Scan or Photo Courtesy of Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd
Date
1826
Description
SIEGE OF BHURTPORE CAMPAIGN COVER; 29 Jan. 1826 EL (separate outer and letter) datelined 'Bhurtpore Jany 29/1826' to London from a British officer engaged with the forces shortly after the fall. Rated '1/8'(d) and endorsed [Viscount] 'Combermere' [1773-1865] at lower left with Calcutta GPO ds and London cds on rear and "INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH" and Crown Free ds on front. Content ref. 'You will be glad to hear that a war was cooked up for me and a force collecting upon my arrival in India. On the 10th Dec, I took up my Command before Bhurtpore and after a siege of six weeks it fell....a most complete fall it has been to the Bhurtpore State....the natives imagined it impregnable..... Fine contemporary insight of this siege and success. Cross Reference: SHIP LETTERS, INCOMING OVERSEAS MAIL, MILITARY, FREE MAIL
Auction
Worldwide & Great Britain Stamps & Postal History, Lot 424, (2022)
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-4894 is a Calcutta pre stamp cover of 1826 bearing the Calcutta SD8b 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?
SIEGE OF BHURTPORE CAMPAIGN COVER; 29 Jan. 1826 EL (separate outer and letter) datelined 'Bhurtpore Jany 29/1826' to London from a British officer engaged with the forces shortly after the fall. Rated '1/8'(d) and endorsed [Viscount] 'Combermere' [1773-1865] at lower left with Calcutta GPO ds and London cds on rear and "INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH" and Crown Free ds on front. Content ref. 'You will be glad to hear that a war was cooked up for me and a force collecting upon my arrival in India. On the 10th Dec, I took up my Command before Bhurtpore and after a siege of six weeks it fell....a most complete fall it has been to the Bhurtpore State....the natives imagined it impregnable..... Fine contemporary insight of this siege and success. Cross Reference: SHIP LETTERS, INCOMING OVERSEAS MAIL, MILITARY, FREE MAIL
Its recorded auction history runs through Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd Worldwide & Great Britain Stamps & Postal History lot 424 (2022).
1 image of COV-4894 is recorded; the Calcutta SD8b mark itself is recorded in use 1825–1828.
Questions about COV-4894
- What is COV-4894?
- COV-4894 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Calcutta, Bengal Presidency of 1826, bearing the Calcutta SD8b handstamp in black. SIEGE OF BHURTPORE CAMPAIGN COVER; 29 Jan. 1826 EL (separate outer and letter) datelined 'Bhurtpore Jany 29/1826' to London from a British officer engaged with the forces shortly after the fall. Rated '1/8'(d) and endorsed [Viscount] 'Combermere' [1773-1865] at lower left with Calcutta GPO ds and London cds on rear and "INDIA LETTER/PORTSMOUTH" and Crown Free ds on front. Content ref. 'You will be glad to hear that a war was cooked up for me and a force collecting upon my arrival in India. On the 10th Dec, I took up my Command before Bhurtpore and after a siege of six weeks it fell....a most complete fall it has been to the Bhurtpore State....the natives imagined it impregnable..... Fine contemporary insight of this siege and success. Cross Reference: SHIP LETTERS, INCOMING OVERSEAS MAIL, MILITARY, FREE MAIL
- How scarce is the Calcutta SD8b mark on this cover?
- The census grades Calcutta SD8b as very common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1825–1828.
- What is the provenance of COV-4894?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd Worldwide & Great Britain Stamps & Postal History lot 424 (2022).
- When was COV-4894 posted?
- COV-4894 is dated 1826, within the recorded period of use of Calcutta SD8b (1825–1828).
About this record
This 1826 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Calcutta SD8b handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Very common” in this census — one of 10 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd, Worldwide & Great Britain Stamps & Postal History, lot 424, (2022).