Qatar - First steps into the space program.

In 1966, Qatar Post designed and printed a special set of stamps honouring space exploration. These were no the first nor the last such themed stamps from Qatar. The first being the 1965 set celebrating the 100th Anniversary of theInternational Telecommunication Union with a depiction of the Telstar, Syncon III and Relay 1 and 2 satellites. These were the first generation of communication satellites and each had a unique part in history.

However, the fate of the 1966 stamps was quite different to the others. The 1966 set was aimed at honouring the first man and woman in space. A quite brave and honourable endeavour. Unfortunately for our stamps, these individuals were Russian, and as such, the British authorities prevented the stamps going to sale.

Until here, there is nothing unique in my story, which is quite well documented. However, I would like to contend, that Qatar was not the only regional state to honour the cosmonauts. Cosmonauts being nothing other than the name for an astronaut in Russian. As such, if we look at the Dubai 1964 issue Honouring the Astronauts we can find a few interesting things (the commonly understood names of the rockets are included in the bottom right corner of the image below). However I would like to disagree with them:

• As can be seen on the Qatar 70 NP stamp and in the 1961 USSR stamp, the red rocket on the Dubai (4NP and 2 Riyal) stamp is exactly the same. They all portrait the Russian Vostok Rocket which carried to Soyuz Capsule in which Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space.

• The Dubai 1 NP and 5 NP stamps are not the Atlas rocket but rather a precursor - Jupiter C - and direct descendant of the German V2 rocket. Jupiter C was one of the Redstone Family of rockets. It was a test bed for re-entry vehicles (no humans on board) and eventually lead to the Mercury-Redstone variation which eventually carried the first 2 American Astronauts to space in 1961.

• The 2NP and 1Riyal stamp most resemble the Sputnik 2 Capsule within which Laika travelled to space. Both the Russian and Americans were unsure of man's ability to survive the initial acceleration, entry into space and in particular the heat of re-entry. As such, prior to the first human flight, they sent a stray dog in the Sputnik 2. There was never the intention to recover her alive.

• The 3NP and 1½ Riyal stamp appear to the second stage of either the Jupiter C or Vostok rocket.

• Finally the Souvenir sheet, had an overprint variant for the Ranger 7. Again, had no humans on board. It was simply a space probe designed to study the moon, transmitting images back to earth, as an early study of possible landing sites.

As such, I contend it was unfortunate that Qatar opted to include the faces of both Russian Cosmonauts which led to the stamps never been issued. For other that the faces, both the Qatar (70NP) and Dubai (4NP and 2 Riyal + souvenir sheet) stamps included the same rocket. Both honouring the first man into space. The Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin.

Be aware that there are forgeries of the Qatar stamps in the market.

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Qatar Stamps - Reaching for the stars

 I apologise, for the lack of recent posts. And also for todays posts, where I do not give as much emphasis to the stamps themselves. But I do feel the topic is pertinent and important.

It was Galileo Galilei who risked it all, including excommunication whose discovery made it possible for us to reach for the star when he discovered and published:

"In my studies of astronomy and philosophy I hold this opinion about the Universe, that the Sun remains fixed in the centre of the circle of heavenly bodies, without changing its place, and the Earth, turning upon itself, moves round the Sun."

Today, this reach for the stars, has allowed us to better comprehend our little corner of the universe, and how perilous its journey is. Please click on the image to learn more. 

On my next post I promise to elaborate more on the stamps themselves, as there is an interesting story within them.

Please share your thoughts or just comment.

