Scan or Photo Courtesy of Siegel Auction Galleries
Date
March 1796
Description
Siegel - INDIA, Tanjore, 1796, "Tajore" Handstamp (Giles 1). Bold straightline strike with manuscript "6th march" date and "Postpaid 11fa" rate on 1796 folded letter addressed to William Dick in Calcutta, Calcutta Mar. 22 arrival backstamp (unrecorded in Giles), some minor strengthening along folds, Very Fine and noted as rare by Giles, seldom found in this quality, used during the Maratha period and prior to 1799 when the territory (not the city itself) was ceded to the East India Company Cavendish - TANJORE - RARE EX-TERRITORIAL PERIOD “Tanjore” MARK WITH NEWS OF CAPTURE OF CEYLON; 5 Mar. 1796 EL from “Tanjour” to Calcutta with a mainly fine rare “Tanjore” (HG1; “Rare”) on the front endorsed Post paid 11 Fas.” and “6th March 1795” all nicely placed on the front; also with a mainly very fine double-oval Calcutta “G.P.O/MAR[22]/BgPg[5]” (HG11a; early usage) on the top flap. The letter is from a British soldier recently returned from taking part in the Capture of Ceylon and a shipwreck; “Our Flank Company were on the late Expedition at Trincomalee...One great misfortune...was my being [shipw]racked on Board the Diomede, Man of War, when she was going at the rate of 9 Knots an Hour - we fortunately lost no lives, but every thing else in the ship was lost...all went down.” [H.M.S. Diomede sank in Trincomalee harbour on 2 Aug. 1795 during the Invasion.] Rare early Ex-Territorial period cover PHOTO - see page 31.
Auction
Provenance
"Magnolia" Michael Manning
Same office
Other recorded marks at Tanjore
8 marks8 other pre-1854 postal markings of Tanjore are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
- Tanjore HG 2handstampBlack1821
- Tanjore HG 3handstampRed1830–1834
- Tanjore HG 3AhandstampBlack1831
- Tanjore HG 4handstampBlack1837
- Tanjore HG 5handstampRed1847
- Tanjore HG 6handstampBlack1848–1849
+2 more at this office.View all Tanjore marks and postal history →
About this Tanjore pre stamp cover
COV-119 is a Tanjore pre stamp cover of March 1796 bearing the Tanjore HG 1 handstamp, struck in black, recorded in the census of Tanjore postal history — the office known today as Thanjavur, Madras Presidency. What is a pre stamp cover?
Siegel - INDIA, Tanjore, 1796, "Tajore" Handstamp (Giles 1). Bold straightline strike with manuscript "6th march" date and "Postpaid 11fa" rate on 1796 folded letter addressed to William Dick in Calcutta, Calcutta Mar. 22 arrival backstamp (unrecorded in Giles), some minor strengthening along folds, Very Fine and noted as rare by Giles, seldom found in this quality, used during the Maratha period and prior to 1799 when the territory (not the city itself) was ceded to the East India Company Cavendish - TANJORE - RARE EX-TERRITORIAL PERIOD “Tanjore” MARK WITH NEWS OF CAPTURE OF CEYLON; 5 Mar. 1796 EL from “Tanjour” to Calcutta with a mainly fine rare “Tanjore” (HG1; “Rare”) on the front endorsed Post paid 11 Fas.” and “6th March 1795” all nicely placed on the front; also with a mainly very fine double-oval Calcutta “G.P.O/MAR[22]/BgPg[5]” (HG11a; early usage) on the top flap. The letter is from a British soldier recently returned from taking part in the Capture of Ceylon and a shipwreck; “Our Flank Company were on the late Expedition at Trincomalee...One great misfortune...was my being [shipw]racked on Board the Diomede, Man of War, when she was going at the rate of 9 Knots an Hour - we fortunately lost no lives, but every thing else in the ship was lost...all went down.” [H.M.S. Diomede sank in Trincomalee harbour on 2 Aug. 1795 during the Invasion.] Rare early Ex-Territorial period cover PHOTO - see page 31.
Its recorded auction history runs through Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd Manning lot 86 (Sept. 2015); and Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 1301 lot 6050 (Nov. 2023).
2 images of COV-119 are recorded (front, back); the Tanjore HG 1 mark itself is recorded in use 1796–1819.
Questions about COV-119
- What is COV-119?
- COV-119 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Tanjore, Madras Presidency of March 1796, bearing the Tanjore HG 1 handstamp in black. Siegel - INDIA, Tanjore, 1796, "Tajore" Handstamp (Giles 1). Bold straightline strike with manuscript "6th march" date and "Postpaid 11fa" rate on 1796 folded letter addressed to William Dick in Calcutta, Calcutta Mar. 22 arrival backstamp (unrecorded in Giles), some minor strengthening along folds, Very Fine and noted as rare by Giles, seldom found in this quality, used during the Maratha period and prior to 1799 when the territory (not the city itself) was ceded to the East India Company Cavendish - TANJORE - RARE EX-TERRITORIAL PERIOD “Tanjore” MARK WITH NEWS OF CAPTURE OF CEYLON; 5 Mar. 1796 EL from “Tanjour” to Calcutta with a mainly fine rare “Tanjore” (HG1; “Rare”) on the front endorsed Post paid 11 Fas.” and “6th March 1795” all nicely placed on the front; also with a mainly very fine double-oval Calcutta “G.P.O/MAR[22]/BgPg[5]” (HG11a; early usage) on the top flap. The letter is from a British soldier recently returned from taking part in the Capture of Ceylon and a shipwreck; “Our Flank Company were on the late Expedition at Trincomalee...One great misfortune...was my being [shipw]racked on Board the Diomede, Man of War, when she was going at the rate of 9 Knots an Hour - we fortunately lost no lives, but every thing else in the ship was lost...all went down.” [H.M.S. Diomede sank in Trincomalee harbour on 2 Aug. 1795 during the Invasion.] Rare early Ex-Territorial period cover PHOTO - see page 31.
- How scarce is the Tanjore HG 1 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Tanjore HG 1 as rare, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1796–1819.
- What is the provenance of COV-119?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd Manning lot 86 (Sept. 2015); and Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 1301 lot 6050 (Nov. 2023).
- When was COV-119 posted?
- COV-119 is dated March 1796, within the recorded period of use of Tanjore HG 1 (1796–1819).
About this record
This March 1796 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Tanjore HG 1 handstamp of the Madras Presidency, a mark graded “Rare” in this census — one of 4 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd, Manning, lot 86, (Sept. 2015); Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Sale 1301, lot 6050, (Nov. 2023).