Presidency Guide
Bengal Presidency Postal History
The Bengal Presidency was the largest of the three East India Company administrations, and its postal system handled mail across an enormous territory — from Calcutta in the east to Delhi and Agra in the north-west. Bengal post offices produced some of the earliest and most varied handstruck postal markings in India.
The General Post Office, Calcutta
Calcutta was the seat of the Governor-General and the hub of the Bengal postal network. The Calcutta GPO used a wide variety of handstamps over the pre stamp period — circular datestamps, straight-line town marks, Ship Letter stamps and receiving marks. Letters to and from Britain typically passed through Calcutta, making its markings among the most commonly seen on surviving covers.
Major Bengal offices
Beyond Calcutta, the Bengal Presidency’s postal network served military stations, district headquarters and trading towns across the Gangetic plain and the eastern provinces:
- Dacca — Capital of Eastern Bengal, with its own distinctive datestamps
- Patna — Major station on the Ganges route between Calcutta and the north-west
- Dinapore — Military cantonment near Patna with early handstamps
- Cawnpore — Important garrison town in the upper provinces
- Benares — Ancient city with a well-documented postal office
- Monghyr — Station on the mail route through Bihar
Bengal postal markings
Bengal handstamps include circular datestamps with the office name in arc form, straight-line town marks, “Post Paid” and “Bearing” marks, and Ship Letter stamps at Calcutta. Many early Bengal marks are struck in red ink, particularly the Calcutta datestamps of the 1780s and 1790s. Later marks tend to be in black.
This site records 463 handstamps from 187 Bengal offices. Browse them all on the Bengal Presidency page.