Dr. Avinash B. Jagtap
(22 December 1932 - 22 January 2021)
With profound grief I am sorry to inform the Readers that noted philatelist Dr Avinash B. Jagtap from Pune (settled in Switzerland) is no more. He passed away this year on 22nd January. Just got this sad news from one of his friends in Germany. He was extremely ill with neurological and eyesight problem when I lost communication with him 4 years back and just came to know that he was also suffering from Alzheimer disease..... Dr Jagtap wrote a series of articles for Rainbow Stamp News. He will always be remembered for his great contribution.
Our deepest condolences ! May his soul rest in Peace !
Dr Avinash B Jagtap was a renowned philatelist and had written articles on philately for a long time. His articles on a variety of philatelic subjects, published in different philatelic journals and newsletters have been a guideline for every class of philatelists.
Sharing his interview which was published in Rainbow Stamp News in December 2009.
Dr. Avinash B. Jagtap was born in Pune on 22nd December 1932. After passing his B.Sc. examination he joined the L.M.Pharmacy College in Ahmedabad, where he stood first class first at B.Pharm examination in 1957 and was awarded B.A.Gold Medal. He joined National Chemical Laboratory in Pune. In 1959 he proceeded to Bonn (West Germany) for his Doctorate in pharmaceutical technology and completed his research in 1961. Thereafter he joined the R & D Division of Sandoz Pharmaceutical Ltd. Basel in Switzerland. He got retired after 32 years in pharmaceutical research.
He lived with his family in Binningen in Switzerland. Dr. Jagtap was a keen stamp collector since his childhood and was a serious philatelist in postal history of India and thematics. His two collections “The First Fifty Years of Indian Cancellations “ and “ The Handstruck stamps of India” have earned him Gold Medals at the Swiss National Philatelic Exhibitions and his thematic display “Costumes of the World” was awarded Large Vermeil at the international philatelic Exhibition “China 99”. He was a well-known philatelic writer and had written series of articles, both on the postal history of India and in thematics in “IND DAK”, “ITS Stamp News”, “Stamps Today” in English and also in German language in “Thema International” of Thematic Collectors Tri-monthly of Switzerland,”Schweizer Briefmarken Zeitung” and in the bulletin of “Swiss Postal History Association, and in “Indien Report” the organ of Forschungsgemeinschaft “INDIEN” in Germany. He had also contributed to the “Q & A” column of “India Post” in Great Britain and to the supplements of “The Catalogue of Handstruck Postage Stamps of India” of Late Mr. D. Hammond Giles.
Interview with Dr Avinash B. Jagtap
Q.1. What do you think about organizing “One Frame National Philatelic Exhibition” in India? Will it gain popularity among veteran philatelists in India?
Ans. “One Frame Exhibit” is a new development in exhibiting philately, not only in India; but also internationally. It is well-known that Federation Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) introduced this new class of exhibits in 2004 as an experimental class. This is still considered to be at experimental stage, in contrast to the well-established classes, such as “Traditional Philately”, “Postal History” or “Thematic Philately”, in as much as the rules and regulations regarding these classes are well-defined and the displays devoted to these classes are examined by jury, who have exact concepts regarding examination of these exhibits and the number of points to be allotted to them. Also according to F.I.P. no (metallic) medals are awarded to the successful candidates in One Frame Exhibition, but certificates with the grades achieved by the candidate.
The organizers of this very first “One Frame Philatelic Exhibition” to be held at Baroda are to be congratulated for holding this first ever One Frame Exhibition in India. In the recent years more and more youngsters have been showing their interest in this hobby. As most of us know that long ago many Indian philatelists earned coveted prizes for their exhibits in the classes, such as Postal History of India and Indian States; Postal Stationery, Aerophilately, Thematic Philately and fiscals at international levels. Naturally, one has to spend a lot to get hold of the materials, in order to be eligible for earning higher honours and awards. Those who want to enter as exhibitors in a philatelic exhibition; but can not afford to spend or invest in the beginning, for them “One Frame Exhibit” philatelic show is a good start, provided their themes are based on relatively obtainable philatelic material.
As F.I.P rightly points out, “Veteran” or advanced philatelists are equally welcome to participate in “One Frame Exhibit” class of a philatelic exhibition to show their ability in presenting a “narrow” subject.
Q.2. Do you think that a participant can show his/her potentials in a “One Frame Exhibit”?
Ans.: Absolutely, the great German poet Goethe has said, “In the limitations one shows who is the master”. So the philatelist has to manifest his/her ability even when the number of frames is reduced to one, which means he/she has ONLY 16 pages at his/her disposal and he/she has to arrange the theme in such a way so as to cover all the topics of his/her theme with as many philatelic elements as possible. He/She must have all types of philatelic elements, not only just stamps (including errors and varieties); but also cancellations, postal stationeries, maximum cards, etc. The most important thing in compilation of “One Frame Exhibit” is the theme (Caption) of the exhibit. Many times even the Jury may not know, if the theme chosen by the exhibitor is adequate or appropriate for “One Frame Exhibit” or not! Philatelists or Jury in India may not know the “size” of a certain theme, unless they have frequently referred to foreign philatelic magazines, have visited philatelic exhibitions at international level or have surfed international websites on philately on Internet. Nowadays there are thousands of stamps and philatelic materials which are produced by postal authorities all over the globe and we soon feel confronted with a question, if there is any appropriate theme left for compilation for a “One Frame Exhibit”!
