Post office · Bengal Presidency
ChupraPostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Chupra postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 7 Chupra handstamps recorded between 1825 and 1854, Bengal Presidency, with 3 Chupra covers traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 7
- Recorded
- 1825–1854
Chuprah, the headquarters of Saran District, Bengal, is situated 25°47' N and 84°44' E, on the north bank of the Gorga River, 400 miles from Calcutta. French, Dutch, Portuguese and English had factories in the 18th century, but its commercial prosperity died when it was deserted by the Ganges and then by the Gorga.
Chupra has 7 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1825–1854 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Brown border = community submission, verified by editors
Chupra handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
Chupra— postal history & markings
Chupra's seven handstamps run from 1825 to 1854, worked mostly in black and red — but its distinctive mark is HG 7, a scarce strike in purple, an uncommon ink for the Bengal series. The rest of the record is a steady run of common marks. Headquarters of Saran District on the Gorga River, the town had drawn French, Dutch, Portuguese and English factories in the eighteenth century, and its post reflects a busy trading centre's ordinary correspondence. For the collector, the purple HG 7 is the entry that lifts Chupra above a plain run of black-and-red town strikes.
Frequently asked — Chupra postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Chupra?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Chupra are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Chupra post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Chupra was a post office of the Bengal Presidency, British India, and this census records 7 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1825 and 1854.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Chupra?
- 7 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Chupra in this census. Each mark carries its Hammond Giles catalogue figure number, colour, date range, evidence-based rarity grade, and links to every surviving cover recorded with it.
- What is Chupra called today?
- Chupra is the colonial-era name of present-day Chhapra, India. The office also appears in postal history literature and auction catalogues as Chapra. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify a Chupra postmark or cover?
- Compare your cover against the reference impressions on this page — each figure shows the mark's design, ink colour and recorded date range. If your Chupra cover bears a mark that matches a figure, open that figure's page to see every recorded example with provenance. If it matches none, it may be unrecorded: submit photographs through the form on this page and the editors will review it for inclusion in the census.
For background on the material itself, see the guides to the handstruck stamps of India, the pre covers of India and the pre stamp covers of India, which explain how marks like those recorded at Chupra were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Chupra, Chhapra, Chapra, Chupra HG 1, Chupra handstruck stamps, Chupra pre stamp covers, Chupra postal history.
How to cite
“Chupra, Bengal Presidency — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/bengal/chupra (accessed 25 September 2026).
Updated: 25 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Chupra?
If you hold a cover or strike from Chupra that does not match any figure above, submit it below. Approved additions appear here as new entries in the census — every submission is reviewed first.
Same presidency
Other post offices in the Bengal Presidency
Explore the pre-1854 postal history of other Bengal Presidency post offices — each page lists its recorded handstruck markings, dates and surviving covers.