Post office · Madras Presidency
HonorePostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Honore postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 1 Honore handstamp recorded between 1854 and 1856, Madras Presidency, with 1 Honore cover traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 1
- Recorded
- 1854–1856
- Rare
- 1
Honnavar, long written Honore or Onore, is a coastal town in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, at the mouth of the Sharavati river on the Arabian Sea. A historic pepper and trade port of the Kanara coast, it was an early European contact point administered under the Bombay Presidency. Its pre-1854 postal markings document the sea-and-land mail of the western Karnataka shore.
Honore has 1 pre-1854 hand-struck postal marking dated 1854–1856 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Brown border = community submission, verified by editors
Honore handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
| Mark | Type | Colour | Dates | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HG 1 | Handstamp | Red | 1854–1856 | Very scarce |
Frequently asked — Honore postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Honore?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Honore are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Honore post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Honore was a post office of the Madras Presidency, British India, and this census records 1 distinct postal marking used there, dated between 1854 and 1856.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Honore?
- 1 hand-struck postal marking is recorded for Honore 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 Honore called today?
- Honore is the colonial-era name of present-day Honnavar, India. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify a Honore 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 Honore 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 Honore were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Honore, Honnavar, Honore HG 1, Honore handstruck stamps, Honore pre stamp covers, Honore postal history.
How to cite
“Honore, Madras Presidency — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/madras/honore (accessed 25 September 2026).
Updated: 25 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Honore?
If you hold a cover or strike from Honore 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.