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Women in Qatar Philately

In today's Qatar, women have reached the highest positions and gained world-wide fame for numerous initiatives. A number of websites are devoted to highlight their successes:

• Women of Qatar
• Wikipedia - Women in Qatar
• The New Arab - Women leaders and pioneers are Qatar's pride

To reach this level, there have to have been some pioneering women leading the way. I'm no expert on this front, so the below list is a short compilation of some of these pioneers:

• Mrs. Amina Mahmoud Al-Jaydha - the first female teacher in Qatar, eventually becoming the first female Principle of a government school in Qatar. Changing the way girls were taught in Qatar (1953).
• Dr. Iqbal Hamdy - One of the first female obstetrician in Qatar able to convince the then Qatar Ruler, H.H. the Amir Sheikh Ali Bin Abdullah Al Thani to convert a hospital built for Tuberculosis to be used for Maternity Hospital (1960s).
• Sheikha Ahmed Al-Mahmoud - the first women of the Qatari Cabinet on her appointment to Minister of Education (2000).
• Dr. Hyat Khalil Hassan Nazar Heji - the first Qatari Braille teacher in Qatar and Director of the Al Noor Institute for the Visually Impaired (2007).
• Women joined the Qatar Olympic team participating in the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
• In the legal circles Ms. Maryam Abdullah Al-Jaber - the first female prosecutor at the Arabian Gulf level, and Judge Hessa Ahmed Abdullah Al-Sulaiti - the first Qatari female judge.
• In the diplomatic arena to highlight Her Excellency Sheikha Alia Ahmed Bint Saif Al Thani - the first Qatari woman to be appointed as Permanent Representative to the European Headquarters of the United Nations in Europe, later to hold the same post in New York.
• Her Excellency Lolwah Al-Khater - the first female spokesperson for the Ministry.
• Mrs. Fatima Shaddad - the first popular Qatari singer.

No doubt there have been many more, and I apologise for not listing everyone of them. As can be seen from the above list, some of these women would have been pioneers in their own field any where in the world, not just Qatar.

In relation to our main theme, philately, it is interesting to point out that most of the Trucial States (with the exception of Abu Dhabi) issued many stamps depicting both famous men and women, or famous paintings with Men and Women. This is not the case for Qatar, Bahrain nor Kuwait.

The only personalities on Qatar stamp issues in general are Qatari Rulers with a few exceptions as follows:

• World Leaders (1966 & 1968)
• Cosmonauts / Astronauts (1966 & 1969)
• Baden-Powel (1967)
• Golden Age Scholars (1971)
• GCC Rulers (1990)
• Qatar Football Team (2020) - but as a personal stamps - not a true stamp issue

So, perhaps it is not surprising that other than Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1957 issue overprinted with QATAR), no other woman has been featured on Qatar's stamps. This is not a statement on women in  Qatar society, as they have been, and still are, very influential in all walk of life. There was one stamp designed, printed but never released featuring a female Russian Cosmonaut Valentina Tcherechkova (1966).

Below picture lists all the Qatar stamp sets depicting women in one manner or other as well as the two stamp sets that were painted by Qatari women (click on it to learn more).

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Should you like to learn more on the Russian Cosmonaut Valentina Tcherechkova click on the stamp below.

If you are interested in the theme of Women in Philately, you would be happy to know that there is an association just for this, and they have a FaceBook account, please click on the stamp below to learn more

WIPS Women in Philately

Qatar Post From a Government held to a Public Listed Company

Post offices around the world, with the advent of new technologies, have seen a declining volume of mail. To combat this, and allow fair competition, with the associated improvements to the public in general, Qatar Government, like so many others around the world, opted to transform the post office into a private held corporation in 2001.

This lead directly to a rebranding of the company and an increase in services and facilities provided. Such as direct access to more information for users through its website, and improve facilities at existing offices (such as adding post boxes to the Matar Qadeem in November 2002).

In 2017, the post office became a public listed company but fully government owned. This again came with a rebranding and an increase in services provided to the public.

Today Qatar Post competes directly with the likes of Aramex, DHL, FedEx in providing direct rapid services as well as other internet agents taking advantages of newly formed entities such as Connected by Qatar Post and Turkish Souq amongst others.

As far as our hobby is concerned, a new service has been included - philatelic sponsorship. This allows companies to design stamps to project their brand/image. A three tier service is available. Which hopefully, as it catches on will provide for more innovation and interesting stamps for us to collect.

