Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
7 August 1795
Description
Siegel - INDIA, Patna, 1795, "PATNA/PT:PD" Handstamp (Giles 2). Bold and mostly complete boxed magenta cancel with manuscript "7 Aug 95, 5a" date and rate markings on folded letter to William Dick in Calcutta, without receipt markings, cover affected by waterstains that also affect strike, still a Very Fine strike of this rare territorial cancel and noted as such by Giles, Patna did not become a British territory until 1818 Cavendish - PATNA - THE RARE BOXED RED “PATNA/PT:PD” ON COVER TO CALCUTTA; 7 Aug. 1795 EL (superb red wax seal; stains affect mark and part of the address panel) from”Patna” to Calcutta with a mainly very fine claret-red boxed “PATNA/PT:PD” (HG Type 2; “Rare” - earliest known example?) nicely placed on the front with manuscript date and “5fs” rate alongside. One of the earliest known Indian markings struck in a colour other than black; few examples are known. PHOTO - see opposite.
Auction
Provenance
"Magnolia" Michael Manning
Same office
Other recorded marks at Patna
18 marks18 other pre-1854 postal markings of Patna are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
- Patna HG 1handstampBlack1785
- Patna HG 3handstampBlack1797
- Patna HG 4handstampBlack1816
- Patna HG 5handstampBlack1818
- Patna HG 6handstampBlack1823–1829
- Patna HG 7handstampBlack1824–1829
- Patna HG 8handstampBlack1830–1835
- Patna HG 9handstampMauve1830
- Patna HG 10handstampBlack1831–1835
- Patna HG 10ahandstampRed1832
- Patna HG 11handstampBlack1834–1837
- Patna HG 12handstampBlack1835
- Patna HG 13handstampRed1837
- Patna HG 14handstampRed1838–1852
- Patna HG 14ahandstampRed1844
- Patna HG 15handstampBlack1839-47
- Patna HG 15ahandstampBlack1840
- Patna HG 16handstampRed1847-49
About this record
This 7 August 1795 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Patna HG 2 handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Rare” in this census — one of 4 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd, Manning, lot 85, (Sept. 2015); Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Sale 1301, lot 6035, (Nov. 2023).