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Hand Struck Stamps

Post office · Madras Presidency

Mount

Handstamps
7
Recorded
1820–1856
Rare
1

St Thomas's Mount is a town and cantonment in the Saidapet taluk of Chingleput District, Madras Presidency, situated 13° N and 80°12' E, 8 miles south of Madras. Figured in British history long before it was made a cantonment. In 1759, the battle of the Mount was fought between Lally and Col. Calliaud in the Franco-British wars in Southern India. Became the headquarters for the Madras Artillery in 1774.

Mount has 7 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1820–1856 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.

Mount handstamp summary

All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.

MarkTypeColourDatesRarity
HG 1HandstampBlack18201 example recorded
HG 2HandstampBlack1825–1835Scarce
HG 3HandstampBlack1822–1833Common
HG 4HandstampRed1824–1837Common
HG 5HandstampRed1838–1856Common
HG 6HandstampBlack1840Common
HG 7HandstampRed1841–1852Common

Frequently asked — Mount postal history

What are the pre stamp covers of Mount?
Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Mount are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Mount post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Mount was a post office of the Madras Presidency, British India, and this census records 7 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1820 and 1856.
How many handstamps are recorded for Mount?
7 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Mount 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.
How do I identify a Mount 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 Mount 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.

Also searched as: Mount, Mount HG 1, Mount handstruck stamps, Mount pre stamp covers, Mount postal history.

How to cite

Mount, Madras Presidency — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/madras/mount (accessed 10 August 2026).

Updated: 10 Aug 2026

An unrecorded mark from Mount?

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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.