COV-2421
16 January 1836 Nepaul HG 1 Cover
Scan or Photo Courtesy of Corinphila Auctions
Date
16 January 1836
Description
Indian Post Office 1836 (Jan 16): Entire letter from Kathmandu to Calcutta written by the British Resident in Nepal, Brian H. Hodgson to Calcutta brilliantly struck on reverse with octagonal framed "NIPAUL / POST OFFICE / POST FREE" handstamp in brown with manuscript rate (9 annas) alongside and date (Jan 17) below. "Calcutta / GPO" arrival cds (Jan 24) in red below. Despite the period of use of this handstamp (1816-1836), examples are exceedingly rare. A magnificent entire - the latest recorded date of use of the first handstamp.rnrnNote: Brian Houghton Hodgson (1801-1894) was initially the Postmaster (1824) and assistant British Resident in Nepal (1825) and British Resident from 1833-1843. An outstanding linguist, naturalist and scholar with many species of birds named after him, he also wrote at length on Buddhism of which there is a mention in this letter and authored "Essays on Language, Literature, and Religion of Nepal and Tibet" published in 1874.rnProvenance: Cavendish, Derby, 31 Oct 1995, lot 340.
Auction
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Other recorded marks at Nepaul
3 marks3 other pre-1854 postal markings of Nepaul are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
About this record
This 16 January 1836 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Nepaul HG 1 handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Scarce” in this census — one of 9 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd, lot 340, (31 Oct 1995); Corinphila Auctions, Auctions 298-307, lot 1207.