Post office · Bengal Presidency
MidnaporePostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Midnapore postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 4 Midnapore handstamps recorded between 1797 and 1840, Bengal Presidency, with 11 Midnapore covers traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 4
- Recorded
- 1797–1840
- Rare
- 2
Midnapore is situated 22°25' N and 87°19' E on the north bank of the Kasai river, in Midnapore District, Bengal. It had no important trade or industry, but was occupied by the East India Company from 1760, when it was assigned to the British by Mir Kasim.
Midnapore has 4 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1797–1840 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Brown border = community submission, verified by editors
Midnapore handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
Midnapore— postal history & markings
Midnapore's four handstamps, all in black, reach back to 1797. HG 1 of that year and HG 1A of 1799 are both rare, HG 2 scarce, so the early strikes carry the weight. A district town on the Kasai in western Bengal, the office leaves a small but genuinely early all-black record. For the collector, the rare pair of 1797 and 1799 are the marks to seek — among the earlier strikes recorded from the presidency, from a town whose modest trade belied its long standing as an administrative centre.
Frequently asked — Midnapore postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Midnapore?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Midnapore are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Midnapore post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Midnapore was a post office of the Bengal Presidency, British India, and this census records 4 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1797 and 1840.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Midnapore?
- 4 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Midnapore in this census, of which 2 are 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 Midnapore called today?
- Midnapore is the colonial-era name of present-day Medinipur, India. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify a Midnapore 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 Midnapore 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 Midnapore were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Midnapore, Medinipur, Midnapore HG 1, Midnapore handstruck stamps, Midnapore pre stamp covers, Midnapore postal history.
How to cite
“Midnapore, Bengal Presidency — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/bengal/midnapore (accessed 24 September 2026).
Updated: 24 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Midnapore?
If you hold a cover or strike from Midnapore 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.