Post office · Madras Presidency
MaduraPostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Madura postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 10 Madura handstamps recorded between 1794 and 1856, Madras Presidency, with 9 Madura covers traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 10
- Recorded
- 1794–1856
- Rare
- 1
Madura, headquarters of the same named District in Madras Presidency, on the south bank of the Vaigai River, 345 miles from Madras, is situated 9°55' N. and 78°7' E. Following the defeat of Tippoo Sultan, the District of Madura came into British hands in 1801.
Madura has 10 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1794–1856 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Manuscript markings
1 markBefore handstamps were introduced, postmasters wrote postal details by hand — these manuscript markings pre-date the struck marks above.
Brown border = community submission, verified by editors
Madura handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
| Mark | Type | Colour | Dates | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HG 1 | Handstamp | Black | 1827 | Scarce |
| HG 2 | Handstamp | Black | 1829 | Common |
| HG 3 | Handstamp | Black | 1837–1850 | Common |
| HG 4 | Handstamp | Red | 1837–1839 | Common |
| HG 5 | Handstamp | Red | 1839–1855 | Common |
| HG 6 | Handstamp | Black | 1848–1849 | Common |
| HG 7 | Handstamp | Red | 1848–1849 | Common |
| HG 8 | Handstamp | Red | 1849–1856 | Common |
| HG 9 | Handstamp | Red | 1854 | Very scarce |
| MN 1 | Manuscript | — | 1794 | 1 example recorded |
Madura— postal history & markings
Madura's record opens not with a handstamp but with the pen: MN 1 of 1794, a manuscript 'Madura Cantonment' endorsement, is the earliest survival, from years before the district came into British hands in 1801. The struck marks follow from 1827, with the scarce HG 1 and the common HG 2, and the office worked in red and black, HG 9 in a distinctive pale red.
That early manuscript, tied to the cantonment rather than a civil office, gives Madura a longer reach than its nine handstamps alone would suggest. For the collector of the deep south of the Madras Presidency, the office pairs a genuinely eighteenth-century manuscript with a clean run of early-nineteenth-century town marks.
Frequently asked — Madura postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Madura?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Madura are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Madura post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Madura was a post office of the Madras Presidency, British India, and this census records 10 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1794 and 1856.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Madura?
- 10 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Madura 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 Madura called today?
- Madura is the colonial-era name of present-day Madurai, India. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify a Madura 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 Madura 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 Madura were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Madura, Madurai, Madura HG 1, Madura handstruck stamps, Madura pre stamp covers, Madura postal history.
How to cite
“Madura, Madras Presidency — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/madras/madura (accessed 25 September 2026).
Updated: 25 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Madura?
If you hold a cover or strike from Madura 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.