Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
18 August 1857
Description
India, Ahmedabad Cantonment, 1857, "AHMEDABAD/CANTONMENT/Bearing" Framed Handstamp (Giles 5). Bold strike (with slight bleaching along letters) with manuscript "18.8.57" date and "6a" rate added on back of blue cover to Southampton, England, printed "Per Overland via Marseilles" with red border corner card, framed "INDIA UNPAID" handstamps on front and back, Bombay (Aug. 30) and London (Sept. 30) transit and Southampton (Sept. 30) arrival backstamps, manuscript rate markings, cover with edgewear and wrinkling, Very Fine strike
Auction
The Magnolia Collection: India Postal History, Part 8 (Sale 9061, 21 October 2026), Lot 10006, (2026)
Same office
Other recorded marks at Ahmedabad Cantonment
3 marks3 other pre-1854 postal markings of Ahmedabad Cantonment are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
About this Ahmedabad Cantonment pre stamp cover
COV-5235 is an Ahmedabad Cantonment pre stamp cover of 18 August 1857 bearing the Ahmedabad Cantonment HG 5 handstamp, struck in black, recorded in the census of Ahmedabad Cantonment postal history — the office known today as Ahmedabad, Bombay Presidency. What is a pre stamp cover?
India, Ahmedabad Cantonment, 1857, "AHMEDABAD/CANTONMENT/Bearing" Framed Handstamp (Giles 5). Bold strike (with slight bleaching along letters) with manuscript "18.8.57" date and "6a" rate added on back of blue cover to Southampton, England, printed "Per Overland via Marseilles" with red border corner card, framed "INDIA UNPAID" handstamps on front and back, Bombay (Aug. 30) and London (Sept. 30) transit and Southampton (Sept. 30) arrival backstamps, manuscript rate markings, cover with edgewear and wrinkling, Very Fine strike
Its recorded auction history runs through Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries The Magnolia Collection: India Postal History, Part 8 (Sale 9061, 21 October 2026) lot 10006 (2026).
2 images of COV-5235 are recorded; the Ahmedabad Cantonment HG 5 mark itself is recorded in use 1850–1857.
Questions about COV-5235
- What is COV-5235?
- COV-5235 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Ahmedabad Cantonment, Bombay Presidency of 18 August 1857, bearing the Ahmedabad Cantonment HG 5 handstamp in black. India, Ahmedabad Cantonment, 1857, "AHMEDABAD/CANTONMENT/Bearing" Framed Handstamp (Giles 5). Bold strike (with slight bleaching along letters) with manuscript "18.8.57" date and "6a" rate added on back of blue cover to Southampton, England, printed "Per Overland via Marseilles" with red border corner card, framed "INDIA UNPAID" handstamps on front and back, Bombay (Aug. 30) and London (Sept. 30) transit and Southampton (Sept. 30) arrival backstamps, manuscript rate markings, cover with edgewear and wrinkling, Very Fine strike
- How scarce is the Ahmedabad Cantonment HG 5 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Ahmedabad Cantonment HG 5 as common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1850–1857.
- What is the provenance of COV-5235?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries The Magnolia Collection: India Postal History, Part 8 (Sale 9061, 21 October 2026) lot 10006 (2026).
- When was COV-5235 posted?
- COV-5235 is dated 18 August 1857, within the recorded period of use of Ahmedabad Cantonment HG 5 (1850–1857).
About this record
This 18 August 1857 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Ahmedabad Cantonment HG 5 handstamp of the Bombay Presidency, a mark graded “Common” in this census — the only surviving cover with this mark recorded so far. It has appeared at auction with Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, The Magnolia Collection: India Postal History, Part 8 (Sale 9061, 21 October 2026), lot 10006, (2026).