Post office · Madras Presidency
OossoorPostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Oossoor postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 4 Oossoor handstamps recorded between 1830 and 1845, Madras Presidency.
- Handstamps
- 4
- Recorded
- 1830–1845
Oossoor (Hosur) is situated 12°44' N and 77°50' E, in Salem District, Madras Presidency, 21 miles from Bangalore. Hosur Remount Depot was established in 1828, for the cavalry and artillery horses for the Indian Army.
Oossoor has 4 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1830–1845 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Oossoor handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
Oossoor— postal history & markings
Oossoor's four handstamps, from 1830 to 1845, are worked mainly in red, opening with the scarce HG 1 before settling into common use. A town in the Salem District twenty-one miles from Bangalore — later the site of a remount depot — the office served a station on the southern uplands. The record is small and otherwise ordinary, but the scarce opener gives the collector a target. For the specialist in the country between Madras and Mysore, Oossoor is a compact office anchored by its scarce first strike.
Frequently asked — Oossoor postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Oossoor?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Oossoor are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Oossoor post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Oossoor was a post office of the Madras Presidency, British India, and this census records 4 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1830 and 1845.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Oossoor?
- 4 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Oossoor in this census. 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 Oossoor called today?
- Oossoor is the colonial-era name of present-day Hosur, India. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify an Oossoor 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 Oossoor 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 Oossoor were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Oossoor, Hosur, Oossoor HG 1, Oossoor handstruck stamps, Oossoor pre stamp covers, Oossoor postal history.
How to cite
“Oossoor, Madras Presidency — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/madras/oossoor (accessed 24 September 2026).
Updated: 24 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Oossoor?
If you hold a cover or strike from Oossoor 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.