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Below is a description of the 2002 and 2017 logos of the Qatar Post Corporation

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Qatar Post Office Building

 Our hobby would not be possible without the post office. Not surprisingly the present day Qatar Post Office general Headquarters building, an iconic building, has been featured in at least four stamp set issues.

Although not one of the internationally prized buildings of Qatar (many of which have also been issued stamps for example Qatar University, Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar Heritage Museum), it is nevertheless an iconic building in Qatar and much missed when, and if, the post offices moves to a new location.

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The building was completed and opened to the public in 1987, but the official opening ceremony was held on the 4th of September 1988 by H.H the Amir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani. On the left just behind the Amir is Mr. Ahed al Baker (today he is Qatar Post Supervisor for Health and Safety) and on the right is the then Director of Post Mr. Mohammed bin Saif Al Moadhadi.

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Qatar Stamps - A hobby or a business or ....

Probably one of the hardest articles to write is one calling someone out. But here goes anyway.

Qatar philatelic community has for a few years been paying premium prices for the rarest items. Although the number of collectors is quite small, the one-upmanship amongst the collectors is particularly strong. In this, the ability to buy an item that is claimed to be rare and unique, clearly is a motivation to pay a premium price for such an item - although, as I will elaborate below, sometimes, these unique items are at times, nothing more than a gimmick created just to explore such a collector. One further factor, that gives an advantage to the seller is the online sale system (eBay, Delcampe, HipStamp and so on). A prospective buyer a has a limited time to analyse an item for authenticity and the fear that someone else will buy the item from under their own noses, tends to make the buy option without a full appreciation of the real value, than having the items snatched away by another fellow collector.

Clearly, the market is an open free market and as long as there are people offering items and others willing to pay for them, it is all good and fair, and it’s nothing that I’m prepare to argue one way or other.

However, the lack of readily available information on the number of stamps and FDC’s issued as well as other philatelic items such as colour proofs, artist sketches and so on makes it a one sided market, in that any item appearing the market has the advantage of being claimed rare, unique and valuable.

In my research, I have been able to collect the all postal notices from 1975 onwards, but only a few prior to that date. The ‘English Period’ information should be readily available from the London Postal Museum, something I plan to tackle once the current issues on travel due to the pandemic are lifted.

The postal notices, as I mentioned on a previous post, only began to include information on number of FDCs issued after 1995. All this information will be included in my upcoming books on Qatar Stamps.

Availability of this information would be valuable in determining the rarity of one item or other. On the other hand, many other regional countries have had a number of publications issued/printed detailing the steps in the design process of the various stamp issues  (Dubai a good example of well documented philately), there is virtually nothing, to date, published on the Qatar philatelic area, which I intend to cover with my books. 

However, from the few items I have been privileged of examining, from some of the more unique and complete collections in Qatar I have began to suspect some items in recent online sales to be nothing more than a gimmick to exploit the youth and lack of information in the Qatar Philatelic Market.

As such, the below item, recently placed on the market appears to have all the elements of a gimmick, and nothing to do on a contemporary items to the authentic stamps issued in 1969.

To the collector, I suggest, do not rush, take your time, analyse the items, contact others who maybe knowledgable, contact the seller for proof of authenticity.

But, ultimately, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you like the item and it fits in your collection and your wallet, feel free. Long is the time of the American Philatelic Society Black Blot Program, and other similar programs.

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I finally apologise to the seller of the particular item that I have used to make my point. After all, he/she has made no claim to the authenticity of the item. He is simply selling a watercolour with simility to the stamps, nothing else.

Education in 1964 - Qatar Dubai, Kuwait and Egypt

 Both Kuwait and Dubai issued a set of stamps relative to education. But while Kuwait's stamps was a celebration of Education day, a common theme that has been maintained worldwide for stamp issues, the Dubai's stamp issue is slightly different. 

