Thursday, October 14, 2010

Jal Cooper - Indian philatelist


Jal Manekji Cooper, FRGS (died 1972), was an Indian philatelist, and a recognized expert and authenticator of the postage stamps and postal history of India. Cooper was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the author of several philatelic handbooks.
Cooper was both a stamp dealer and a collector. Living in Bombay (present day Mumbai), he was associated with other philatelists like C. D. Desai, N. D. Cooper, and Robson Lowe.
Cooper's expertise in Indian philately is well known. He is occasionally but erroneously credited with having discovered the Inverted Head 4 Annas. The 1891 reprints show that this error was already known. E. A. Smythies said the error was first discovered at a meeting of the Philatelic Society of London in 1874.
The 'Jal Cooper Philatelic Society', in Varanasi, India is named after him. India Post issued a 10 rupees commemorative stamp on 15 December 1997 featuring Jal Cooper and Indian postmarks, on the occasion of INDEPEX 97.

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