Vadodara: The glorious Gaekwadi era has left many collectibles for art connoisseurs in the city. A sweet maker fromt he city has collected envelopes depicting different events and commemorative occasions of the Gaekwadi reign. Vinod Shah (45), has been collecting envelopes since last 15 years.
"I began by collecting coins minted during the Gaekwadi rule 15 years ago. The intricate inscriptions on the coins fascinated me and motivated to find out papers and envelopes that use the royal insignia in various forms and styles," said Shah who has collected about 50 rare envelopes.
His collections boast of ornate envelopes that reflect the grandeur of the Gaekwadi rule. The collection also includes a rare envelop from Sayajirao Gaekwad III wishing merry Christmas to the citizens of Vadodara.
"The envelope has a unique emblem dedicated to Christmas festivities with a wreath made using holly leaves and berries. Other envelops have intricate monograms made using gold, silver, blue and red colours," added Shah.
The envelopes owned by Shah was published between 1875 and 1939 during the reign of Sayajirao III. The papers used to make the envelops were mostly imported from England.
The envelopes with Gaekwadi monograms with Shah are very rare to find. The monograms mainly have the logos of the Gaekwad dynasty. These rare envelopes should be collected and preserved.
"Indian paper then were considered to be rough and hence most of the princely states acquired paper from Europe," said noted numismatist and philatelist A S Loiwal.
Apart from envelopes, Shah also has collections of medals and coins issued by Gaekwads to recognize sportspersons. He has collected over 80 medals issued by the Gaekwadi rulers.
His collection of Gaekwadi articles also include a 100-year-old mojari shoes made of leather and cotton fabric studded with gold sequins.
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