COV-1885
17 May 1820 Calcutta Cover
Scan or Photo Courtesy of Spink
Date
17 May 1820
Description
Barelly: 1820 (17 May) entire letter to London showing, on reverse, very rare framed "s,{tsttv/ppd" (HG 1, a little assisted) alongside Calcutta G.P.O. (HG SD8), India Letter Margate h.s. on face; interesting contents giving descriptive details of everyday 1iG of aJudge, both in and out of Court hours
Auction
Provenance
Derek Hammond Giles
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-1885 is a Calcutta pre stamp cover of 17 May 1820 bearing the Calcutta SD8 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?
Barelly: 1820 (17 May) entire letter to London showing, on reverse, very rare framed "s,{tsttv/ppd" (HG 1, a little assisted) alongside Calcutta G.P.O. (HG SD8), India Letter Margate h.s. on face; interesting contents giving descriptive details of everyday 1iG of aJudge, both in and out of Court hours
Its recorded auction history runs through Spink lot 156.
1 image of COV-1885 is recorded; the Calcutta SD8 mark itself is recorded in use 1820-24.
Questions about COV-1885
- What is COV-1885?
- COV-1885 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Calcutta, Bengal Presidency of 17 May 1820, bearing the Calcutta SD8 handstamp in black. Barelly: 1820 (17 May) entire letter to London showing, on reverse, very rare framed "s,{tsttv/ppd" (HG 1, a little assisted) alongside Calcutta G.P.O. (HG SD8), India Letter Margate h.s. on face; interesting contents giving descriptive details of everyday 1iG of aJudge, both in and out of Court hours
- How scarce is the Calcutta SD8 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Calcutta SD8 as common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1820-24.
- What is the provenance of COV-1885?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Spink lot 156.
- When was COV-1885 posted?
- COV-1885 is dated 17 May 1820, within the recorded period of use of Calcutta SD8 (1820-24).
About this record
This 17 May 1820 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Calcutta SD8 handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Common” in this census — one of 16 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Spink, lot 156.