It consists of 8 stamps and a souvenir sheet depicting Dubai's ruler H.H. Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum along with the rulers of:

• Qatar - H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani, 
• Kuwait - H.H. Sheikh Abdullah Al Salim Al Sabah, and
• Egypt (UAR) - President Gamal Abdel Nasser

By 1964 all four states had well developed education system covering primary, preparatory and secondary education, although not necessarily compulsory education for all.

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Below are Kuwait's stamps for education day, issued on the 15th of April 1964:

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Gulf States Summit

As the countries on the Arab Gulf were all under the suzerainty of Britain, it was normal for their leaders to have meetings / conferences on a regular basis to discuss items of mutual interest, such as education, development, infrastructure, security, financial stability. Amongst the other decisions was also the issue of the currency (as has been mentioned on a previous blog), in particular the use of the Indian Rupee.

One such conference was held in Dubai on the 7th of July 1965. The below image, although not of Qatar Stamps as usual on my blog, does include the Ruler of Qatar - H.H. the Sheikh Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani, as such, still falls under the Qatar History which is the second theme in the blog.

It is a particular nice design set and one that is not readily available in the market in Mint Near Hinged (MNH) condition. It is readily available as Cancel to Order (CTO).

Click to enlarge

It is interesting to note that Dubai stamps were issued for a short time. The first set was issued on the 15th of June 1963 and the final set on the 22nd May 1972. After this UAE stamps have been used throughout the UAE.

Qatar Stamps - The 'front' and 'back' of the coin stamps

The coin stamps on the back had a specialised gum (click here to read more on this) which was covered with a waxed paper.

But the stamps 12 stamps were evenly divided with 6 showing the portrait of H. H. The Sheikh Ahmed Bin Ali Al Thani and the other 6 with text - as shown below.

 

Qatar Stamps - Early Pearling

Qatar waters were know to produce some of the best Pearls and were highly sought after by people far and wide. This was the early source of Qatar's fortunes. But on the advent of the cultured pearl, also its downfall, until the discovery of oil.

These stamps show some of the traditional tools used in the pearl diving, click to learn more.

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In 2010, the Doha Film Institute made a short film describing the life of the pearl fishermen, titled "The Land of Pearls", click on the below image to see the film.

Click to watch the movie "The Land of Pearls"

William Gifford Palgrave was a British Jesuit who was the first Westerner to cross the Arabia Peninsula the from Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. To safely cross the lands he occasionally disguised himself as  Christian physician. He crossed from Syria through Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. He spent 10 days in Qatar, having arrived Doha (Al Bidda) on the 29th of January 1862. Click on the image below to read his book from the Qatar National Book Repository.

Click to read his book

For a more abbreviated version of his story click on the map below:

click to read an abbreviated version

Qatar's 50th Anniversary of independence

 Today Qatar marks its 50th Anniversary of Independence from Great Britain, and i couldn't pass top the chance to post something to celebrate the occasion.

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If you would like to know more about the occasion, please click on the below picture to see a video

Relationship between Qatar's first stamps and the Trucial Stamp Issue

The design of a countries stamps requires a little cultural and historic sensitivities. AS such, the designers would tend to be the same for new stamp designs from the same region.

As such the designer of some of Qatar's first stamps and those of the Trucial States was the same.

Click the image below to know more.

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I posted earlier on the design of Qatar's first stamp issue:

Postal Notice for the 1961 Definitive Issue

Qatar Stamps - The Preservation of the Nubian Temples

Once the design of the new Aswan High Dam was completed, it was realised that many of the Nubian Temples would be submerged forever, the Egyptian Government seek assistance from the United Nations on how best to preserved them.

The below stamps show how awareness for this project was successfully raised around the world and they have been preserved for all mankind.

Click on the image to know more, or simply share your favourite examples of Nubian Preservation stamps.

