Month: February 2023

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India 1972, India remembers the Tamil Helmsman

Part of the Indian independence movement was swadeshi. This was the idea that Indians could hasten the departure of the British by only doing business with Indians . V O Chidambaram brought swadeshi to steamships going between India and Columbo in Sri lanka. Involving politics in business can get rough, even deadly. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Swadeshi meant Indians were going to acquire the necessities for the country to get by on it’s own. I covered a Tata owned steel mill here, https://the-philatelist.com/2019/11/21/india-1958-independant-india-will-be-great-building-on-the-success-of-people-like-j-n-tata/   , built in the same spirit. When I saw the ship on this stamp and checked the dates involved. I figured there was no way this was an all India operation. Well the steamships were leased not owned, but indeed it was all Indian. Worth remembering and the honourific the Tamil Helmsman.

Todays stamp is issue A333, a 20 Paise stamp issued by India on September 5th, 1972. It was a single stamp issue honouring the birth century of V O Chidambaram Pillai. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 55 cents used.

Early in his life V O Chidambaram Pillai( V O) was a scholar of languages and the law. He was politically radicalized after law studies at Trichy and encounters with the Swami Vivikananda. V O was not a full barrister but a pleader, who writes pleadings to be submitted to a court. He was a member of the India National Congress, a nationalist movement.

At the time there were many fellow Tamils engaged as contract laborers in Ceylon. The steamship ride back and fourth was expensive and all British operated. V O had the idea to start a steamship company that was all Indian and could train ship crews and perhaps eventually shipbuilders. He traveled India raising money and even had Gandhi raising money for him on a trip visiting Indians in South Africa. He raised $40,000. This was not enough to buy ships but got an operation up and going with the steamship SS Gallia leased from the French. The British monopoly steamships were not happy and launched a price war against V O’s Swadeshi Steam Navigation. The British price eventually got to free rides and a free umbrella. The steamship company went broke and VO went on to help organize trade unions to strike British owned textile mills. A colonial minister called in VO and asked for assurances that another independence activists’ release from prison would be peaceful. The official was shocked when no assurances were given. After all, V O was an Officer of the Court. He was arrested for sedition. VO refused bail and did not participate in his trial. He was then shocked when he was convicted and sentenced to two life terms. He suddenly was  very involved  with appeals and ended serving three years of hard labour.

Activists were angered by how V O was treated. A British Resident Magistrate, Robert William Ashe, was especially blamed as he had presided over the liquidation of the steamship company. In 1911 Ashe was assassinated by an activist while passing through a train station. That station is now named for his assassin. The assassin left a note that this was a warning to “cow eater!” George V never to come to India. It said there were two thousand like him in Madras who had vowed to kill the King if he ever sets foot there. King George V did visit that year and was crowned Emperor of India. His visit passed without incident but he was the last British Monarch formally crowned in that way.

Resident Magistrate Ashe with his family

Interestingly the coworkers of Ashe raised money for a statue to him. The statue still stands somewhat derelict and Indians are still arguing over whether it should be taken down or fixed up for modern tourists.

After jail V O was less involved in politics. He had a falling out with Gandhi. over money that VO believed Gandhi had raised in his name, but not given to him. A Tamil slang term for an unpayable debt became by Gandhi’s accounting because of this incident. Gandhi later sent the money and the British later reinstated V O’s license to practice law.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another in memory of Robert William Ashe, for trying to serve in a far off place around those who hate you. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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South West Africa 1981, Put down your Crowbar, and we will throw out the Cubans

Formerly German South West Africa was given to South Africa by a League of Nations Mandate. It was governed as a de facto extra province by Apartheid South Africa. The arrival of Cubans backing up African desires to rid the area of white colonialism complicated an ever more complicated situation. Gosh with a overstretched draftee army, this could turn into another Vietnam for South Africa. We better Vietnamize, err Namibianize, err localize, the fighting. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

As a de facto extra province, you might expect the area to use South African stamps. The earlier stamps very much resemble South African issues. By the eighties though the stamps were less political with more animals and plants with a smattering of remembrances of very old German achievements in the area. Very much the colony on the way to independence.