The organization committee should be very careful in granting permission to an applicant who wants to participate in the exhibition. It is better that the participant is warned right in the beginning that his/her theme is not appropriate for “One Frame Exhibit” and not in the end when he has taken troubles to prepare his display and has already exhibited the same!.
Q.3. What is required for an excellent exhibit, especially in case of a thematic exhibit? Is it the skill of the compiler? high quality of material, with some scacre items? or a balanced combination of all these?
Ans.: As I have already mentioned even One Frame Exhibit requires all types of materials. If the theme of the exhibit is a modern one, then naturally there is no need to search for pre-stamp material. Pre-Stamp material is scarce and so it is costly, but should be included wherever it is possible and necessary, this will depend upon the theme. One Frame does not mean that one is free to display moderate or “cheap” material. The participants should always bear in mind that if they are craving for higher rewards, it will always be associated with the financial position of the participant. After all the Jury know (or rather should know) which “star” items must be there in the display! When you mention the word “Skill”, I understand “the way the candidate presents his/her theme”. The presentation should have continuity and the choice of proper material arranged in the best possible way. Scarce items are always sought after, not only by the Jury but by the compiler him-/herself. A scarce item does not necessarily mean a costly item. A compiler may be searching for a certain item for years together, despite his willingness to pay lavishly for such a piece. In India such material is very scarce or rare. Importantly the arrangement on the display sheets should be well-balanced, the write-up should be short and legible, displayed material should be in best possible condition. All this will contribute towards the beauty and success of the display.
Q.4. Which F.I.P. philatelic class is best suited for “One Frame Exhibits”
Ans.: Normally all philatelic classes which have been recognized by F.I.P., such as Traditional Philately, Postal History, Postal Stationery, Aerophilately, Astrophilately, Fiscals and Thematics are well suited for One Frame Exhibits. However thematic collectors are warned to be careful in choosing “Birds” and “Animals” as themes, as there are a lot of stamps and other philatelic materials available on these most favourite themes. “Kingfisher” and “Dragonfly” could be good themes; but no “Elephants” or “Cats”! Perhaps “Sunflower” but not “Rose” or “Orchids”! Since there are 16 pages (A4 Size) to be displayed, the subject or theme chosen should not be such that not much material is available to fill in these 16 pages.
Those who have been collecting stamps of Feudatory States of India are in a better position to compile “One Frame Exhibits” on most of these states, but it will not be a “cheap” theme, as it demands presence of varieties and errors, which are rare and costly. But the pictorial stamp series such as “Air Mail” (1929), “Inauguration of New Delhi” (1931) and “Silver Jubilee” (1935) or “Refugee Relief” stamps issued during Bangla Desh Liberation War (1971) or “Indian Expeditionary Forces”(1900-1914) and “Indian Forces in Korea, the Congo, Gaza and Indo-China”(1953-1965) present as “complete” or “closed” themes with limited philatelic material as best suited venues for One Frame Exhibits. Another themes which strike me, are: “Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army” (but these stamps issued by Nazi Germany and also by INA were never used, the mint copies are now rare!) and “The great sage and soul of India: Rabindranath Tagore”. So far as postal history is concerned some typical cancellations such as Duplex Cancellation Renouf Type 9 or Cancellations of a particular town or city could form a nice theme for one frame displays.
Taking into consideration the post-independence stamps issued by India Post, the following themes could be suggested for brain-storming, if they are “appropriate” for One Frame Displays such as Indian Temples, Indian Railways, Children’s Day, Indian Women, Indian Heritage Buildings (not necessarily on UNNESCO List!), “Taj Mahal”, Great Indian Epics, Indian Cinematography, Indian Cricket, Indian Music, Personality Stamps with respective autographs on them, Indian War of Independence 1857 etc.
When I have sited some of the Indian themes for “One Frame Exhibits” (with exception of Traditional Philately and Postal History) I must bring this fact to the notice of the collectors and compilers, that with pure Indian themes, exhibitors may achieve the highest possible awards in Indian exhibitions; but may fail to qualify themselves to be accepted as exhibitors at the international level.
Q.5. It is a common observation that higher awards usually go to the exhibits having some rare, outstanding and costly items. Do you agree with the prevalent fact, “To win a higher award one needs high skill to use correct philatelic knowledge, very high quality of materials and a heavy pocket to purchase some rare items?”
Ans.: Unfortunately, my answer to this question is affirmative. Especially, in case of Postal History and Traditional Philately it is very true. With time such collections grow brick by brick. It is also true that many times certain items are so rare that a compiler has to wait for years to get hold of some exquisite items, although a desperate collector is willing to offer any amount to acquire it. In case of thematic some pieces are really unique, but since there are other equally important pieces, the grade of rarity may not be so “acute” as in case of postal history. I shall also add, that when a collector or compiler of a thematic display has spent a lot on building his/her collection, when it comes to disposal of the collection, may be due to advanced age of the collector or monetary crisis in life, the owner of the collection may get disappointed, because especially in case of thematics it is difficult to sell the collection at a price acceptable or “agreeable” to the owner. In this case fun, personal satisfaction and the knowledge earned while building the collection, should be looked up on by the compiler as a personal reward, which can not be weighed in terms of silver and gold.