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Click on the below links to learn more:

Ministry of tourism and Antiquities

UNESCO project to save the Nubian Monuments

Rescue if the Nubian Monuments and Sites

Qatar Stamps - British Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia

A scout jamboree was held in England to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Brownsea Island Camp and the Centenary of its founder Baden Powell. Some 33,000 scouts from approximately 90 countries participated in the event. Many of these countries also issued stamps to celebrate the event. This was started the Scout and Guide Stamp Club with the appropriate Scout Patches being produced.

Click on the image to learn more.

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 If you would like to read more on the Kuwait issue please click on the stamp below.

Click on the stamp to learn more about the Kuwait version  of the stamp,

Qatar Stamps - Coin Issue of 1965

The Coin Issue of 1965 has always intrigued me. It was one of the sets that enticed me to start collecting stamps from Qatar.

It intrigued me because there were no coins ever issued with that design and so it appeared as more an ego trip than anything else.

However, after much research I have found that, at the time, while most Arabian Gulf countries were reliant on the Indian Gulf Rupee, they were afraid of being taken on a 'roller coaster ride' with the possible devaluation. So much so that Kuwait broke away from the system in 1961 and by 1965 Bahrain followed suit.

''The other states began to look for an alternative - a common Arabian Gulf Currency.

Click on the image below to learn more.

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Below is a description of the proposed designs for the Arabian Gulf Currency and how the designs were later incorporated into some other regional currencies. For further reading look for the Arab Collector magazine - April 2019 - for a deeper insight at this coin design by Dr. Mazen Mira.

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Qatar Stamps - Printers Proof

 A few days ago we looked at progressive colour proof for the 1965 Fish Series. But there are many different types of printer proofs, and today we look at another one.

Some proofs are more rare than others, but all are sought after by collectors as a way to make their collection unique and therefore more appealing (valuable).

Please feel free to share other proofs you have in your collection - whether from Qatar or not.

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The History of Philately

The below article from the 'Times of India - 10th of August 1894' tells us the story of philately as it was 160 years ago.

"The art of stamp collector, which has spread to all over the civilised world has called into being the trade of the stamp dealer with his catalogues and circulars. The stamp collector, or philatelists as they are called, have their own journals, their own literature, and their own societies. There is in some minds, a constant desire to sort and classify, and to these philately particularly appeals

The origin of the idea of collecting stamps emanated, it is said from Belgium, and thence spread to France, to germany and to England. At the present day there is scarcely a country which has any pretension to civilisation that does not possess some votaries of philately while most have societies and journals devoted to it. The Stamp Collectors' Magazine (see below) was first issued in 1863; in 1972 the first auction pf postage stamps was held; today there are more than 20,000 stamp dealers in Europe, and one of the fraternity has just retired from business with a fortune of £50,000 (about £1,700,000 in todays currency) . In 1 1890, the Jubilee year to the Penny Postage, an Exhibition of postage Stamps was held inLeeds, which gave a great stimulus to the scientific study of the subject, whilst lately the British Museum accepted the collection of Mr. Tapling, M.P., which was valued at £60,000.

The so called 'craze' has taken hold of society at both ends. The school-boy or school-girl, who puzzles over mysterious stamps from unknown lands, is getting a lesson in geography, more likely ro abide in the memory than any paragraph in a book. All ranks of society have adepts in stamp collecting amongst them; the Czar is said to have a collection which ranks third in value in the world, and the Queen and the Prince of Wales are also great collectors. The Duke of Saxe-Cohurg is president of the London Philatelic Society, and his nephew, the Duke of York, is one of the vice-presidents, whilst in India not a few of our native princes and rulers 'philatelist'.

To a subject which has grown so extensively it was of course to be expected that the great Worlds' Fair of 1893 would have some reference; and a number of exhibitors from all parts of the world had rare and valuable stamps on view. Amongst the chief of these exhibitors Messrs. N. O. Bottliwalla and Co., of Abdool Rahman Street, Bombay, are specially noted as having one of the rarest and choicest collections in the official reproof the World' Fair. Bottliwalla and Co., have one of the finest and most extensive shows of postage and other stamps going: all the scarce and curious Indian ones and many odd and rare ones from various quarters of the earth"

 If you would like to read or just flick through the first Stamp Collectors' magazine (1863) click on its image below:

Click to download one for the worlds first stamp collectors magazine

Note that the Penny Black was only 23 years old by the time the first Stamp Collectors Magazine was published in 1863.

