Kolapore HG 1A

Kolhapur is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in southern Maharashtra, formerly the seat of an important princely state.

Kolapore HG 1A is a pre-1854 handstruck postal marking of the post office at Kolapore — the present-day Kolhapur — in the Bombay Presidency, British India, recorded in use around 1846. Known strikes are in red. Its "HG 1A" designation is the figure number assigned in the Hammond Giles catalogue of the handstruck postage stamps of India.

A single surviving cover bearing this mark is recorded in the census, with images and provenance. On the strength of that count the mark is graded "1 example recorded" — the grade moves automatically as new covers are recorded. Collectors searching for kolapore pre stamp covers, kolapore postal history or "Kolapore HG1A" material can compare HG 1A across every office or browse the rest of the Kolapore marks.

The original catalogue of handstruck stamps did not list anything from Kolapore. It first appears in page 10 of the 2000 Supplement and only HG 1 is listed. The illustration in the 2000 Supplement shows the name, date, ‘Paid’ and the charge all in manuscript. However, the actual impression listed below shows ‘Paid’ as part of the stamp, in red. The format is consistent with the stamps introduced across British India after the 1837 Postal Act. This brings into question the accuracy of the illustration in the 2000 Supplement. A request goes out to any collector in possession of Giles 1 ( as illustrated in the 2000 Supplement) to send a scan to the author. For comparison, we can also record for the first time an example of the Kolapore Paid ‘slide’ stamp.