COV-5799
1852 Pondicherry Cover
Scan or Photo Courtesy of David Feldman Auctions
Date
1852
Description
1852 Pondicherry, French India – Stampless Cover to Bordeaux, France — attractive stampless from Pondicherry to Bordeaux, bearing the HG12 rectangular “PONDICHERRY” handstamp, together with Madras G.P.O. transit marking and the distinctive crescent “INDIA PAID” handstamp. Further struck with Marseille circular transit datestamp on arrival in France. A fine early French India–France usage showing the routing of overseas mail through the British Indian postal system.
Auction
2026 Winter Auction Series — India, Indian States, Nepal, Tibet, Lot 40174, (2026)
Same office
Other recorded marks at Pondicherry
15 marks15 other pre-1854 postal markings of Pondicherry are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
- Pondicherry HG 1handstampBlack1786–1823
- Pondicherry HG 1ahandstampBlack1818
- Pondicherry HG 2handstampBlack1795
- Pondicherry HG 3handstampBlack1804–1817
- Pondicherry HG 3AhandstampBlack1801
- Pondicherry HG 4handstampBlack1804–1815
+9 more at this office.View all Pondicherry marks and postal history →
About this Pondicherry pre stamp cover
COV-5799 is a Pondicherry pre stamp cover of 1852 bearing the Pondicherry HG 10 handstamp, struck in red, recorded in the census of Pondicherry postal history — the office known today as Puducherry, Madras Presidency. What is a pre stamp cover?
1852 Pondicherry, French India – Stampless Cover to Bordeaux, France — attractive stampless from Pondicherry to Bordeaux, bearing the HG12 rectangular “PONDICHERRY” handstamp, together with Madras G.P.O. transit marking and the distinctive crescent “INDIA PAID” handstamp. Further struck with Marseille circular transit datestamp on arrival in France. A fine early French India–France usage showing the routing of overseas mail through the British Indian postal system.
Its recorded auction history runs through David Feldman SA 2026 Winter Auction Series — India, Indian States, Nepal, Tibet lot 40174 (2026).
2 images of COV-5799 are recorded; the Pondicherry HG 10 mark itself is recorded in use 1839–1854.
Questions about COV-5799
- What is COV-5799?
- COV-5799 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Pondicherry, Madras Presidency of 1852, bearing the Pondicherry HG 10 handstamp in red. 1852 Pondicherry, French India – Stampless Cover to Bordeaux, France — attractive stampless from Pondicherry to Bordeaux, bearing the HG12 rectangular “PONDICHERRY” handstamp, together with Madras G.P.O. transit marking and the distinctive crescent “INDIA PAID” handstamp. Further struck with Marseille circular transit datestamp on arrival in France. A fine early French India–France usage showing the routing of overseas mail through the British Indian postal system.
- How scarce is the Pondicherry HG 10 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Pondicherry HG 10 as very common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1839–1854.
- What is the provenance of COV-5799?
- Its recorded auction history runs through David Feldman SA 2026 Winter Auction Series — India, Indian States, Nepal, Tibet lot 40174 (2026).
- When was COV-5799 posted?
- COV-5799 is dated 1852, within the recorded period of use of Pondicherry HG 10 (1839–1854).
About this record
This 1852 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Pondicherry HG 10 handstamp of the Madras Presidency, a mark graded “Very common” in this census — one of 24 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with David Feldman, 2026 Winter Auction Series — India, Indian States, Nepal, Tibet, lot 40174, (2026).