Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
1825
Description
India, Calcutta, 1825, "POST-FREE" Framed Handstamp (Giles 13a, 2000 Supplement). Clear strike in red on back of 1825 folded cover from Calcutta to Lt. Col. Parker in Dum Dum, readdressed to Cawnpore, manuscript "India House London, May 1825" and "free" on front, Calcutta G.P.O. Oct. 5 despatch datestamp on back, "PM" handstamp, faint and illegible "Dum Dum Post Office" (Oct. 9, Giles 1) handstamp and returned to Calcutta, resent with Calcutta G.P.O. (Oct. 9) datestamp, cover with some soiling and interior tape reinforcement, still Fine, unlikely many examples of this "Post Free" handstamp exist — particularly in red (which was likely done in error)
Auction
Sale 9042, Lot 10034, — The Magnolia Collection Part 6
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-374 is a Calcutta pre stamp cover of 1825 bearing the Calcutta HG 13a handstamp, struck in red, recorded in the census of Calcutta postal history — the office known today as Kolkata, Bengal Presidency. What is a pre stamp cover?
India, Calcutta, 1825, "POST-FREE" Framed Handstamp (Giles 13a, 2000 Supplement). Clear strike in red on back of 1825 folded cover from Calcutta to Lt. Col. Parker in Dum Dum, readdressed to Cawnpore, manuscript "India House London, May 1825" and "free" on front, Calcutta G.P.O. Oct. 5 despatch datestamp on back, "PM" handstamp, faint and illegible "Dum Dum Post Office" (Oct. 9, Giles 1) handstamp and returned to Calcutta, resent with Calcutta G.P.O. (Oct. 9) datestamp, cover with some soiling and interior tape reinforcement, still Fine, unlikely many examples of this "Post Free" handstamp exist — particularly in red (which was likely done in error)
Its recorded auction history runs through Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 9042 lot 10034.
2 images of COV-374 are recorded (front, back); the Calcutta HG 13a mark itself is recorded in use 1825.
Questions about COV-374
- What is COV-374?
- COV-374 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Calcutta, Bengal Presidency of 1825, bearing the Calcutta HG 13a handstamp in red. India, Calcutta, 1825, "POST-FREE" Framed Handstamp (Giles 13a, 2000 Supplement). Clear strike in red on back of 1825 folded cover from Calcutta to Lt. Col. Parker in Dum Dum, readdressed to Cawnpore, manuscript "India House London, May 1825" and "free" on front, Calcutta G.P.O. Oct. 5 despatch datestamp on back, "PM" handstamp, faint and illegible "Dum Dum Post Office" (Oct. 9, Giles 1) handstamp and returned to Calcutta, resent with Calcutta G.P.O. (Oct. 9) datestamp, cover with some soiling and interior tape reinforcement, still Fine, unlikely many examples of this "Post Free" handstamp exist — particularly in red (which was likely done in error)
- How scarce is the Calcutta HG 13a mark on this cover?
- The census grades Calcutta HG 13a as common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1825.
- What is the provenance of COV-374?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 9042 lot 10034.
- When was COV-374 posted?
- COV-374 is dated 1825, within the recorded period of use of Calcutta HG 13a (1825).
About this record
This 1825 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Calcutta HG 13a handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Common” in this census — the only surviving cover with this mark recorded so far. It has appeared at auction with Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Sale 9042, lot 10034.