Guide
Indian Pre Stamp Covers
Before India’s first adhesive postage stamp appeared on 1 October 1854, every letter passed through the mail bearing only handstruck postal markings — town datestamps, “Post Paid” and “Bearing” marks, Ship Letter stamps and forwarding-agent handstamps. These letters are known as pre stamp (or pre philatelic) covers, and they are the earliest documents of India’s organised postal system.
What is a pre stamp cover?
A pre stamp cover is a letter or folded sheet sent through the postal system before adhesive postage stamps were available. In India, this means any cover posted before 1 October 1854. Most survive as folded letters — the sheet of paper served as both the letter and the envelope, folded and sealed with wax.
These covers carry handstruck postal markings applied at post offices across the Bengal, Bombay and Madras presidencies, the North-Western Provinces, Punjab and Sindh. The markings record the town of posting, the date, whether postage was paid or owed, and sometimes the route the letter took. Collectors and auction catalogues often shorten the term to pre covers of India — our collector’s guide covers identification and value in depth.
How are the markings catalogued?
The standard reference is the Hammond Giles catalogue, compiled by Derek Hammond Giles and published in its final edition in 1989, with a supplement in 1993. Each post office is assigned a numbered sequence: HG 1, HG 2, and so on. Collectors and auction houses worldwide use Giles numbers to identify specific marks — for example, Madras HG 1 or Calcutta HG 1a.
Since the Giles catalogue was published, collectors and dealers have identified additional markings not recorded by Giles. This site records both the original Giles entries and these newer discoveries — currently 2,019 handstamps from 438 post offices, with 4,431 covers recorded with scans.
The six presidencies
British India’s postal system was organised by presidency. Each had its own post offices, handstamp designs and postal routes:
- Bengal Presidency — Calcutta, Dacca, Patna, Dinapore and the eastern stations
- Bombay Presidency — Bombay, Poona, Ahmedabad and the western ports
- Madras Presidency — Madras, Bangalore, Trichinopoly and the southern offices
- North-Western Provinces — Agra, Allahabad, Lucknow, Delhi and the Gangetic plains
- Punjab — Lahore, Peshawar, Amritsar and the frontier stations
Types of markings on pre stamp covers
- Town datestamps — Circular or oval marks showing the office name and date.
- "Post Paid" marks — Struck on letters where the sender paid the postage in advance.
- "Bearing" marks — Applied when postage was to be collected from the recipient.
- Ship Letter marks — Used at port offices for mail arriving or departing by ship.
- Forwarding agent marks — Applied by private merchants who handled mail between India and Britain.
- Manuscript markings — Written by hand before handstamps were issued to smaller offices.
See the full glossary of terms for detailed definitions.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a pre stamp cover?
- A pre stamp cover is a letter or folded sheet sent through the postal system before adhesive postage stamps were available. In India, this means any cover posted before 1 October 1854. Most survive as folded letters — the sheet of paper served as both the letter and the envelope, folded and sealed with wax.
- How do I identify the markings on a pre stamp cover?
- Pre stamp covers carry handstruck postal markings — town datestamps, 'Post Paid' and 'Bearing' marks, Ship Letter stamps and forwarding-agent handstamps. Each marking is catalogued using the Hammond Giles (HG) numbering system. You can look up any marking by post office name and HG number on this site.
- What is the difference between a pre stamp cover and a pre philatelic cover?
- They are the same thing. 'Pre stamp cover' and 'pre philatelic cover' both refer to letters sent before adhesive postage stamps existed. In Indian postal history, this means before 1 October 1854.
- How many pre-1854 Indian covers survive today?
- The exact number is unknown, but this census has recorded over 2,000 covers with scans and provenance. Covers continue to surface at auction and from private collections. Many handstamps are known from only a handful of surviving covers.
- What are the six presidencies of British India?
- The six administrative divisions whose postal systems are covered here are: Bengal Presidency (Calcutta), Bombay Presidency (Bombay/Mumbai), Madras Presidency (Madras/Chennai), North-Western Provinces (Agra, Allahabad), Punjab (Lahore), and Sindh (Karachi). Each had its own post offices and handstamp designs.
Start browsing
Every post office page on this site shows the handstamps recorded for that office, with images, dates, colours and rarity. Each handstamp links to its recorded covers — scans of actual pre stamp letters with provenance and auction history.