Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
1854
Description
India, 1854, 4a Red & Blue, 2nd Printing, Head Die II, Frame Die I (6D; SG 19). Cut square, three clear margins, just barely touching at top, tied by "C/1" cancel with red framed Madras G.P.O. datestamp on blue folded cover to Rangoon, Burma, sender's directive "p Mail Steamer Via Calcutta" , internal docketing indicating Mar. 13, 1856 despatch, red crescent "INDIA PAID" handstamp, Calcutta Bearing, red Mar. 16 transit, and "B/1" cancel backstamps VERY FINE AND HANDSOME USE OF THE 1854 4-ANNAS LITHOGRAPH FROM THE SECOND PRINTING ON COVER TO RANGOON, BURMA. Ex Dr. Kornan.
Auction
The Magnolia Collection: India Stamps and Postal History, Part 5 (Sale 1360), Lot 143, (2025)
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-5171 is a Calcutta pre stamp cover of 1854 bearing the Calcutta HG 22 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, 1854, 4a Red & Blue, 2nd Printing, Head Die II, Frame Die I (6D; SG 19). Cut square, three clear margins, just barely touching at top, tied by "C/1" cancel with red framed Madras G.P.O. datestamp on blue folded cover to Rangoon, Burma, sender's directive "p Mail Steamer Via Calcutta" , internal docketing indicating Mar. 13, 1856 despatch, red crescent "INDIA PAID" handstamp, Calcutta Bearing, red Mar. 16 transit, and "B/1" cancel backstamps VERY FINE AND HANDSOME USE OF THE 1854 4-ANNAS LITHOGRAPH FROM THE SECOND PRINTING ON COVER TO RANGOON, BURMA. Ex Dr. Kornan.
Its recorded auction history runs through Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries The Magnolia Collection: India Stamps and Postal History, Part 5 (Sale 1360) lot 143 (2025).
2 images of COV-5171 are recorded; the Calcutta HG 22 mark itself is recorded in use 1837–1854.
Questions about COV-5171
- What is COV-5171?
- COV-5171 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Calcutta, Bengal Presidency of 1854, bearing the Calcutta HG 22 handstamp in black. India, 1854, 4a Red & Blue, 2nd Printing, Head Die II, Frame Die I (6D; SG 19). Cut square, three clear margins, just barely touching at top, tied by "C/1" cancel with red framed Madras G.P.O. datestamp on blue folded cover to Rangoon, Burma, sender's directive "p Mail Steamer Via Calcutta" , internal docketing indicating Mar. 13, 1856 despatch, red crescent "INDIA PAID" handstamp, Calcutta Bearing, red Mar. 16 transit, and "B/1" cancel backstamps VERY FINE AND HANDSOME USE OF THE 1854 4-ANNAS LITHOGRAPH FROM THE SECOND PRINTING ON COVER TO RANGOON, BURMA. Ex Dr. Kornan.
- How scarce is the Calcutta HG 22 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Calcutta HG 22 as very common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1837–1854.
- What is the provenance of COV-5171?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries The Magnolia Collection: India Stamps and Postal History, Part 5 (Sale 1360) lot 143 (2025).
- When was COV-5171 posted?
- COV-5171 is dated 1854, within the recorded period of use of Calcutta HG 22 (1837–1854).
About this record
This 1854 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Calcutta HG 22 handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Very common” in this census — one of 16 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, The Magnolia Collection: India Stamps and Postal History, Part 5 (Sale 1360), lot 143, (2025).