COV-992
5 March 1833 Diamond Harbour Cover
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 Diamond Harbour pre stamp cover
COV-992 is a Diamond Harbour pre stamp cover of 5 March 1833 bearing the Diamond Harbour HG 2 handstamp, struck in black, recorded in the census of Diamond Harbour postal history, Bengal Presidency. What is a pre stamp cover?
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
Its recorded auction history runs through Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd Manning lot 124 (Sept. 2015); and Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries 9054 lot 10036 (May 2026).
2 images of COV-992 are recorded; the Diamond Harbour HG 2 mark itself is recorded in use 1833-35.
Questions about COV-992
- What is COV-992?
- COV-992 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Diamond Harbour, Bengal Presidency of 5 March 1833, bearing the Diamond Harbour HG 2 handstamp in black. 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
- How scarce is the Diamond Harbour HG 2 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Diamond Harbour HG 2 as common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1833-35.
- What is the provenance of COV-992?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd Manning lot 124 (Sept. 2015); and Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries 9054 lot 10036 (May 2026).
- When was COV-992 posted?
- COV-992 is dated 5 March 1833, within the recorded period of use of Diamond Harbour HG 2 (1833-35).
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 — one of 2 surviving covers with this mark recorded. 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).