800 Errors, One Collector, Years of Patient Research

Today I am sharing something particularly close to my heart — a small glimpse into Dad’s award-winning philatelic collection from the 1980s and 1990s.

This is not simply a collection of stamps.

It is a study.

The exhibit examines the printing flaws found on the stamps of Cochin State’s sixth Raja, Maharaja Kerala Varma II, particularly the 3 Pies Carmine and 9 Pies Blue issues.

And when Dad called it an “Elaborate Study”, he meant it!

Across the collection are approximately 800 stamps showing errors, flaws and varieties, each carefully examined and classified. (Shared here is just a small sample)

Look closely at these pages. Every arrow, every enlarged sketch and every handwritten explanation was done by him.

He identified minute variations that most of us would probably never notice — tiny lines through the portrait or lettering, ink dots, breaks in the design, plate flaws, shifted overprints, missing pinholes, displaced perforations, unusual shades and other printing peculiarities.

What fascinates me most today is how this research was done.

There was no high-resolution digital photography.
No image enlargement on a computer.
No online database to search.
And certainly no AI to ask, “Spot the differences between these two stamps!” 😄

There was instead a collector’s eye, a magnifying glass, reference material, enormous patience — and page after page of Dad’s remarkably neat handwriting and hand-drawn diagrams.

The stamps themselves are historical objects.

But these pages have now become historical objects too.

They preserve not only the postal history of the erstwhile princely state of Cochin, but also the way serious philatelic research was undertaken by dedicated collectors more than three decades ago.

And perhaps that is what makes this part of Dad’s collection especially precious to me.

800 error stamps. Hundreds of observations. Countless hours of study. One man’s passion, preserved on paper.

The medals and awards this collection earned are a matter of pride.

But decades later, I think the greater treasure is being able to turn these pages and see Dad’s knowledge, patience and handwriting still speaking through them.

A collection within a collection.

And a family treasure beyond valuation. ❤️

From Dad’s Collection — preserving not merely stamps, but the story behind them.

#Philately #StampCollection #CochinState #CochinStamps #IndianPhilately #PrincelyStates #StampErrors #PlateFlaws #PostalHistory #ClassicIndia #AwardWinningCollection #CollectorsLegacy #FromDadsCollection #TimelessTreasures