
When Rajasthan was formed in 1948-49 merging the states of Bundi, Jaipur and Kishangarh among other states from Rajputana, the local posts in these states continued to function more or less separately until ordered by the Indian Government to close down in April, 1950.
Among the postage stamps used locally in this intermittent period, besides the Bundi and Jaipur postage stamps handstamped and overprinted for use as postage stamps of Rajasthan, many of the very early Kishangarh postage stamps stocks from as early as the reign of Maharaja Sardul Singh (1879-1900), as well as the postage stamps from the reign of Maharaja Madan Singh (1900-1926) were handstamped in 'red' as per the Stanley Gibbons and other catalogues' classification (although I must have to admit here that seldom have I seen a handstamp on these Rajasthan stamps in the actual 'red' color!
Lastly, the postage stamps of Kishangarh issued and used under the reign of Maharaja Yagyanarayan Singh (1926-1939) were handstamped similarly to be used as postage in Rajasthan, as you can see from the picture of the fine sheetlet above.
I acquired this material two years back with the item description saying "Rajasthan SG 61/CW 79 4a brown". I looked into both the Stanley Gibbons and the KGVI Commonwealth Catalogues for further study and confirmation, but to my utter surprise, found this 4a brown only listed as 'handstamped in red'! Now this sheetlet has a violet handstamp, not red!
The only values from this entire issue/set that had a 'violet handstamp' listing in either of these catalogues was the 1/2 anna and the 1 anna values.
I sought help from fellow collectors and Philatelists, and the examples they had from this issue that could be used to compare, as reference, showed pink handstamps for what's formally classified as 'red' in the catalogues. I'm yet to find an example where the handstamp is actually 'red' in color!
These were a few possible conclusions I arrived at after much thought, research and consulting:
[1] Since all the stamps I've come across from this issue/group have a pink handstamp for 'red' and since I have seldom come across any of these stamps with an actually red handstamp, it could either be so that the handstamps on this issue have all faded/discolored over the years or the catalogues have been a bit casual in listing these handstamps as 'red'
Or
[2] Since the 'violet' as well as 'blue' handstamp varieties have been listed for certain other values in the catalogues, and since this value in particular - 4a brown - was the most heavily overprinted value in this entire issue of 9 values, this 4a brown 'violet handstamp' could well be an 'unlisted variety'!
Or
[3] Another theory put forth by a fellow philatelist was that since there were other values listed as violet handstamp variety in the catalogues, the Kishangarh Authorities might have overprinted everything remaining in the State Treasury at some point with this violet handstamp.
What could have been... but turned out to not be so...
[4] Also I found that the expertising bodies were reluctant to issue certificates for such handstamped overprints for many years as they were too easy to be forged. However I doubt this as I acquired this material from one of the most reputed firms well-known for their focus and expertise on Indian States! Besides, this postage stamp without the handstamp, Kishangarh SG 88 (1944), is currently catalogued at £28 each as compared to £2.75 when handstamped! So this rules out the possibility of forgery decisively...
I'd highly appreciate if someone has something more to add or contribute here, or share their further insights about the inconclusive findings that I've come to, as yet... Also, if someone does have a stamp from this issue, any value, with an actually 'red handstamp' that also looks red, I'd really appreciate if you could share a high-resolution image of the same with me, or here at the blog itself, for the benefit of all who might be keenly following this trail as well.
To wind up with some trivia, a senior philatelist tells me that Stanley Gibbons refused to list any overprinted handstamp issues from Rajasthan till the late 1950s because they didn't believe these stamps did actual postal duty. It was somewhere between the 1960s and the 1980s that they changed their mind, recognized these Indian State issues and started listing them in their catalogues.
Well, I bid adieu now, with this sheetlet still remaining confounding! The search continues...
Safi.