Post office · Madras Presidency
AlleppyPostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Alleppy postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 7 Alleppy handstamps recorded between 1825 and 1857, Madras Presidency, with 17 Alleppy covers traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 7
- Recorded
- 1825–1857
- Rare
- 1
Chief sea-port in Travancore State, Madras Presidency, situated 9°30' N and 76°20' E. Created by Maharaja Rama Varma, in order to put an end to the commercial supremacy of the Dutch, who had a factory at Porakad . 49 miles from Quilon.
Alleppy has 7 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1825–1857 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Brown border = community submission, verified by editors
Alleppy handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
Alleppy— postal history & markings
Alleppy's seven handstamps are unusually colourful for their number: the office opened in 1830 with HG 1 in blue — a scarce and uncommon ink — before turning mostly to red. Two of its early marks name their function in full: HG 1A is a 'POST FREE' oval handstamp and HG 1B a 'POST PAID' oval.
The port was created by the Maharaja Rama Varma of Travancore to break the commercial supremacy of the Dutch, and its post belonged to that princely state on the Malabar coast. Between the blue opener and the named oval handstamps, Alleppy leaves a small but distinctive record — one where colour and wording, rather than sheer rarity, are what the collector sorts by.
Frequently asked — Alleppy postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Alleppy?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Alleppy are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Alleppy post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Alleppy was a post office of the Madras Presidency, British India, and this census records 7 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1825 and 1857.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Alleppy?
- 7 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Alleppy in this census, of which 1 is graded rare or better. Each mark carries its Hammond Giles catalogue figure number, colour, date range, evidence-based rarity grade, and links to every surviving cover recorded with it.
- What is Alleppy called today?
- Alleppy is the colonial-era name of present-day Alappuzha, India. The office also appears in postal history literature and auction catalogues as Alleppey. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify an Alleppy postmark or cover?
- Compare your cover against the reference impressions on this page — each figure shows the mark's design, ink colour and recorded date range. If your Alleppy cover bears a mark that matches a figure, open that figure's page to see every recorded example with provenance. If it matches none, it may be unrecorded: submit photographs through the form on this page and the editors will review it for inclusion in the census.
For background on the material itself, see the guides to the handstruck stamps of India, the pre covers of India and the pre stamp covers of India, which explain how marks like those recorded at Alleppy were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Alleppy, Alappuzha, Alleppey, Alleppy HG 1, Alleppy handstruck stamps, Alleppy pre stamp covers, Alleppy postal history.
How to cite
“Alleppy, Madras Presidency — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/madras/alleppy (accessed 24 September 2026).
Updated: 24 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Alleppy?
If you hold a cover or strike from Alleppy that does not match any figure above, submit it below. Approved additions appear here as new entries in the census — every submission is reviewed first.
Same presidency
Other post offices in the Madras Presidency
Explore the pre-1854 postal history of other Madras Presidency post offices — each page lists its recorded handstruck markings, dates and surviving covers.