Issued by Nepal

Issued on 13^th Pausha, 2035 corresponding to 28^th December, 1978

Issued by :
His Majesty’s Government
Postal Services Department
Nepal Philatelic Bureau
Kathmandu

Designer : K. Karmacharya

Type : Stamps, Postal Used

Denomination :
a) 30 Paisa
b) Rs. 2.00

Colour :
a) Blue grey and Light brown
b) Dark sepia and Violet

Size : 26 x 36 mm

Perforation : 13½ x 13½

Format : Vertical

Paper : Unwatermarked adhesive paper

Quantity :
a) 3,000,000
b) 1,500,000

Sheet : 100 (10 x 10)

Process : Litho–offset

Printer : Bruder Rosenbaum Printers, Vienna, Austria

Name : Birendra Bir Bikram Shah

Born on Dec 28, 1945 at Kathmandu, Nepal

Died on Jun 1, 2001 at Kathmandu, Nepal

About : 

• “The Panchayat democracy without parties has made the Nepalese cohesive like the bees in a hive. As bees collect honey from various flowers, so too, we have to gather knowledge and skills by travelling far and near and bring home such techniques and know-how as are suited to the needs of our country. It is only with such devotion to perseverance that will be able to create a viable modern independent Nepal.” – H. M. King Birendra

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Issued by Israel

Issued on 26 Dec, 1978

Designer : The stamps were designed by Z. Narkiss, Tel Aviv

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 2 Pound

Name : Simon (Simcha) Maximilian Südfeld

Born on 29 Jul, 1849 at Pest, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire [now in Budapest, Hungary]

Died on 23 Jan, 1923 at Paris, France

About : 

• One of the most colourful fighters among the early Zionist leadership – author, orator, neurologist, journalist and philosopher – Max Nordau was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1849, under the name Simon Südfeld. He graduated in medicine and served for six years as an Austrian military surgeon, but was attracted to journalism and literature. He was a regular contributor to important newspapers in German and in 1880 settled in Paris. After having published an average of a book a year and several plays, he achieved international fame with his “Conventional Lies of Civilized Mankind”, which aroused the wrath of the autocratic regimes of Europe.
• Nordau attended the court-martial of Dreyfus and his daily reports on the trial created much excitement. He was almost the first fellow-newspaperman who responded to Herzl’s call for a Jewish State and became the spokesman of Jewish suffering at the Zionist Congresses. He served as vice-chairman during Herzl’s lifetime, but later declined the leadership of the movement, loyally supporting Herzl’s heir, David Wolfsohn. During World War I he lived in exile in Spain, almost out of touch with the mainstream of Zionist activities. Though the end of the war found him broken in spirit and resources, he served as honorary chairman at the 12^th Zionist Congress. He pleaded for Herzl’s ideas uncompromisingly and called for immediate mass immigration. Nordau died in Paris in 1923 and his remains were buried in Tel Aviv.
• S. SH.

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Issued by Israel

Issued on 26 Dec, 1978

Designer : The stamps were designed by Z. Narkiss, Tel Aviv

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 2 Pound

Name : Berl Katznelson

Born on 25 Jan, 1887 at Babruysk, Russian Empire [now in Belarus]

Died on 12 Aug, 1944 at Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine [now in Israel]

About : 

• Born 1887 in Bobruisk, Russia, Berl Katznelson (“Beeri”) was one of the pioneers of Zionist Socialism. He immigrated to Palestine in 1909, worked in agriculture and joined the Jewish Legion in World War I. An outstanding labour leader as well as a writer and editor of many publications, he attended all the Zionist Congresses after the 12^th except one. He was one of the founders of the Histadrut (the General Federation of Labour), a director of the Jewish National Fund; a leading member and ideological mentor of the Labour Party. In 1925 he founded DAVAR, the Histadrut daily, and remained its editor-in-chief to his last day, in 1944. “Beeri”, after whom a kibbutz and “Beth Berl” as well as other institutions were named, had a powerful influence on the cultural development of the Yishuv. His main sphere of activity was the spreading of culture among the working masses and the youth. He founded and headed AM OVED, the Histadrut publishing house.
• Berl was a personality who combined a candid character with a sharp intellect; a deep consideration for traditional Jewish values with a practical socialist approach; a persuasive eloquence with a dislike for sham phraseology. He was not ashamed of not finding all the right answers always and at once and he affirmed the right of the public and of the individual to feel confused by political developments. He was respected not because of any important offices he held, but by virtue of the moral positions he took.
• While editor of “Davar”, his room was constantly full of uninvited visitors who disturbed him with all manner of grievances and petitions, and when his colleagues suggested that he introduce fixed visiting hours, he replied: “One door in this country should always remain open to the people.”
• S. SH.

