Scan or Photo Courtesy of Santosh MS
Date
24 February 1791
Description
1791 Aberdeenshire – Calcutta entire via Cape route & Madras, privately carried to Madras then sent to Calcutta. At Madras, Giles 3 "Post not Paid" handstamp & date "8 Feb" applied. Upon receiving at Calcutta, Giles 11 "G.P.O./FEB y. Bg Pg" bearing handstamp applied, date "24" & amount "1.2.6." (bearing 1R 2½A for single letter Madras–Calcutta full inland postage, as weighing under 2.5 sicca weight) applied in manuscript, which was collected from the recipient. One of the earliest recorded examples of the Calcutta Giles 11 handstamp.
Provenance
Santosh MS
Same office
Other recorded marks at Calcutta
183 marks183 other pre-1854 postal markings of Calcutta are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
- Calcutta HG 1handstampBlack1775–1787
- Calcutta HG 1ahandstampBlack1775–1786
- Calcutta HG 2handstampBlack1775–1787
- Calcutta HG 3handstampBlack1776–1789
- Calcutta HG 4handstampBlack1787
- Calcutta HG 5handstampBlack1788
+177 more at this office.View all Calcutta marks and postal history →
About this Calcutta pre stamp cover
COV-2145 is a Calcutta pre stamp cover of 24 February 1791 bearing the Calcutta HG 11 handstamp, struck in black, recorded in the census of Calcutta postal history — the office known today as Kolkata, Bengal Presidency. What is a pre stamp cover?
1791 Aberdeenshire – Calcutta entire via Cape route & Madras, privately carried to Madras then sent to Calcutta. At Madras, Giles 3 "Post not Paid" handstamp & date "8 Feb" applied. Upon receiving at Calcutta, Giles 11 "G.P.O./FEB y. Bg Pg" bearing handstamp applied, date "24" & amount "1.2.6." (bearing 1R 2½A for single letter Madras–Calcutta full inland postage, as weighing under 2.5 sicca weight) applied in manuscript, which was collected from the recipient. One of the earliest recorded examples of the Calcutta Giles 11 handstamp.
Santosh MS
1 image of COV-2145 is recorded (front); the Calcutta HG 11 mark itself is recorded in use 1791–1818.
Questions about COV-2145
- What is COV-2145?
- COV-2145 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Calcutta, Bengal Presidency of 24 February 1791, bearing the Calcutta HG 11 handstamp in black. 1791 Aberdeenshire – Calcutta entire via Cape route & Madras, privately carried to Madras then sent to Calcutta. At Madras, Giles 3 "Post not Paid" handstamp & date "8 Feb" applied. Upon receiving at Calcutta, Giles 11 "G.P.O./FEB y. Bg Pg" bearing handstamp applied, date "24" & amount "1.2.6." (bearing 1R 2½A for single letter Madras–Calcutta full inland postage, as weighing under 2.5 sicca weight) applied in manuscript, which was collected from the recipient. One of the earliest recorded examples of the Calcutta Giles 11 handstamp.
- How scarce is the Calcutta HG 11 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Calcutta HG 11 as very common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1791–1818.
- What is the provenance of COV-2145?
- Santosh MS
- When was COV-2145 posted?
- COV-2145 is dated 24 February 1791, within the recorded period of use of Calcutta HG 11 (1791–1818).
About this record
This 24 February 1791 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Calcutta HG 11 handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Very common” in this census — one of 16 surviving covers with this mark recorded.