Todays stamp is issue A98, a 20 Cent stamp issued by the by then no longer UN recognized South African administration of South West Africa on August 14th, 1981. It was a four stamp issue in various denominations showing local variations of the aloe plant. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 45 cents whether used or unused. There was a functional postal service, which keeps this stamp from being fake. The UN withdrew recognition of the South African administration of now Namibia in 1966.

The Germans arrived in the area in the late 19th century with large numbers of colonists. The Germans discovered diamonds there in 1908. I did a German colonial stamp from that period here, https://the-philatelist.com/2018/10/05/german-sw-africa-the-hottentot-captain-can-disappear-into-the-grass-but-shoot-him-at-the-water-hole/   . During World War I, the South Africans marched in unopposed. Germans and Dutch heritage South African Boers were simpatico. The League of Nations mandated South Africa to rule in 1920. Africans were not involved in any of this and there numbers were greatly reduced after bloody insurrections against the Germans.

The 1950s and 1960s had seen African colonies gain independence and black rule. In 1960 the Belgians gave up in Congo and things went very poorly for Belgian settlers there. Many were killed and robbed based on their race in the first days after independence. Countries south of Congo often had many such white colonists and they resolved to hold onto power to avoid the same fate. Colonial powers like Britain and Portugal did not support this and the new black nations pressed the UN to recognize local black groups as the legitimate government. In 1966 the UN claimed the right to administer South West Africa with an eye toward turning it over to the black organization called Swapo that fielded would be politicians and a guerilla army attacking South African targets.

South Africa fielded a small draftee army inducted from the minority white population. A counter insurgency war in South West Africa was a great strain especially after Portuguese Angola fell to Cuban/Soviet backed communist blacks. The Cubans were mostly black and well armed and made things much more difficult for South Africa. Taking a page from the American book of failure in Vietnam, South Africa attempted to localize the fighting. All black areas were organized into tribal black homelands. They formed a local unit called the Crowbar with South African officers and black soldiers recruited from The African homeland state of Ovamboland. The force was heavily armed and fought in the counter insurgency style of Swapo. The leader was a Rhodesian who had experience in the bush war there. Both sides took to attempting to get the other sides fighters in their family homes off duty. This kept the fighting between blacks.

A Crowbar memorial at an Afrikaner heritage site in South Africa. It seems to still stand.

Cubans meant that South Africa still had to maintain forces there and there were clashes with Cubans in neighboring Angola. This gave the UN an opening to try to get it’s mandate regarding South West Africa recognized. A deal was offered that Cubans would be withdrawn from Angola in return for South Africa withdrawing its Army from South West Africa. This was agreed but then Swapo jumped the gun and sent their army marching into South West Africa. Them and the UN had forgotten about Crowbar. Crowbar pounced on an in the open Swapo and massacred their army. The UN was left begging both sides to put down their arms. Remember Swapo had agreed to come in unarmed but reneged. Being the UN there was no consequence for this and after this last mission Crowbar was disbanded. The first election Swapo won but without sufficient numbers to make a Congo like outcome. Nobody will be surprised that with South Africa and the UN gone now Namibia reverted to a one party state. Swapo’s leader Sam Nujoma, a former train cleaner, was President and received peace prizes in the name of ever peaceful Lenin and Ho Chi Minh. His son Zacky was implicated in corruption as part of the Panama Papers scandal. Of course there were no consequences. With South Africa’s change in government there were no longer any protectors for the black veterans of Crowbar. A truth and reconciliation commission there declared Crowbar to blame for all those hurt in the war in Namibia.

