The Sacred Cow Issues of Bundi: Second Revised Edition Paperback – March 23, 2026

This Handbook is a publication of The India Study Circle for Philately. This is the second volume in the Third Series of the Handbook and is an expanded version of the earlier Handbook, The Sacred Cow Issues of Bundi (1986), by R.J. Benns, also published by the India Study Circle.Bundi was a princely state in the Rajputana region of India (present-day Rajasthan). Princely states were semi-autonomous kingdoms and principalities in the Indian subcontinent, ruled by local rulers under the indirect control of the British administration of India.Bundi issued postage stamps from 1894 until the Bundi state postal services were merged into India’s postal system after Indian Independence. These postage stamps were valid within Bundi State. For mail sent outside Bundi, British India, postage stamps were required in addition to Bundi stamps for delivery within British India.The May 1915 issue of the Philatelic Journal of India reported a new stamp issue by Bundi State, including a ½ anna value, which they indicated was issued in October 1914, and 2 anna and 4 anna values issued in February 1915. These were the first issues of what was to become one of the most interesting issues of the Native States of India.The design was attractive, showing the head and body of the Maharaja Sir Raghubir Singh in the center, with a sacred cow on each side, each standing on its hind legs.This stamp issue remained in use for twenty-seven years, until about 1941, and throughout that time, the same four clichés were used, resulting in nearly sixty different identifiable settings. Because of the considerable length of time the clichés were in use, with frequent resetting and new inscriptions inserted, damage inevitably occurred to the clichés. A study of these flaws is invaluable for identifying clichés and settings and for determining the chronological order of the settings.Up to about 1939, the stamps were rouletted with a roulette of the same color as the stamp. Then came a sequence of perforated settings, and finally two settings that reverted to rouletting. Over the years, sixteen different face values were used, with a wealth of shades, paper types, and roulette sizes. With the notable exception of certain ¼ anna values printed in black, each value was always printed in the same color, although many shades of the basic colors were used.In 1958, Messrs. Burgess & Sturton produced a remarkable booklet on the Sacred Cows issue, listing and describing the known settings at the time. This was an excellent work. Subsequent research by India Study Circle members extends the story far beyond the B&S publication and the original 1986 Handbook. The main benefits of this additional research are:Establishing much more positively the true chronological order of the settingsIdentifying individual stamps in their correct setting.Adding informationon the Cash Coupons, the forgeries, and the postmarks used on the Sacred Cow stamps.For stamp collectors, stamp exhibitors, and those who study India's postal history, this volume is invaluable. Published by the India Study Circle (GB) in conjunction with Exhibitors Press (USA). Read more