COV-2881
July 1836 Calcutta HG 17 Cover
Scan or Photo Courtesy of Anurag Srivastava
Date
July 1836
Description
Entire letter written on July 1836 sent from Dak Chowkey 1 to Chinsurah. As the demand for mail service increased , the Postal authorities decided to open Dak Chowkies to receive mail from the public . They were the precursor to the Receiving Houses and Giles lists 2 though there were probably more - this letter is No 1 - Badam Tallah. The letter is address to Gregorius Herklots , a senior official of the Dutch East India Company ( though the Dutch handed over Chinsurah to the British ). The tomb of G Herklots is there well preserved at Chinsurah in the Dutch Cemetery. The Dak Chowkey cancel ended with the Postal Reforms of 1837 and was renamed Receiving Houses and the cancel was changed to a smaller rectangular one. Do note , Chinsurah didn’t have any post office in 1836 with all mails being handled from the neighbouring Hooghly Post office
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-2881 is a Calcutta pre stamp cover of July 1836 bearing the Calcutta HG 17 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?
Entire letter written on July 1836 sent from Dak Chowkey 1 to Chinsurah. As the demand for mail service increased , the Postal authorities decided to open Dak Chowkies to receive mail from the public . They were the precursor to the Receiving Houses and Giles lists 2 though there were probably more - this letter is No 1 - Badam Tallah. The letter is address to Gregorius Herklots , a senior official of the Dutch East India Company ( though the Dutch handed over Chinsurah to the British ). The tomb of G Herklots is there well preserved at Chinsurah in the Dutch Cemetery. The Dak Chowkey cancel ended with the Postal Reforms of 1837 and was renamed Receiving Houses and the cancel was changed to a smaller rectangular one. Do note , Chinsurah didn’t have any post office in 1836 with all mails being handled from the neighbouring Hooghly Post office
4 images of COV-2881 are recorded (front, back, detail); the Calcutta HG 17 mark itself is recorded in use 1833–1837.
Questions about COV-2881
- What is COV-2881?
- COV-2881 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Calcutta, Bengal Presidency of July 1836, bearing the Calcutta HG 17 handstamp in black. Entire letter written on July 1836 sent from Dak Chowkey 1 to Chinsurah. As the demand for mail service increased , the Postal authorities decided to open Dak Chowkies to receive mail from the public . They were the precursor to the Receiving Houses and Giles lists 2 though there were probably more - this letter is No 1 - Badam Tallah. The letter is address to Gregorius Herklots , a senior official of the Dutch East India Company ( though the Dutch handed over Chinsurah to the British ). The tomb of G Herklots is there well preserved at Chinsurah in the Dutch Cemetery. The Dak Chowkey cancel ended with the Postal Reforms of 1837 and was renamed Receiving Houses and the cancel was changed to a smaller rectangular one. Do note , Chinsurah didn’t have any post office in 1836 with all mails being handled from the neighbouring Hooghly Post office
- How scarce is the Calcutta HG 17 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Calcutta HG 17 as scarce, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1833–1837.
- When was COV-2881 posted?
- COV-2881 is dated July 1836, within the recorded period of use of Calcutta HG 17 (1833–1837).
About this record
This July 1836 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Calcutta HG 17 handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Scarce” in this census — one of 13 surviving covers with this mark recorded.