Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
1794
Description
India, Berhampore, 1794, "BERHAMPORE/POST PAID" Two-Line Handstamp (Giles 1a, 2000 Supplement). Faint but legible strike on cover written and addressed in Armenian, with 1794 year date docketing, faint manuscript "2a" rate marking, cover heavily toned causing paper to be brittle and with splitting along folds, about Fine, quite possibly the only recorded example of this postal marking known
Auction
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Other recorded marks at Berhampore
9 marks9 other pre-1854 postal markings of Berhampore are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
- Berhampore HG 1handstampBlack1790
- Berhampore HG 2handstampBlack1800
- Berhampore HG 3handstampBlack1807–1836
- Berhampore HG 4handstampBlack1833–1838
- Berhampore HG 5handstampBlack1817–1837
- Berhampore HG 6handstampRed1838-57
+3 more at this office.View all Berhampore marks and postal history →
About this Berhampore pre stamp cover
COV-204 is a Berhampore pre stamp cover of 1794 bearing the Berhampore HG 1a handstamp, struck in black, recorded in the census of Berhampore postal history — the office known today as Baharampur, Bengal Presidency. What is a pre stamp cover?
India, Berhampore, 1794, "BERHAMPORE/POST PAID" Two-Line Handstamp (Giles 1a, 2000 Supplement). Faint but legible strike on cover written and addressed in Armenian, with 1794 year date docketing, faint manuscript "2a" rate marking, cover heavily toned causing paper to be brittle and with splitting along folds, about Fine, quite possibly the only recorded example of this postal marking known
Its recorded auction history runs through Auktionen Gaertner Asia Auction No.21 lot 1053 (6 February 2012); and Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 9020 lot 10011.
2 images of COV-204 are recorded (front, back); the Berhampore HG 1a mark itself is recorded in use 1794.
Questions about COV-204
- What is COV-204?
- COV-204 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Berhampore, Bengal Presidency of 1794, bearing the Berhampore HG 1a handstamp in black. India, Berhampore, 1794, "BERHAMPORE/POST PAID" Two-Line Handstamp (Giles 1a, 2000 Supplement). Faint but legible strike on cover written and addressed in Armenian, with 1794 year date docketing, faint manuscript "2a" rate marking, cover heavily toned causing paper to be brittle and with splitting along folds, about Fine, quite possibly the only recorded example of this postal marking known
- How scarce is the Berhampore HG 1a mark on this cover?
- The census grades Berhampore HG 1a as rare, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1794.
- What is the provenance of COV-204?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Auktionen Gaertner Asia Auction No.21 lot 1053 (6 February 2012); and Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 9020 lot 10011.
- When was COV-204 posted?
- COV-204 is dated 1794, within the recorded period of use of Berhampore HG 1a (1794).
About this record
This 1794 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Berhampore HG 1a handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Rare” in this census — the only surviving cover with this mark recorded so far. It has appeared at auction with Auktionen Gaertner, Asia Auction No.21, lot 1053, (6 February 2012); Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Sale 9020, lot 10011.