Qatar Stamps - Colour Proofs

 While in France from early on the Government Printing Office has taken advantage of collectors search for unique elements and has officially printed colour proofs fro vemry early on and sold to collectors or given away to prominent figures,

Click above to learn more

this is not generally the case. Either way, colour proofs still remain rare and highly sought after by collectors as a way to enhance their collections.

Generally, colour proofs are made by the printers as a way to check the quality of the print of a new stamp issue. They are also part of the design and approval process of the stamp. Both these elements permit a certain amount of proofs to reach the market, from either the printer as a way to enhance income or from the post office as a way to please collectors.

Qatar is no exception to this, and there are a number of colour proofs, design proofs and other artefacts available for the collector, although they remain rare.

The below image (click to enlarge), is of the 1965 Fish series, for which it is relatively easy to find.

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1966 - Qatar Issue for the International Co-operation Year

A speech made by the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Lal Nehru at the United Nations General Assembly on the 10th of November 1961 motivated the world to look for ways to promote his idea of International Co-operation as a way to prevent conflict, specially in the new nuclear context.

It was believed that, increased public awareness of the extent and significance of existing co-operation, would lead to a better understanding of the world community and common interests of mankind as a whole.

In honour of his speech, the United General Assembly opted to designate 1965, the 20th year of the United Nations as the:

International Co-operation Year

The below stamps were issued by Qatar, on a sheet of 5 x 5 (i.e space for 25 stamps), but only spaces on the four corners were printed with stamps (total of 16 stamps). The blank gutters were on other sheets printed with the celebration of the United Nations 20th Anniversary.

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Click on the image below to listen to India's Prime Minister 1961 UN General Assembly Speech

click to see video

Click on the image below to read the India's Prime Minister's 1961 UN General Assembly Speech

the link allows you to choose your favourite language

paragraph's 36 onwards refers to the International Co-operation

click to read speech

 

Local Dhows on stamps - an issue from 1976

One of Eastern Arabia's greatest limitations was the lack of wood from building materials. Dhows in particular requiring plenty and the larger ones requiring large strong beams. The best wood for ship building was the Indian Teak from the Malabar Coast, in the southwest of India. Generally with the import of the wood, skilled labourers - carpenters - and their tools would be imported as well. The larger Dhows, requiring pieces too large and so would be commissioned from boatyards on the Malabar Coast.

The Dhow was the main transport of goods throughout the Persian Gulf as well as a source of food (fishing) and valuables (pearls). The Dhows evolved to the requirements of each of these tasks, and as can be seen from the image below, a large number of designs and sizes soon grew.

Click to zoom

Types of Dhows used in Qatar;

The following text is as per the Qatar National Heritage Museum:

Huri
The huri was a small vessel, mainly used for short journeys and fishing expeditions.
These simple vessels were made from hollowed-out tree trunks.
This type of boat has been used in the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean regions for thousands of years.

Battil
The battle was usually used for pearling expeditions, but could also be used for fishing, trading and in battle.
It has shallow draft (the distance from the waterline to the lowest point of the dhow), meaning that it could sail safely in the shallow waters around pearl beds.
This type of dhow is light, fast and versatile.

Sanbuk
This type of dhow was used for pearling, fishing and trading expeditions.
It has a shallow draft allowing if to safely sail around the shallow waters around the coast of the Arabian Gulf.
The sank has a short keel (the bottom part of the dhow) making it easily manoeuvrable.

Shu’i
This type of show was usually used for pearl diving.
It is a medium sized dhow, usually 7-12 meters n length.
The shut is characterised by its upward curved stempost (the vertical post at the front of the dhow).

