Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
1830
Description
India, Calcutta, 1835, "G.P.O./Ht Pt Pd/18__" Octagonal Handstamp (Giles 20). Clear and mostly complete strike with manuscript "1 June (18) 35" date and "2" (annas) rate added on back of small native cover to Berhampoor, cover with overall wear and affected by insect holes (which just affect portions of the strike), Very Fine, noted as "Rare" by Giles as this was only used between June and November 1835, only three examples thought to exist, this example believed to be the earliest, according to the Jan. 1, 1830 Regulations (Clause X), "natives have the option of paying only half the amount of postage leviable on at letter when it is delivered at a Post Office for despatch, the remaining half to be collected from the person addressed, on delivery, expect letters to Ganjam, Madras, Hyderabad, Poonah & Bombay, which must always be a full post paid..."
Auction
Sale 9042, Lot 10038, — The Magnolia Collection Part 6
Provenance
"Magnolia" Dilip Shah
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-378 is a Calcutta pre stamp cover of 1830 bearing the Calcutta HG 20 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?
India, Calcutta, 1835, "G.P.O./Ht Pt Pd/18__" Octagonal Handstamp (Giles 20). Clear and mostly complete strike with manuscript "1 June (18) 35" date and "2" (annas) rate added on back of small native cover to Berhampoor, cover with overall wear and affected by insect holes (which just affect portions of the strike), Very Fine, noted as "Rare" by Giles as this was only used between June and November 1835, only three examples thought to exist, this example believed to be the earliest, according to the Jan. 1, 1830 Regulations (Clause X), "natives have the option of paying only half the amount of postage leviable on at letter when it is delivered at a Post Office for despatch, the remaining half to be collected from the person addressed, on delivery, expect letters to Ganjam, Madras, Hyderabad, Poonah & Bombay, which must always be a full post paid..."
Its recorded auction history runs through Spink Dilip Shah lot 10 (Oct. 2001); and Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 9042 lot 10038.
2 images of COV-378 are recorded (front, back); the Calcutta HG 20 mark itself is recorded in use 1830–1835.
Questions about COV-378
- What is COV-378?
- COV-378 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Calcutta, Bengal Presidency of 1830, bearing the Calcutta HG 20 handstamp in black. India, Calcutta, 1835, "G.P.O./Ht Pt Pd/18__" Octagonal Handstamp (Giles 20). Clear and mostly complete strike with manuscript "1 June (18) 35" date and "2" (annas) rate added on back of small native cover to Berhampoor, cover with overall wear and affected by insect holes (which just affect portions of the strike), Very Fine, noted as "Rare" by Giles as this was only used between June and November 1835, only three examples thought to exist, this example believed to be the earliest, according to the Jan. 1, 1830 Regulations (Clause X), "natives have the option of paying only half the amount of postage leviable on at letter when it is delivered at a Post Office for despatch, the remaining half to be collected from the person addressed, on delivery, expect letters to Ganjam, Madras, Hyderabad, Poonah & Bombay, which must always be a full post paid..."
- How scarce is the Calcutta HG 20 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Calcutta HG 20 as rare, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1830–1835.
- What is the provenance of COV-378?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Spink Dilip Shah lot 10 (Oct. 2001); and Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 9042 lot 10038.
- When was COV-378 posted?
- COV-378 is dated 1830, within the recorded period of use of Calcutta HG 20 (1830–1835).
About this record
This 1830 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Calcutta HG 20 handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Rare” in this census — one of 3 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Spink, Dilip Shah, lot 10, (Oct. 2001); Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Sale 9042, lot 10038.