Well my drink is empty. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Russia 1914, It is again time for young would be Ilyas to defeat the German Idolishche

Ilya of Murom was a legendary Bogatyr (knight) who rose from a sickly childhood to defeat invaders both real and mythological in the service of Vladimir the Great. His fighting over, he later became a monk and was later Beatified. Doesn’t that sound like exactly the type of person Czar Nicholas could use in his ill considered invasion of Germany? So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The visuals of this stamp are much different than most Czar era stamps. If one is going to war against a powerful rival, isn’t it better to imagine yourself a superhuman Bogatyr in the glorious service of a Royal who is Great. Well…. This stamp sold at twice the face value with the extra Kopeck helping war victims, so at least the stamp was honest about the price of war.

Todays stamp is issue SP5, a 1 Kopeck semi postal stamp issued by Russia in 1914. It was a four stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $2.00.

Ilya of Murom was a real person who lived about 1000 AD. His believed remains bear out some of the stories about him. After a childhood illness, Ilya was unable to walk until the age of 33 when he was prayed over by Christian Pilgrims on their way to a Holy place. They not only healed him but gave him super human strength. Ilya decided to use his blessing to rid nearby Kiev of the foreign pagans occupying it called Idolishche. Notice that raises the Orthadox Christian Church and cast the Russians as the saviors of Ukraine. Ilya was in the service of Vladimir the Great of the Rurik Dynasty. As a Bogatyr he is credited with single handedly chasing the Idolishche from the city of Chermigov.

Ilya’s battles were not over. In fact they were about to get downright mythological. In the forests near Bryansk, Ilya faced his biggest foe, Nightingale the Robber. Nightingale was half man and half bird. He lived in trees and had an alcohol problem. He had the ability to stun people with his whistle after which he would rob them of their booze. Sounds like a job for Ilya and one that must be dealt with immediately. Ilya braved the whistle and shot his arrow twice hitting Nightingale in the eye and temple. Wounded, Ilya then took him back to Vladimir’s Castle in Kiev. Prince Vladimir wanted to hear his whistle but Nightingale was unable until he had a few glasses of liquid courage. Then he came fourth with a whistle that leveled the castle. Ilya then took him out and finished him off. Idolische and half bird men who rob you and harsh your buzz. Hmm… Germans and gypsies anyone? After Czar Nicholas defeats the Germans, he will also be considered great like Vladimir right?

Ilya’s fight with Nightingale by 20th century Soviet artist Ivan Bilibin

It is believed that the prototype for Ilya of Murom was Ilya Perchersky, a monk who had previously been a great warrior. He had the nickname, Small Boot. He had been surprised by his enemies and fought them off by hitting them with his boot. He was Beatified in 1643.

Well my drink is empty. Perhaps if I whistle, my wife would bring me another. No Ilya would not approve. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

 

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Germany 2003, Max Beckmann plays with the idea of getting back to objectivity in art, but not enough to avoid being labeled

World War I horrors had a profound effect on the art of Europe, especially in Germany where the old system was not just discredited but gone. This expressionist movement aimed to shock and succeeded. A backlash was probably inevitable. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Max Beckmann’s work displayed on this stamp is titled Junger Argentinier. Beckmann through his art was trying to move beyond the emotionalism and self obsession of the expressionist art movement. The dourness definitely remained.

Todays stamp is issue A1099, a 55 cent stamp issued by Germany on February 13th, 2003. It was issued in conjunction with a second stamp featuring a different artist. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 75 cents used.

Max Beckmann was born in Leipzig, Germany in 1884. He was into a well off but middle class family that afforded him an education steeped in the old masters. His early artistic output reflected this.

In World War I. Beckmann volunteered for service as a medic. In this role he experienced the horrors and loss. As with most of his contemporaries, his postwar art  became less literal and realistic. He was them awarded a prestigious teaching position at the Stadelschule Academy of Fine Art in Frankfort.

A 20s photo of Max Beckmann. He did many self portraits, but I opted for the real.

As his art matured, Beckmann began to reject the excesses of other expressionists and joined a movement toward a new objectivity in art. This was a more back to business style more reflective of America where the war was less impactful.

