Page:British India Adhesive Stamps Surcharged for Native States.djvu/17

6 parative test, i. e., for the purpose of contrasting the number of postal articles per head of literate population in a particular State with the number per head of the same class of people in British India (i. e. about 36), the results will be fairly trustworthy. The figures worked out in the case of each State will be found in their appropriate chapters, and, I think, fully justify the conclusion that the stamps are really wanted for postal work, and that their sale to collectors is a purely secondary matter.

It is further important to remember that far more than half the stamps supplied to those States consist of post cards and embossed envelopes, which are equally with adhesives useful for postal purposes, but for which there is practically no sale among philatelists at present.

Forgeries are easily dealt with. I have not yet seen any that could not be detected at a glance. They are usually executed on used British Indian stamps over the obliteration. A stamp which professes to belong to Chamba and has manifestly been used in Bombay need not be further considered.

Reprints are fortunately very few indeed, and can in all cases be very easily detected. Full details of all reprints are given under the appropriate chapters. They exist in the case of Gwalior, Jhind, Nabha and Patiala.

It now remains to say a few words as to how the stamps are surcharged.

The details of this work differ accordingly as paper watermarked with a star or with an elephant's head is used. In the former case the surcharge required for ordinary stamps is set up at one time 240 times so as to fit the two panes of the sheet. There have been occasions when the surcharging of the sheet has been done in two operations, i. e. one