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Issued by Israel

Issued on 26 Dec, 1978

Designer : The stamps were designed by Z. Narkiss, Tel Aviv

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 2 Pound

Name : Menachem Ussishkin

Born on 14 Aug, 1863 at Dubrowna, Belarus [then Russian Empire]

Died on 2 Oct, 1941 at Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine [now in Israel]

About : 

• Born 1863 in Dubrovna, Russia, he was one of the first and foremost leaders of the Zionist movement and President of the Jewish National Fund (KKL) from 1921 up to his death in 1941.
• After graduating as an engineer in Moscow in 1889, he resided in Yekaterinoslav. A Zionist since his early youth, he was among the founders of BILU and of the Moscow branch of the Hovevei Zion. He was also a member of the “Bnei Moshe” society founded by Ahad Ha–Am. He first visited Palestine in 1891. Four years later he joined Theodor Herzl and the political Zionist movement, but became a strong opponent of the leader when the Uganda issue was fought out at the 6^th Congress. He organised the opposition to Herzl in Russia and later opposed his successor, Wolfsohn as well. An uncompromising fighter for practical steps to implement the Zionist cause, he was one of the Jewish delegates to the Paris peace conference after World War I. In 1920 he was appointed head of the Zionist Commission in Palestine and in that capacity he initiated many land purchases. Two years later, under his dynamic guidance, the Jewish National Fund (KKL) became the main instrument for redeeming and reclaiming the soil of the ancient homeland on behalf of the Jewish people.
• S. SH.

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Issued by Israel

Issued on 26 Dec, 1978

The Designer : The stamps were designed by A. Glaser, Tel Aviv

Photos : A. Alon

Type : Stamps, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 1.10, 5.40 & 8.40 Pound

About : 

