Jal Manekji Cooper

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(29 March 1905 – 2 August 1972) in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, was an Indian

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

, and an expert and authenticator of the

postage stamps and postal history of India Indian postal systems for efficient military and governmental communications had developed long before the arrival of Europeans. When the Portuguese, Dutch, French, Danish and British conquered the Marathas who had already defeated the M ...

. Cooper was also a

Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

and the author of several philatelic handbooks. He was both a

stamp dealer A stamp dealer is a company or an individual who deals in stamps and philatelic products. It also includes individuals who sell postage stamps for day to day use or revenue stamps for use on court documents. Stamp dealers who sell to Stamp collect ...

and a collector and was associated with philatelists like C. D. Desai, N. D. Cooper, and

Robson Lowe John Harry Robson Lowe (7 January 1905, London – 19 August 1997, Bournemouth) was an English professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer. Life and career Robson Lowe is regarded by philatelists as the father of postal his ...

. Cooper is occasionally but erroneously credited with having discovered the

Inverted Head 4 Annas The Inverted Head Four Annas of India is a postage stamp prized by collectors. The 1854 first issues of India included a Four Annas value in red and blue. It was one of the world's first multicolored stamps; the Basel Dove preceded it by nine ...

. 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. E. A. Smythies (1950
"A Classic Stamp Error"
''

The American Philatelist ''The American Philatelist'', published by the American Philatelic Society, is one of the world's oldest philatelic magazines still in operation; its first issue having appeared in January 1887. The magazine is published monthly for members of ...

'', pp. 59, 60. The ''Jal Cooper Philatelic Society'', in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

, India, is named after him and

India Post The Department of Posts, d/b/a India Post, is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, public sector postal system statutory body headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is an organisation under the Ministry of Communications (India), Minist ...

issued a 10 rupees commemorative stamp in 1997 depicting Cooper and Indian

postmark A postmark is a postal marking made on an envelope, parcel, postcard or the like, indicating the place, date and time that the item was delivered into the care of a postal service, or sometimes indicating where and when received or in transit. ...

s, on the occasion of INDEPEX 97.

Selected publications

* ''Stamps of India,'' Bombay (1942), 228 pp.; 2nd edition: Bombay (1951), 226 pp; 3rd edition: Bombay (1968), 177pp. * ''Bhutan,'' Bombay (Sept. 1969) * ''Early Indian Cancellations,'' Bombay (1948) 92 pp.; reprint: Bombay (1991). * ''India Used Abroad,'' Western Printers and Publishers Press of Bombay (1950) 100 pp.; 2nd edition in ''India's Stamp Journal'' (1972); repinted in book form from India's Stamp Journal, Bombay (1972), 86 pages. * ''India Used In Burma,'' Western Printers and Publishers Press of Bombay (1950) 67 pp.

References

Parsi people 1972 deaths Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Stamp dealers Indian philatelists 1905 births Philately of India {{philatelist-stub