Boum
The boom has a pointed stern (the back part of the dhow) which allows it to travel quickly.
Large types of boom could carry large cargoes and travel long distances. Smaller types were used for pearling expeditions.
This dhow usually has two masts, although the largest types have three masts.

Abu Buz
A large dhow used for carrying cargo.
Abu bus is easily manoeuvrable and could sail in shallow waters.

Jalbut
The jalbut is known for its speed and versatility, and was used for pearling and fishing expeditions and other short journeys.
Some say the name is derived from the English term jolly boat, which were small vessels used by the British Royal Navy.
This type of dhow is distinguished by its square stern.

Baqqarah
The baqqarah was originally used to carry cargo on trading voyages.
Smaller versions were used for pearling and fishing expeditions.
It has two masts.

Baghalah
A deep-sea vessel capable of carrying large cargoes and travelling long distances.
The baghlah was used for trading expeditions throughout the Gulf and as far afield as India.
This dhow is distinguished by its wide stern, decorations and large capacity.

Shasha
Made from the spines of date-palm leaves, takes around two days to make one.

 

What is the relationship between Tonga and Qatar Stamps ?

The Kingdom of Tonga in 1963 became a pioneer on a new stamp design with special properties allowing the stamps to resist the effects of extreme climate.

In the process they also launched a new security printer into the market on a recommendation from De La Rue.

Click on the image below to learn more.

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Never heard of the kingdom of Tonga, below is a map showing its location. You can click on it to zoom.

click to zoom

Want to learn more about Qatar's Gold Coin Issue?

Click on the cover below:

 

Qatar First Day Cover - how did philatelists all over the world get access to them ?

The world of philately is a unique. By the time Qatar started its own path down the road of becoming independent and having its own Postal Service, it is clear that many avid collectors already had their eye on Qatar.

The question whether the First Day Covers at the time were being market directly by the General Post Office or not, may not be easy to solve, but the below presentation may go a long way to solve it. Click on it to learn more.

I have a another blogs related to this subject (click below to learn more):

Qatar First Day Covers

 

Qatar General Post Office Issue for the Golden Age Scientists.

The Islamic Golden Age is the era in the history of Islam, traditionally between the 8th and 14th century.

During much of this period, most of the Islamic world was ruled by caliphates. Science, economic development and cultural works flourished.

This period is understood to have began during the reign of Abbasid caliph Hard Al Rashid (788 to 809) with the inauguration of the 'house of wisdom' in Baghdad. Scholars from all over the Islamic World were mandated to gather and translate the world's classic literature into Arabic.

The period is thought to have ended with the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate due to Mongol invasions and the Siege of Baghdad in 1258.

Ships on Qatar Postal Stamps - Want to learn their names ? Read on...

The first stamp on the below image is of a Qatar Stamp issue celebrating the UPU, and so has little if any connection to ships passing through Qatar. The ships belonged to the Peninsular and Oriental Company. It began its life mainly on routes from Britain to the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain). As it expanded, it absorbed the Oriental Line which mainly carried mail to India and the Far East and Australia.

The next two issues represent anniversaries of the United Arab Shipping Company. The company was founded in 1976 with the shareholders being the governments of Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and UAE) and the headquarters were in Kuwait at the time. During the Iraq invasion of Kuwait the headquarters moved to Dubai.

In 1982, UASC commissioned 9 vessels from the Hyundai Heavy Industries, two of which were registered in Qatar as explained in the image below. It continued to grow, becoming one of the top 10 container shipping companies in the world, with a fleet of 56 vessels.

The company merged with Hapag-Lloyd in 2016, becoming its largest shareholder.

Other countries celebrations of the United Arab Shipping Company anniversaries:

 

Please let me know if you know the names of any of the un-named vessels on the above stamps.

Qatar General Post Office Olympic Issue of 1964 - what is the correct name for this issue?

Examining stamps and in particular the history surrounding their issue, is one of the best parts of philately.

