COV-988
18 March 1820 Benares HG 1 Cover
Scan or Photo Courtesy of Argyll Etkin Auctions
Date
18 March 1820
Description
1820-31 Entire letters (4) and an entire, comprising 1820 letter from the orientalist H.H Wilson at Benares to the traveller and writer James Baillie Fraser at Calcutta with oval "BENARES / POSTAGE PAID" (Hammond Giles 1, manuscript date, "Benares" underinked and incomplete); 1825 letter from Hugh Fraser at Delhi to his brother William at Camp Jehasimpore and redirected to Dryrah with boxed "DELHI / Pt FREE" (HG 2, rare with only one recorded example, "Delhi" underinked); and 1826-31 letters (2) and an entire from India to J.B Fraser in Scotland, two with boxed "INDIA LETTER / DEAL" and oval "MERUT / Pt Pd" (HG 3) or manuscript "From Hansi P. Office 24 May 31", the other posted in London. The Merut letter sent by George Fraser contains a good account of a tiger hunt on elephants. (5).
Auction
Same office
Other recorded marks at Benares
18 marks18 other pre-1854 postal markings of Benares are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
- Benares HG 2handstampBlack1811
- Benares HG 3handstampBlack1824–1836
- Benares HG 4handstampBlack1827-35
- Benares HG 5handstampBlack1829
- Benares HG 6handstampBlack1832–1835
- Benares HG 7handstampRed1840-53
- Benares HG 8handstampBlack1839–1852
- Benares HG 9handstampRed1839-45
- Benares HG 10handstampRed1839
- Benares HG 11handstampBlack1850–1856
- Benares HG 12handstampRed1845–1850
- Benares HG 13handstampBlack1847-53
- Benares HG 14handstampRed1844
- Benares HG 15handstampBlack1847–1852
- Benares HG 16handstampBlack1845–1851
- Benares HG 17handstampRed1854
- Benares HG 18handstampBlack1851–1854
- Benares MN 1manuscript1808
About this record
This 18 March 1820 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Benares HG 1 handstamp of the North Western Provinces, a mark graded “Rare” in this census — one of 4 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Argyll Etkin, lot 614.