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Hand Struck Stamps

Post office · North Western Provinces

Kurnaul (NWP)

Handstamps
6
Recorded
1826–1852

Headquarters of Kurnaul District, Punjab, situated 29°41' N and 70°59' E, on the old bank of the Jumna river, 1030 miles from Calcutta and 1056 from Bombay. The British took Kurnaul from Gurdit Singh of Ladwa in 1805, and formed a cantonment, which was abandoned in 1841, owing to the unhealthiness of the station.

Kurnaul (NWP) has 6 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1826–1852 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.

Also known as: Karnal, Kurnaul NWPView on Google MapsWikipedia ↗

Kurnaul (NWP) handstamp summary

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

MarkTypeColourDatesRarity
HG 1HandstampBlack1826–1837Common
HG 2HandstampBlack1828–1835Common
HG 3HandstampRed1837–1846Common
HG 4HandstampBlack1838–1849Common
HG 5HandstampRed1841Common
HG 6HandstampRed1852Common

Frequently asked — Kurnaul (NWP) postal history

What are the pre stamp covers of Kurnaul (NWP)?
Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Kurnaul (NWP) are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Kurnaul (NWP) post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Kurnaul (NWP) was a post office of the North Western Provinces, British India, and this census records 6 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1826 and 1852.
How many handstamps are recorded for Kurnaul (NWP)?
6 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Kurnaul (NWP) 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 Kurnaul (NWP) called today?
Kurnaul (NWP) is the colonial-era name of present-day Karnal, India. The office also appears in postal history literature and auction catalogues as Kurnaul NWP. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
How do I identify a Kurnaul (NWP) 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 Kurnaul (NWP) 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: Kurnaul (NWP), Karnal, Kurnaul NWP, Kurnaul (NWP) HG 1, Kurnaul (NWP) handstruck stamps, Kurnaul (NWP) pre stamp covers, Kurnaul (NWP) postal history.

How to cite

Kurnaul (NWP), North Western Provinces — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/n-w-provinces/kurnaul-nwp (accessed 10 August 2026).

Updated: 10 Aug 2026

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Other post offices in the North Western Provinces

Explore the pre-1854 postal history of other North Western Provinces post offices — each page lists its recorded handstruck markings, dates and surviving covers.