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Hand Struck Stamps
Waghorn Sidebottom 6 — marking, 1837–1839, Red

Forwarding Agent · Marking

Waghorn Sidebottom 6

Date
1837–1839
Colour
Red
Rarity
3 examples recorded
Note
Smith 6
Submitted by
System

Census

Census records

3 covers recorded
COV-2844 pre stamp cover
COV-2844

February 1838

COV-1769 pre stamp cover
COV-1769

16 May 1838

1838, "Care of Mr. Waghorn, Alexandria" (Sidebottom 6; Smith 6). Clear strike of red cursive oval handstamp on folded cover from Marseilles, France, to Madras, sender's directive "via Egypt", "Marseille 16 Mai 1838" double-circle datestamp, sent to Paris Dead Letter Office, red "Bureau Centrale, Paris, 8 Sept. 1838" datestamp and matching "Rebuts" handstamp, manuscript notations at upper left indicating weight calculation, red boxed "PP" handstamp, Bombay Oct. transit datestamp, cover missing bottom flap, light overall soiling and some ink erosion at bottom FINE STRIKE OF THIS EXCEPTIONALLY RARE WAGHORN TYPE 6 HANDSTAMP. WE RECORD ONLY FOUR EXAMPLES AND THIS IS THE ONLY STRIKE IN RED. Sidebottom records just two examples of the Type 6 handstamp, while Smith records only three, used between Dec. 6, 1837 and Feb. 27, 1839. We are aware of two covers to Calcutta, one to China, and the cover offered here to Madras.

COV-1768 pre stamp cover
COV-1768

27 February 1839

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About Waghorn Sidebottom 6

Sidebottom 6 is the exception in the Waghorn series: where almost every other marking is recorded in black, this one is struck in red. Used between 1837 and 1839, with an earliest recorded strike in December 1837, it stands out immediately on any cover and has long attracted particular attention from collectors for that reason.

Listed as Smith 6, the red mark belongs to the agency's active middle years. Why a single type should have been applied in red rather than black is not settled — it may reflect a particular office, a period, or simply the ink to hand — but the colour makes it one of the most distinctive and sought-after of all Waghorn forwarding-agent markings, and recorded examples are correspondingly prized.