• There are 18 different species of wild Irises to be found in Israel which include some of the most beautiful and best-known flowers of our country. They are all “protected”, which means that it is forbidden to pick them. Several of the species are extremely rare and found in very few areas.
• The Irises form a large, varied group spread like a belt around the temperate northern hemisphere. The Iris is a perennial plant with a bulb, tuber or rootstock, characterized by its flower. Their perianth consists of six lobes – the outer three are bent downwards (“falls”), while the three inner ones stand erect (“flags”). Some species have large, variegated styles resembling the falls or the flags. This sometimes causes difficulties in understanding the structure of the flower. The Irises growing in Israel fall into several groups, of which one, the Oncocyclus, is unique.
• The Oncocyclus
  • This group, comprising some fifty species, can be found in three main areas – Israel, Lebanon and Transcaucasus. They are perennials, have a rootstock and very beautiful blossoms different in shape from those of most other Irises. The flowers belonging to this group need specific climatic conditions – a warm summer, which they pass in hibernation; a not too rainy winter; medium temperatures. They are to be found, therefore, in a very limited region within which each species lives in a specific area suited to its needs. In Israel, eight or nine different kinds of the Iris Oncocyclus can be found, all of which are endemic, to be found nowhere else in the world. They are all characterized by their large, variegated, eye-capturing flowers. Each stem carries a single flower. They are scattered along a belt, or narrow strip which separates the Mediterranean-type areas from the desert.
• The Purple Iris grows along the sandy belt of the Sharon Plain. In the northwestern part of the Negev we find the Negev Iris, and eastwards, in the northeastern part, the Yeruham Iris. The Gilboa Iris is to be found in northeastern Samaria, Gilboa and West Golan, while the Nazareth Iris flourishes in Giv’at Ha-More and the mountains around Nazareth and Naphtali. Other kinds, such as the Lortet Iris and the Golan Iris are to be found in Nahal Hazor, the mountains of Naphtali and the Golan, respectively. The Oncocyclus, being a protected flower, unique to Israel, was chosen as the symbol of the Israel Society for the Protection of Nature.
• The three stamps of this series illustrate three species belonging to this group of Irises. The Gilboa Iris – Iris Haynei – flourishes mainly on the Gilboa ridge and on the eastern slopes of the mountain. It was formerly believed to grow only on the Gilboa, but it is, in fact, spread over a wider area, extending southwards to East Samaria and northwards to the Golan. Though the colour of the blossoms is normally violet – in a wide variety of shades – some examples with yellow blossoms have been found. A plant may carry one or many flowers while the blossoming stem may grow as high as 18 inches, with its single flower attaining a diameter and height of four inches. It blooms from March to the beginning of April. The Gilboa Iris has been severely affected by uncontrolled picking and the wanton uprooting of its rhizomes (rootstocks), particularly by foreign gardeners interested in exporting them. Since the Law for the Protection of Wild Plants was passed (in 1964), most of these Irises have been preserved in the Gilboa Nature Reserve and hikers have, meanwhile, learned to respect them and to leave them undisturbed.
• The Nazareth Iris – Iris Nazarena (Bismarckiana) – grows on Mt. Yona in the Nazareth hills, in the Giv’at Ha-More Nature Reserve and in some of the smaller Reserves in the Naphtali hill country. One can hardly find the right words with which to describe the colour of its flowers. The colour of the flags is light violet, while the falls are covered with large dots which sometimes merge to form a dark stain. The stems of the flower are shorter than those of the Gilboa Iris and their blossoms wider. They bloom for the end of February to the beginning of April. The Nazareth Iris was chosen as the emblem of the town of Upper Nazareth. The plant was christened “Bismarckiana” and “Nazarena” by different authors, unaware that they were dealing with the same plant. The confusion can be explained by the fact that they were working with dried specimens brought to Europe in the 19^th century. Its scientific name is Bismarkiana, but it is better known by the name of Nazarena. The Golan Iris greatly resembles the Nazareth Iris in its blossoms, though it differs from it in some important details.
• Lortet Iris – Iris Lortetii – grows in the Nahal Hazor Nature Reserve as well as in some other, smaller Reserves in the Naphtali hill country. This flower is generally considered to be the most beautiful of its group, with blossoms of the most delicate design.
  • Its blossoms are carried on stems as high as 18 inches and resemble those of the Gilboa Iris, both in their size and their proportions. It is light rose-coloured, with delicate veins in its flags and with its falls densely covered by small dots. Like the other species of Oncocyclus, this Iris too, does not develop seeds unless its blossoms have been fertilized by the pollen of flowers of another group (self-sterility).
  • The Samaria Iris is related to the Splendid Iris. It was rediscovered some years ago, north-west of Nablus, by the late Tuvya Kushnir.
• A. A.

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 25, 1978

Type : Information Folder (Brochure) bearing an Adhesive Postage Stamp with First Day Special Cancellation Postmark

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 100 Paise

Overall size : 3.91 X 2.90 cms.

Printing size : 3.55 X 2.54 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Watermark : Printed on unwatermarked adhesive stamp paper

Number printed : 20,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing process : Photogravure

Designed and printed at : India Security Press

Name : Franz Peter Schubert

Born on Jan 31, 1797 at Alsergrund, Vienna, Austria

Died on Nov 19, 1828 at Vienna, Austria

About : 

• Franz Peter Schubert who was born in Vienna in 1797 and died there in 1828, ranks as one of the greatest composers of western classical music.
• Schubert was the son of a school-master of modest means, but he had the advantage of being a member of an intensely musical family whose string-quartet performances were renowned in their area. Greatly admired as he was by a discriminating circle of friends and music-lovers, he never became rich, and there was a time when he would write down a song just to cover the cost of a meal.
• Music flowed naturally and effortlessly from Schubert. His output over his short life-span of 31 years is prodigious. While capable of rising to great heights of dramatic intensity and power in his magnificent Symphony No. 9 in C, Schubert is widely remembered and loved for his exquisite sense of melody enshrined in his matchless songs, which have given joy and inspiration to millions of music-lovers all over the world.
• On the occasion of his 150^th death anniversary when India pays her tribute to this great son of Austria, it is gratifying to learn that among Schubert’s compositions is one on the theme of a great classic of India, “Shakuntala”.
• On his death in 1828, a year after the death of Beethoven, whom he idolised, Schubert was buried beside Beethoven, two great geniuses nurtured in the creative atmosphere of Vienna.

