CHENNAI: Ask for any kind of stamp and AV Jeyachandran will be happy to sell you that. From stamps made of rubber to those made of 3D, Jeyachandran maintains a huge collection of exotic stamps. What began as an initiative by his father AS Venkatesan, is now his life's work and passion.
“My father was specialist in collecting French Indps and thematic stamps. I followed suit and also began collecting them. Later, I attended the stamp exhibition of Asian countries at Bangalore in 1970s and after experiencing the vibe of the crowd, their excitement I decided to join my dad in his business,” recalls the collector who does all the dealings under the name of their family business — Je Cee Enterprise.
Now, his son is also a part of the 70-plus-year old business and is looking forward to expand it. As a part of their business, Jeyachandran buys and sells a varieties of stamps. “We have stamps made of rubber, cork, wood, bamboo, fish skin, 2D, 3D, 4D, pearl, gold, silver, crystal, copper, bronze, glass, leather along with motion stamps, stamps with rock dust and asteroid dust among others,” smiles the dealer. As of now, he and his son have participated in more than 600 shows with an average of 30 exhibitions each year.
Sharing details about the root of the innovative exotic stamps, he shares, “In 1960s, Bhutan started issuing 3D stamps, and silk stamps. Slowly it became popular and countries all over the world issued stamps made of material other than paper,” adding that apart from those stamps, he also had the collection of diamond — studded stamps issued by England and ruby stamps which he had sold off. Jeyachandranalso claims to have vintage stamps along with the modern day collection. “We have British Indian stamps, the stamps issued post-independence, the modern day thematic stamps other than the exotic material stamps,” he declares.
Ask him the secret of such a bulk collection, “Preservation plays the most important role in philately. If it's not preserved properly, both the quality and value of the stamp will degrade. That's why we use boards made of imported PVC to keep the stamps and it will help us retain their value,” points out Jeyachandran. Now, the family also maintains and sells variety of accessories required for presservation apart from the stamps.
Till date, his company has participated in various award shows across the country. “Our government should take initiatives to create awareness about the importance of stamps. Otherwise people will become ignorant of the philatelic and numismatic societies that exist in the country,” he observes.