Scan or Photo Courtesy of Spink
Date
11 September 1840
Description
Calcutta: 1840 (11 Sept.) front and part back to Liverpool showing a fine strike of the framed "TOO LATE" (HG X19) with framed "INDIA" alongside and Calcutta Steam Letter datestamp on reverse, all struck in red. The earliest known usage of a Too Late handstamp anywhere in India.
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-1655 is a Calcutta pre stamp cover of 11 September 1840 bearing the Calcutta X19 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?
Calcutta: 1840 (11 Sept.) front and part back to Liverpool showing a fine strike of the framed "TOO LATE" (HG X19) with framed "INDIA" alongside and Calcutta Steam Letter datestamp on reverse, all struck in red. The earliest known usage of a Too Late handstamp anywhere in India.
Its recorded auction history runs through Spink lot 25.
1 image of COV-1655 is recorded; the Calcutta X19 mark itself is recorded in use 1840.
Questions about COV-1655
- What is COV-1655?
- COV-1655 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Calcutta, Bengal Presidency of 11 September 1840, bearing the Calcutta X19 handstamp in black. Calcutta: 1840 (11 Sept.) front and part back to Liverpool showing a fine strike of the framed "TOO LATE" (HG X19) with framed "INDIA" alongside and Calcutta Steam Letter datestamp on reverse, all struck in red. The earliest known usage of a Too Late handstamp anywhere in India.
- How scarce is the Calcutta X19 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Calcutta X19 as common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1840.
- What is the provenance of COV-1655?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Spink lot 25.
- When was COV-1655 posted?
- COV-1655 is dated 11 September 1840, within the recorded period of use of Calcutta X19 (1840).
About this record
This 11 September 1840 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Calcutta X19 handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Common” in this census — the only surviving cover with this mark recorded so far. It has appeared at auction with Spink, lot 25.