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 24, 1978

Issued for : The Indian Posts & Telegraphs Department feels privileged to issue a commemorative postage stamp.

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : green and Max–red brown

Denomination : 25 Paise

Overall size : 4.06 X 2.41 cms.

Printing size : 3.70 X 2.05 cms.

Perforation : 14 x 14

Watermark : Printed on unwatermarked adhesive stamp paper

Number printed : 30,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 40

Printing process : Photogravure

Designed and printed at : India Security Press

About : 

• In January 1863, the Cuttack High School, established in January 1841, was expanded to impart collegiate education. The Cuttack College was renamed Ravenshaw College in 1878 in recognition of the services rendered by T. E. Ravenshaw, the then Commissioner of the Cuttack Division, towards the spread of higher education in the state. Hundreds of illustrious men and women who have shaped Orissa‘s destiny during the last hundred years have passed through the portals of this college. The story of Ravenshaw College is, in a way, the story of modern Orissa.
• Ravenshaw College has facilities for teaching and research in almost all major areas in the faculties of science, humanities, social sciences and commerce. At present, the college has a strength of 5,000 students including the Evening Section, Wireless Training Section and I.A.S. coaching class and is spread over an area of about one hundred acres.

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Issued by Pakistan

Issued on Dec 24, 1978

Issued for : To mark the 75^th anniversary of the First Powered Flight Pakistan Post office is issuing a set of four Commemorative postage stamps of the values of 65 paisa, Re. 1/-, Rs. 2/- and Rs. 2.25 on 24^th December, 1978.

Description : The main feature of the stamps are aeroplanes of old and new designs. The first powered aeroplane ‘the Flyer’ made by Wright Brothers is shown in each stamp in yellow colour at the lower portion. Modern planes are shown above the ‘Wright flyer‘ to indicate gradual development both in Civil and military aviation.

Designer : Adil Salahuddin

Type : Stamps, Postal Used

Denomination : 65 Paisa, Re. 1/-, Rs. 2/- and Rs. 2.25

Colours : Black, Blue, Red and Yellow

Size of Stamp : 40 x 40 m.m.

Size of Print : 37 x 37 m.m.

Perforation Gauge : 13 x 13 C

Quantity : One million sets; each set containing 4 stamps

No. of stamps in one sheet : 40 stamps or 10 sets in each sheet

Process : Litho Offset

Printers : Pakistan Security Printing Corporation

About : 

• The urge to fly is one of man’s oldest ambitions but it became a reality only 75 years ago when the first successful flight in a powered airplane took place. Even at the moment of its birth, the aeroplane was the creation of no one nation or technology but a culmination of the efforts made by a number of enterprizing people from different parts of the world at different times.
• On the 17^th December 1903 a proud father of two bicycle manufacturers received a telegram sent from Ketty Hawk, North Carolina, which read as follows:“Success / four flights Thursday………. Average speed through the air thirty one miles / longest 59 seconds / inform press / home Christmas”.
• The experiments of the two brothers, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright, with the man-lifting gliders among the sand dunes near Kitty Hawk had produced the World’s first successful heavier-than-air powered flying machine and made them the pioneers of air age. From then onwards the dream of flight which had transcended all national boundaries throughout the yesterdays became a reality.
• This successful heavier-than-air powered flying machine known as the “Flyer” was catapulted into the air from a small trolley running on a railway. The pilot lay face down on the wing. The ‘Flyer’ had a 40 foot wing span and was about 21 feet long; its 12 horse-power engine gave it a speed of around 31 mph depending on the strength of head winds. Orville Wright made the first flight (17^th December 1903) covering a distance of 120 feet in 12 seconds, on the last of three further flights that day Wilbur was airborne for 59 seconds. Their total flight that day of 97 seconds of air time made their ‘Flyer’ the most famous aeroplane in history. Later variations of the ‘Flyer’, such as Flyer No. III and the one taken to France by Wilbur Wright in 1908, were fully manoeuvrable and were fitted with two skeletal seats.
• The achievement in aviation ever since is the saga of the ever growing success and accomplishments of mankind opening up new vistas of exploration of the hitherto unknown and boundless Universe and establishing its sway over all other beings on this beautiful earth of ours so bountifully endowed to us by God – The Almighty.
• Today aviation has brought the people all over the world closer to each other and has played a remarkable role in the spread and dissemination of knowledge. It has altogether transformed the concept of distance and time and is making people and goods fly safely, quickly, economically and sufficiently. Few inventions in history have had such far-reaching effects as the flying machine.
• Issued by: The Director General, Pakistan Post Office, Karachi.

