Bhutan

April 1962 †


	1962 Sc1 SG1	xxx

perf 14 x 14½, no wmk, lithographed
Printed by Harrison

Description	V/H	Scott#	SG#
perf 14 x 14½ vertical, 14½ x 14 horizontal
2 chetrum red and grey	V	1	1
3c red and ultra	H	2	2
5c	H	3	3
15c	H	4	4
33c	V	5	5
70c	H	6	6
1.30 Ngultrum blue and black	H	7	7

† Scott [1] notes that the first set "was issued for inland use in April 1962 and became valid for internation mail on Oct. 10 1962"

Wikipedia (summarised) [2] "Bhutan is a sovereign state in South Asia. A landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas, Bhutan borders the People's Republic of China to the north and India to the south, east and west. To the west, it is separated from Nepal by the Indian state of Sikkim; and further south it is separated from Bangladesh by the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal. Bhutan's capital and largest city is Thimphu.

1955 SG-F1 to F4

Bhutan enjoyed strong cultural links with Tibet and was located on the Silk Road between China and the Indian subcontinent. Its territory was composed of minor warring fiefs until the early 17th century. At the time the lama and military leader Ngawang Namgyal, the first Zhabdrung Rinpoche, unified the area and cultivated a distinct Bhutanese identity. In the early 20th century, Bhutan established relations with the British Empire. During the rise of Chinese communism and its spread to Tibet, Bhutan signed a friendship treaty with newly independent India in 1949. In 2008, Bhutan transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy and held its first general election. Its government has promoted the concept of gross national happiness which is reflected in the Bhutan GNH Index. Nevertheless, Bhutan remains a Least Developed Country." [accessed 15th July 2016]

An article in Journal v8n2p3 notes that Gibbons [3] starts in 1955 with a set of 4 stamps issued for fiscal purposes but authorised for internal postal use.

1973 Sc152 to 152F

Innovations

Scott's 1973 set Sc152 - Sc152F are very small phonograph records with short recordings of folk music, history and the national anthem. The Vinyl Factory has a sound file. Gibbons rejects these as " either issued in excess of postal needs or … not available to the public in reasonable quantities in Bhutan".