Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
5 March 1833
Description
Siegel - India, Diamond Harbour, 1833, "DIAMOND HARBOUR POST OFFICE/18__" Oval Handstamp (Giles 2). Fairly strong and mostly complete strike with manuscript "5 March (18)33" date added on back of folded letter to Calcutta, Calcutta (Mar. 6) arrival backstamp (Giles 16a), Very Fine strike of this rarely seen handstamp, letter with interesting contents from a ship captain mentioning a lost anchor and an overloaded ship Cavendish - DIAMOND HARBOUR - THE RARE DISTINCTIVE DIAMOND-FRAMED “POST OFFICE” MARK; 5 Mar. 1833 EL (good contents from a ship’s Captain ref. a lost anchor and the ship being overloaded because of an elephant’s provisions (and presumably an elephant!) to Calcutta with a mainly very fine rare large diamond-framed “DIAMOND HARBOUR/5 March]/18[33]/POST OFFICE” mark (HG2; 1833-35). Only a handful of prestamp covers from this P.O. have been recorded, and nothing after 1835. PHOTO - see page 41
Auction
Provenance
"Magnolia" Michael Manning
Same office
Other recorded marks at Diamond Harbour
2 marks2 other pre-1854 postal markings of Diamond Harbour are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
About this record
This 5 March 1833 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Diamond Harbour HG 2 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 Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd, Manning, lot 124, (Sept. 2015); Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, 9054, lot 10036, (May 2026).