INDIA - Stanley Gibbons;India 2009

Published by Stanley Gibbons Ltd. 222pp. Colour. English

Inc Convention;and Feudatory States, stamps on cover, miniature sheets, booklets, officials, watermark varieties, plate flaws, major errors, used abroad, China & Indian Expeditionary Forces, design index, English/French/German/Spanish/Italian glossary

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Philatelic Exporter review, courtesy of David Rennie (October 2009):

Latest issue to be included is the May 2009 "Lifeline Express" and the design index has been updated to include all issues from 1947 onwards. This edition is in the more manageable "Concise" format, with two-column listings, and now in full colour throughout, apart from the odd black illustration occasionally in the states. There are 222 catalogue pages, plus the usual notes etc.

Prices have moved upwards since the last edition, (see Exporter December 2004), and also reflect a current relatively buoyant market where demand in the home country and other developing economies has grown rapidly.; The Pre-Independence issues in particular are mentioned by the publisher with some seeing increases of up to fifty percent or more.; The 10 rupee Gandhi of 1948 has rocketed over the period from £45 in the last edition to £160 in this, for mint

The Indian States also remain popular and in demand, and here again prices have risen by significant amounts.

Editorially there are numerous improvements. Additional priced listings are included for Indian stamps used in Bahrain, British East Africa, Iran, Iraq, Straits Settlements and Zanzibar.; More watermark varieties have been added, but there is no summary page for new numbers etc, so the reader will just have to compare with the old edition to find them.; As with the "Red Book" reviewed elsewhere, the Rajasthan hand-stamps now have a revised listing showing both mint and used for the various colours of hand-stamp.

Whilst many Indian stamps reflect Indian themes and personalities, it also issues numerous stamps relevant to other thematic collectors from film and music, to sport, roses, animals and bridges to mention just a few.; India is popular with many club collectors, and societies should think about adding this volume to their libraries.