The Canadian Stamp Dealers Association (CSDA) has issued a theft alert after four albums were reported stolen from a Calgary residence in late January.
The four-volume album set held mint pre-independence stamps from East India’s stamp-issuing entities, including feudatory states, which controlled postal services within their territories and issued stamps with their own designs, and convention states, which made postal agreements with India Post (formed in October 1854) to provide postal services within their territories.
The stamps also included issues from India used abroad plus French India and Portuguese India, pre-independence colonial states administered by France and Portugal, respectively. On Aug. 15, 1947, the Indian Independence Act created the nations of India and Pakistan, which remained British Crown dominions until 1950 and 1956, respectively.
In its Jan. 26 alert, the CSDA advised anyone who sees the stolen material to contact its owner Greg Butt at 1-587-777-4789 or Calgary Police Service Constable Jason Choi at 1-403-266-1234 (case file “CA22031371”).