Post office · Bengal Presidency
DinaporePostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Dinapore postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 9 Dinapore handstamps recorded between 1824 and 1855, Bengal Presidency, with 38 Dinapore covers traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 9
- Recorded
- 1824–1855
- Rare
- 1
Dinapore is situated 25°38' N and 85°3' E, in Patna District, Bengal Presidency. It was an important military station, with a large cantonment. The 1857 uprising in the Patna Division started at Dinapore with three sepoy regiments breaking out in open revolt.
Dinapore has 9 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1824–1855 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Dinapore handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
Dinapore— postal history & markings
Dinapore's nine handstamps run from 1824 to 1854, worked in near-equal measure in red and black. HG 2 opens the record in common use, while HG 3 is a rare mark that doubles as the point at which the military post office was handed to the civil service.
The town was an important military station in Patna District, and it holds a grim place in the events of 1857, when three sepoy regiments broke into open revolt here to begin the uprising in the Patna Division. Its postal record is small and workmanlike — a scatter of common marks around that single rare handover strike — but it belongs to one of the more consequential cantonments on the Ganges.
Frequently asked — Dinapore postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Dinapore?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Dinapore are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Dinapore post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Dinapore was a post office of the Bengal Presidency, British India, and this census records 9 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1824 and 1855.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Dinapore?
- 9 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Dinapore in this census, of which 1 is graded rare or better. 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 Dinapore called today?
- Dinapore is the colonial-era name of present-day Danapur, India. The office also appears in postal history literature and auction catalogues as Dinapur. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify a Dinapore 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 Dinapore 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 Dinapore were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Dinapore, Danapur, Dinapur, Dinapore HG 1, Dinapore handstruck stamps, Dinapore pre stamp covers, Dinapore postal history.
How to cite
“Dinapore, Bengal Presidency — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/bengal/dinapore (accessed 25 September 2026).
Updated: 25 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Dinapore?
If you hold a cover or strike from Dinapore 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.