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 23, 1978

Issued for : The Posts and Telegraphs Department feels privileged to issue a commemorative stamp on the 75^th year of First Powered Flight.

Design : The stamp depicts Wright Brothers with their aeroplane. The design is based on photographs by courtesy of International Communication Agency, New Delhi.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Buff and Bright Purple

Denomination : 100 Paise

Overall size : 3.91 X 2.90 cms.

Printing size : 3.55 X 2.54 cms.

Perforation : 13 X 13

Watermark : A. P. watermark

Number printed : 20,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing process : Photogravure

Designed and printed at : India Security Press

About : 

• On a cold and windy day 75 years ago, one of man’s oldest and boldest dreams – to be able to fly like a bird – became a reality.
• On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright flew their heavier-than-air flying machine from a desolate spit of land jutting out in the Atlantic Ocean, a place called Kitty Hawk, in North Carolina. The dream of centuries was realized when their flimsy plane, made of silk and wood, with Orville at the controls rose from the sandy ground and was airborne. The flight lasted exactly 12 seconds.
• This was the first time that a machine carrying a man raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight and sailed forward without reduction in speed.
• That day the two brothers flew their plane three more times, alternating piloting the flights. On that notable day, Wilbur had the fourth turn and made the longest distance. He flew for 59 seconds and covered 852 feet.
• In 1904 the Wright brothers rebuilt their machine with modifications and 105 landings were made. In 1905 they concentrated on improvements and refinements, not on radical changes. By 1907 the new Wright engine gave 50 per cent more power than the 1905 engine; its power was sufficient to carry two men, fuel, and a load of 100 pounds. The brothers continued to make and fly planes for many years and Wilbur established a world record for flight in September 1908 in France when he flew 52 miles and remained aloft one hour, 31 minutes and 25 seconds.
• The Wright brothers were two of five children of a bishop. The other three attended college while Wilbur (born 1867) and Orville (born 1871) preferred to tinker with bicycles and printing presses. It was not long before they were interested in the study of flying.
• And their success was not achieved overnight or by chance, nor was it a surprise to those few who knew of their careful preparation. In their work they had been helped beyond measure by the prior efforts of hundreds of other men. For example, the theory of aeronautics was an old one by 1896 when the Wright brothers first began to study it.
• In 1912, just as the airplane was beginning to make great advances, Wilbur died of typhoid. Orville worked on alone, and in 1913 won the Collier Trophy for a device to balance airplanes automatically. He died in 1948.

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Issued by Nepal

Issued on Dec 17, 1978 (corresponding to 2^nd Pausha 2035)

Issued for : To commemorate the 75^th anniversary of this pioneering event a special air mail stamp is being issued today depicting the “Kitty Hawk” and the “Yeti” – the flag carrier of the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal.

Issued by : His Majesty’s Government, Postal Services Department, Nepal Philatelic Bureau, Kathmandu

Designer : K. Karmacharya

Type : Air Post Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : R. 2.30

Colour : Blue and Buff

Size : 3.91 x 2.90 cms.

Format : Horizontal

Paper : Unwatermarked Adhesive Paper

Quantity : 1,000,000 (one million)

Sheet : 35

Process : Photogravure

Printer : India Security Press, Nasik Road, India

About : 

• On 17 December 1903 the power-driven “Wright flyer” took off from the ground of Kitty Hawk and became air borne for the first time and made history in the field of aviation.

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