The 1964 Olympic issue from Qatar, as we have seen before gave Qatar its first Black Blot from the American Philatelic Society (APS). This was later rescinded.

But looking carefully at eh reasons given from this we can find a few issues. The Arab Olympic Committee did not exist at the time. There was a United Arab Olympic Committee. 

Egypt and Syria had formed an union between 1958 and 1961 creating the United Arab Republic (UAR).

The United Arab Olympic Committee did have something to celebrate in 1964, click on the image below to learn more.

Whether the stamps celebrate the United Arab Olympic Committee, the Tokyo Olympics of 1964, may yet be unknown. But I believe the above explanation is the most plausible. Leave me your thoughts and comments below.

 

The Black Blot program consequences to Qatar Philately.

The American Philatelic Society (APS) was unashamedly proud of its Black Blot program as as such promoted it with other Philatelic bodies.

This had direct consequences as to which stamp issues would be included in the Stanley Gibbons catalogues, and which countries would be disqualified from exhibitions and so on.

The APS and its congeners had a particular disdain for souvenir sheets (or miniature sheets as sometimes they are referred to) and to imperf sheets. The latter resulted in Qatar being banned from Fédération Internationale de Philatélie exhibitions.

Click on the image below to see read further.

Although, never actually terminated, the Black Blot program lost some of its impact around 1980's.

Happily, nowadays Qatar Philatelic community remains well and alive, and no longer banned from exhibitions.

 

Qatar's 1964 Stamp Issue for the Tokyo Olympics was not !!! Black Blot Rescinded.

The Black Blot program of the American Philatelic Society (APS) had wide reaching arms, and sometimes did not examine the 'offenders' as throughly as they should. This is very much the case of the 1961 Definitive stamps overprinted with the Olympic rings in 1964.

The APS stated that it warranted being included in the Black Blot for two reasons:

1. Use of high value stamps

2. Country did not participate in the games

However, it was later pointed out to the APS that:

1. The 1961 10 Rupee stamp had been surcharged down to 1 Rupee

2. The rings were not synonymous with the Tokyo Olympics, the rings were arranged in a semi circle and not in the IOC manner. They actually were the rings of the Arab Olympic Committee.

The stamps were a celebration of Qatar's accession to the Arab Olympic Committee.

Surprisingly, Scott and Gibbon's and Qatar Stamp Album still refer to the issue as the Tokyo Olympics of 1964, but the Michel catalogue correctly refers to the issue as Qatar's Accession to the Arab Olympic Committee.

 

Qatar Stamps and the Black Blot program of the American Philatelic Society

Just as Qatar was taking its initial steps into postal independence, the American Philatelic Society was taking bold steps to protect its members from many of the new countries in the middle east region that were using philately as a means to enrich their coffers.

As such, Qatar was soon included in the wide reaching program without too much a fuss. As we shall see later, this resulted in some stamp issues being rescinded from the list. 

Click in the image below to see which five Qatar stamp issues were included in the 'Black Blot'.

I presume most of you, can easily find these stamps in the market. Perhaps a consequence of being blotted, making them less desirable to others.

If you haven't had a chance, read further into the Black Blot on my previous blog by clicking the text below.

The 1966 Coin Issue

 

Qatar Education Day Stamp Issue 1981

From very early on, Qatar has been investing heavily on education its citizens as can be seen from a number of Qatar stamp issues.

In the particular case of the below stamp the logo on the stamp, for the education ministry can be seen was used on schools, printed matter and even the school busses of the time.

 

Qatar Stamps - FIFA World Cup Stadiums

The stamps depicting the eight spectacular stadiums that will host the World Cup Qatar 2022

The stamps feature the dramatic colours and designs of the brand and bring to life the stadiums. Each is unique masterpieces inspired by Qatari heritage and culture.

The eight stadiums are:

Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium

Lusail Stadium

Ras Abu Aboud Stadium

Al Janoub Stadium

Khalifa International Stadium

Al Thumama Stadium

Education City Stadium

Al Bayt Stadium