Scan or Photo Courtesy of Santosh MS
Date
1811
Description
1810 or early 1811 Calcutta – Madras On His Majesty's free frank service wrapper, with Calcutta Giles 12 "POST.FREE" & Giles G2 "G.P.O. MAY 5/180.." despatch handstamp, addressed to Lieutenant Edmund Lyons at H.M. Ship Minden (a Royal Navy 74-gun Ganges-class third-rate ship, built by Jamsetjee Bomanjee Wadia) at Madras. No receipt mark of Madras applied. On 29 July 1811, Lieutenant Edmund Lyons led 35 men in capturing a fort near Batavia. Dutch and French forces in Java surrendered in September. HMS Minden then returned to the UK and escorted convoys worldwide. Sent by Captain Wells of HMS Fox, who was a junior officer at Calcutta.
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-2146 is a Calcutta pre stamp cover of 1811 bearing the Calcutta HG 12 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?
1810 or early 1811 Calcutta – Madras On His Majesty's free frank service wrapper, with Calcutta Giles 12 "POST.FREE" & Giles G2 "G.P.O. MAY 5/180.." despatch handstamp, addressed to Lieutenant Edmund Lyons at H.M. Ship Minden (a Royal Navy 74-gun Ganges-class third-rate ship, built by Jamsetjee Bomanjee Wadia) at Madras. No receipt mark of Madras applied. On 29 July 1811, Lieutenant Edmund Lyons led 35 men in capturing a fort near Batavia. Dutch and French forces in Java surrendered in September. HMS Minden then returned to the UK and escorted convoys worldwide. Sent by Captain Wells of HMS Fox, who was a junior officer at Calcutta.
Santosh MS
1 image of COV-2146 is recorded (front); the Calcutta HG 12 mark itself is recorded in use 1807–1818.
Questions about COV-2146
- What is COV-2146?
- COV-2146 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Calcutta, Bengal Presidency of 1811, bearing the Calcutta HG 12 handstamp in black. 1810 or early 1811 Calcutta – Madras On His Majesty's free frank service wrapper, with Calcutta Giles 12 "POST.FREE" & Giles G2 "G.P.O. MAY 5/180.." despatch handstamp, addressed to Lieutenant Edmund Lyons at H.M. Ship Minden (a Royal Navy 74-gun Ganges-class third-rate ship, built by Jamsetjee Bomanjee Wadia) at Madras. No receipt mark of Madras applied. On 29 July 1811, Lieutenant Edmund Lyons led 35 men in capturing a fort near Batavia. Dutch and French forces in Java surrendered in September. HMS Minden then returned to the UK and escorted convoys worldwide. Sent by Captain Wells of HMS Fox, who was a junior officer at Calcutta.
- How scarce is the Calcutta HG 12 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Calcutta HG 12 as common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1807–1818.
- What is the provenance of COV-2146?
- Santosh MS
- When was COV-2146 posted?
- COV-2146 is dated 1811, within the recorded period of use of Calcutta HG 12 (1807–1818).
About this record
This 1811 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Calcutta HG 12 handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Common” in this census — one of 3 surviving covers with this mark recorded.