From Merapi

One of the most impressive volcanoes is Mount Merapi on the island of Java, near the major city of Yogyakarta. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the Indonesian archipelago, with a height of nearly 3 kilometers. The name is derived from the Javanese words meru (= mountain) and api (= fire), meaning the fire mountain. A smaller eruption occurs every two to five years, and a larger one every ten to fifteen years. In 1930, a very large eruption occurred in which more than ten villages were completely destroyed and 1400 people died. The last major eruption took place in 2010, resulting in more than 300 deaths. On March 2, 1953, an eruption occurred in which the slopes of the volcano were covered with a thick layer of ash. A lava flow began on the northern side. The eruption caused extensive damage to farmland, houses, and roads. There were also casualties in this densely populated area. To provide financial support for the most urgent needs, the Indonesian Post and Telecommunications (PTT) issued a series of eight surcharge stamps featuring an image of the volcano. The series was designed by Amat bin Djupri and printed by G. Kolff & Co. in Jakarta. The printing process was offset. The perforation of the values ​​from 15 sen up to and including 2 Rupiah was 12½:12, and of the 3 and 5 Rupiah values, the perforation was 12. In July 1954, the two 3 and 5 Rupiah stamps were reprinted. This reprint can be recognized by the changed perforation 12½ : 12. For the April 1954 issue, a stamp was produced featuring an image of the volcano. Because relatively few first-day covers exist, this was a reason for counterfeiters to reproduce the stamp. The impression on the left is of the genuine stamp, and the one on the right is of the counterfeit stamp. In this regard, one must note the drawing of the volcano with a different smoke plume and the contours in the mountainside. The thicker 'cone' on the summit of the volcano is missing in the forgery. Correctly franked mail items with these stamps are difficult to find. Letters were often affixed with a complete series, sometimes with stamps from a series, without regard to the postage rate or any legal validity. Two letters sent by Th. Seth Paul from Makassar show such an example. I have not come across the letter franked with the single 5 Rupiah stamp. Was Seth Paul a stamp collector? Probably. I found the sender's name to be the director of the 'Aurora' ice and mineral water factory in Makassar on Patoenoeangweg. He was reportedly born on September 28, 1890, so he was 63 years old when he sent the letters. In the series of stamps, I have found hardly any deviations in the form of plate errors or printing errors. I encountered a single example twice on the 3 Rupiah stamp of the first printing, where a small smudge appears on the letter P of Republik. Furthermore, the series appears unperforated, without gum, as being 'proofs'. It is not clear to me whether these are genuine proofs, or if they are stamps that were not finished at the printing press and somehow entered circulation?