Post office · Madras Presidency
CuddalorePostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Cuddalore postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 8 Cuddalore handstamps recorded between 1818 and 1857, Madras Presidency, with 8 Cuddalore covers traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 8
- Recorded
- 1818–1857
- Rare
- 5
Cuddalore is in the District of South Arcot, Madras Presidency, on the trunk road from Trichinopoly to Madras, 118 miles from the latter, situated 11°30' N and 11°52' E. The E.I.C. obtained a formal lease in 1684 and built Fort St. David to protect the place.
Cuddalore has 8 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1818–1857 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Brown border = community submission, verified by editors
Cuddalore handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
Cuddalore— postal history & markings
Cuddalore is unusual for its early ink. Its first three handstamps — HG 1, HG 2 and HG 3, in use from about 1818 — were struck in mauve, a colour rarely met in the Madras Presidency, and the notes record them being used together, one mark alongside another, on the same letters. HG 1, rare, survives on two covers; HG 2 and HG 3 are rare and very scarce respectively.
By the later 1820s the office had turned to black, with HG 3A very scarce and HG 3b, of 1828 to 1834, rare. Only from about 1839 do common marks appear — the black HG 4 and, from 1841 to 1857, the red HG 5. For a South Arcot office guarded since 1684 by Fort St David, the surviving record is small but distinctive, its early mauve strikes setting it apart from its neighbours.
Frequently asked — Cuddalore postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Cuddalore?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Cuddalore are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Cuddalore post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Cuddalore was a post office of the Madras Presidency, British India, and this census records 8 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1818 and 1857.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Cuddalore?
- 8 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Cuddalore in this census, of which 5 are 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.
- How do I identify a Cuddalore 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 Cuddalore 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 Cuddalore were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Cuddalore, Cuddalore HG 1, Cuddalore handstruck stamps, Cuddalore pre stamp covers, Cuddalore postal history.
How to cite
“Cuddalore, Madras Presidency — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/madras/cuddalore (accessed 24 September 2026).
Updated: 24 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Cuddalore?
If you hold a cover or strike from Cuddalore 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.