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Legal Ephemera - Stamp Paper - 1940s





    Legal ephemera from the past constitute an important part of cultural heritage due to their details concerning governance, valuations and iconography of the purpose(s) they were made for. India gained independence from British Rule in 1947 and the Partition gave birth to the new country of Pakistan. The stamp paper in this post dates back to the time just after the Partition.


    The following image of a legal stamped paper with a revenue stamp of One Rupee (16 Annas). The stamp paper dates back to the 1940s, possibly 1948. Stamp papers were used for land sale and purchase deeds and business deals among other purposes.


    Contributor: Subhradeep Chatterjee



Stamp Paper, 1940s. © Subhradeep Chatterjee

    The unique aspect of this stamp paper is that it consists of two printed revenue stamps of Eight Annas each, which together makes 16 Annas, or One Rupee. The text in “X” pattern on the stamps consist of two portions: one, English: “One Rupee”; and the other, Urdu: “Yek Rupee”/ “Yek Rupay” meaning One Rupee.


[Image Description: The stamp paper is a set of two revenue stamps pre-printed on foolscap paper. The rectangular printed portion is situated at the top and is coloured brown while the rest of the paper is in white. The rectangular portion occupies about 20% of the document height at the top.

    The printed portion contains two identical brown stamps placed side-by-side, separated by an “X” pattern which contains the text “One Rupee” in English and “Yek Rupee”/”Yek Rupay” in Urdu (in white). The stamps themselves are octagonal in shape with the image of the king at the centre and the text “Eight Annas - India” encircling it. The entire set of stamps are inlaid with intricate printed floral designs. Below the above portion, there is the Hindi text: “Ek Rupya” meaning one rupee. Above the top right of the stamps is the text “IR.”

    In the blank white portion of the stamp paper, the faint watermark of a crown can be discerned.]