the Knights of Labor, at the age of 14 and soon rose to a position of leadership. At his urging, the organization established an investment fund and provided sickness, accident, and unemployment benefits for its members.
• In 1886, Gompers led the Cigar Makers out of the Knights of Labor to form the AFL. As the new national union’s president, he addressed many problems of the workplace and advocated written, binding contracts with management.
• President Wilson appointed Gompers to the Advisory Commission on National Defense during World War I. He also served on other commissions studying unemployment and disarmament.

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