Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
8 August 1855
Description
INDIA, 1854, 4a Red & Blue, 3rd Printing, Head Die III, Frame Die I (6E; SG 21). Two cut to shape singles, margins to touching, tied by two strikes of diamond of dots cancels on mourning cover to Adelaide, South Australia, red Calcutta Aug. 8, 1855 despatch backstamp, red framed "PAID" handstamp, Adelaide (Dec. 21) arrival datestamp, manuscript rate markings, right stamp showing interesting prominent frame flaws at top left and top right VERY FINE AND IMPRESSIVE USE OF TWO 4-ANNAS LITHOGRAPH STAMPS FROM THE RARE THIRD PRINTING ON COVER TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA. A REMARKABLE DESTINATION FOR THIS PRINTING. With 2023 B.P.A. certificate.
Auction
The Magnolia Collection: India Postal History and Stamps Used Abroad, Part 2, Lot 6103, (11/14/2023)
Certificates
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-4810 is a Calcutta pre stamp cover of 8 August 1855 bearing the Calcutta SD24 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, 1854, 4a Red & Blue, 3rd Printing, Head Die III, Frame Die I (6E; SG 21). Two cut to shape singles, margins to touching, tied by two strikes of diamond of dots cancels on mourning cover to Adelaide, South Australia, red Calcutta Aug. 8, 1855 despatch backstamp, red framed "PAID" handstamp, Adelaide (Dec. 21) arrival datestamp, manuscript rate markings, right stamp showing interesting prominent frame flaws at top left and top right VERY FINE AND IMPRESSIVE USE OF TWO 4-ANNAS LITHOGRAPH STAMPS FROM THE RARE THIRD PRINTING ON COVER TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA. A REMARKABLE DESTINATION FOR THIS PRINTING. With 2023 B.P.A. certificate.
Its recorded auction history runs through Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries The Magnolia Collection: India Postal History and Stamps Used Abroad, Part 2 lot 6103 (11/14/2023).
2 images of COV-4810 are recorded (front, back); the Calcutta SD24 mark itself is recorded in use 1842–1854.
Questions about COV-4810
- What is COV-4810?
- COV-4810 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Calcutta, Bengal Presidency of 8 August 1855, bearing the Calcutta SD24 handstamp in red. INDIA, 1854, 4a Red & Blue, 3rd Printing, Head Die III, Frame Die I (6E; SG 21). Two cut to shape singles, margins to touching, tied by two strikes of diamond of dots cancels on mourning cover to Adelaide, South Australia, red Calcutta Aug. 8, 1855 despatch backstamp, red framed "PAID" handstamp, Adelaide (Dec. 21) arrival datestamp, manuscript rate markings, right stamp showing interesting prominent frame flaws at top left and top right VERY FINE AND IMPRESSIVE USE OF TWO 4-ANNAS LITHOGRAPH STAMPS FROM THE RARE THIRD PRINTING ON COVER TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA. A REMARKABLE DESTINATION FOR THIS PRINTING. With 2023 B.P.A. certificate.
- How scarce is the Calcutta SD24 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Calcutta SD24 as scarce, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1842–1854.
- What is the provenance of COV-4810?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries The Magnolia Collection: India Postal History and Stamps Used Abroad, Part 2 lot 6103 (11/14/2023).
- When was COV-4810 posted?
- COV-4810 is dated 8 August 1855, within the recorded period of use of Calcutta SD24 (1842–1854).
About this record
This 8 August 1855 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Calcutta SD24 handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Scarce” in this census — one of 5 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, The Magnolia Collection: India Postal History and Stamps Used Abroad, Part 2, lot 6103, (11/14/2023).