Beckmann was not alone in thinking the Expressionists had gone to far. On the far right in Germany there was a yearning to get back to a style of art that uplifted, was pro family and patriotic. Beckmann was not a fellow traveler in that.

With Nazi control of the institutions, Beckmann was dismissed from his teaching position. It then went  further with his art on the list of those to be removed from museams and galleries. As a final insult, Hitler labeled modern art as degenerate and a traveling show was hastily arraigned to display the art now banned in a mocking manner. The show included works by Beckmann. The day after the Degenerate art show opened in Munich, Beckmann and his family moved to Amsterdam in Holland. He was not Jewish.

Goebbels touring the Degenerate Art Exhibition when it opened in Munich.

It took 10 more years for Beckmann to achieve his goal of moving to the United States. The Nazis were not done torturing Beckmann. Still in German occupied Holland and near 60, there was an attempt to draft him into the army. In 1947 he was finally allowed to come to the USA and given a teaching position at Saint Louis University. He died three years later.

Well my drink is empty. Understanding the troubles Beckmann faced, one can understand the dourness of his work. I can understand the right’s desire from more uplifting art, but perhaps that needs to happen organically when times are better. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Brunei 1985, With the end of the British Protectorate, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah takes absolute power except over his brother

There are not many Monarchs left in the world with absolute power. Unlimited oil and gas wealth would seem to keep the lights on and internal opposition to a minimum. Absolute Monarchs still have families though, in this case a rather tacky little brother. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The current Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, assumed the Throne over tiny Brunei in 1967. His rule continues at age 76. The Protectorate status with Great Britain ended in 1984, so 1985 was a great time for a new issue of bulk mail stamps with the Sultan front and center. A western style dress military uniform done up with crazy fun amounts of gold trim and topped by a fez, so time to get the party started.

Todays stamp is issue A60,  a 40 Sen stamp issued by the Sultanate of Brunei on December 23rd, 1985. It was a twelve stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth an appropriate 40 cents used.

The Sultan really is an absolute ruler. In addition to his Royal title, he is also the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Defense Minister, the Defender of the local Muslim Faith, and Minister of Finance. The buck would seem to stop with the Sultan. There is however the thorny issue of younger brother Jefri.

Prince Jefri should perhaps update his portrait. this is from 1967.

The business man of the family, Jefri was charged with investing the billions of Brunei’s sovereign wealth fund. There were a few assets like a chain of luxury international hotels Jefri could point to, but there also seemed a pile of debt. The Sultan was forced to start legal cases around the world to seize assets and accounts of Jefri. The brothers had seemed to work it out in 2000, with Jefri voluntarily transferring back some assets in return for no further prosecution and not having to change his lifestyle. This agreement later fell apart as naughty Jefri failed to come clean about all his accounts. The Brunei Sovereign Wealth Fund again had to try again to start reclaim assets.

Jefri remember had that out about his lifestyle. A haram of five wives that he gradually whittled down via divorce. There was an additional palace that contained 25 women paid $20,000 a week for their services. Among them were a Miss USA that didn’t sue him, another that did. Apparently she had thought her duties for the 20k would just be candy striping at the local hospital. Another girl struck it big by writing a memoir of her time at the palace, Some Girls, My life in a Harem.

The authoress is not as good looking as her book’s cover model

Next to the concubine palace was a giant parking complex housing Jefri’s exotic car collection. You would think this would be easy to seize however none of the cars are properly titled or able to obtain export certificates. They are now mainly rotting undriven in Brunei’s jungle climate. Previous management at Rolls Royce joked that if the Monarch is overthrown he hopes that the car park is torched as all the cars hitting the used car market would tank values. There was also a more recent controversy over Jefri having statues commissioned of him and a new “fiancé” having sex. The penalty for that in Brunei is stoning to death, so perhaps not something to be memorialized in gold leaf.

At least the statue made Jefri look younger

Well my drink is empty and drinking is not allowed in Brunei. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.