Scan or Photo Courtesy of Corinphila Auctions
Date
9 February 1843
Description
1st Afghan War - The journey to retake Kabul The Captain (later Major-General) William Riddell (1805-1875) correspondence to his wife Maggie in Indore. December 1841-September 1842: The extraordinary correspondence (63 entires and 1 letter-sheet) of which this is a large part of the 148 letters found (all except the first were numbered, many with contents already printed in Peter Collins's booklet on this correspondence published by Robson Lowe in 1977) begins with Riddell's letter from Rajwas on 26 Dec 1841 where he starts his journey towards Afghanistan, second entire from Rajwas (each with 'Bearing' handstamp in brown); thence via Tippree with two entires with "Tippree / Paid", entires prepaid from Gwalior, Agra (2), Meerut, Kurnaul, Umballa ("Sir William MacNaghten's murder is not believed...I am certain that the whole force at Cabool will be sacrificed"), prepaid entires from Loodianah, Ferozepore (2), Bearing entires from Camp Chong, Bukrala, near Attock, Peshawar and Camp Kowulsur (4, one stating "The (Khyber) Pass is purchased as far as Ally Musjid but beyond that...") and Camp at Jamrud (3) two with "L.P.O." and Loodianah handstamps; double rate letter from Camp at Ally Musjid ("we fought every inch of the way...the arrangement for purchasing the pass having completely fallen..the sepoys behaved admirably"), letter from Gen. Pollock's Camp, West end of the Gurhee all Beg Valley, another from Dukha opposite Lallpoora and another from Camp Gyrhee with "L.P.O." and Loodianah handstamps stating "Shah Soojah is probably murdered", further entire from General Pollock's Camp near Ally Baghan again via Loodianah (as are nearly all the following entires), entire from Jelalabad with similar markings applied, fully describing the march into the Jelalabad garrison, following cover stating "it is now known that the Barukjee party have got the upper hand at Cabool...", whilst stationed at Jelalabad Riddell suffers from dysentery, 3 Aug 1852 entire stating that the prisoners Capt. Troup and Capt. Lawrence had ridden in to the Camp having been freed by Mahomed Akbar, this and the following letters all now sent via Ferozepore; 30 August entire with superb (for this) "AFIGHANISTAN / Bearing" in black dated and with "10 annas." notation (illustrated in Collins, page 21) ; 5 Sept entire with fine "AFIGHANISTAN / Bearing" in black dated and with "10 annas." notation and boxed Ferozepore below; 9 Sept entire with superb (for this) "AFIGHANISTAN / Bearing" in black dated and with "10 annas." notation and sent via Loodianah, and the famous 15th Sept minute entire with "L.P.O." and framed Loodianah carried at 5 anna rate, sent with General Pollock's despatches, written on the day of the capture of Kabul with fascinating contents (in full in Collins's monograph, the cover illustrated on page 22) "we had to fight our way inch by inch the whole way up the severe ascents and on arriving at the last summit we had the good fortune to capture one of our own 24lb. howitzers taken from the Cabool force and to learn it was against Mahomed Nekbar and his whole strength we had been fighting...Tom (his brother) and I have been mercifully protected by providence and got through one of the severest fights which has ever taken place in Afghanistan". Followed by letters sent during his return written from Camp at Jugdulluck, entires from Jelalabad, Var, Kooar, Paree Wala, Junjattee and Ferozepore (2) all bearing "AFIGHANISTAN / Bearing" handstamps in black (the last in red) with many unusually well struck. An astonishing historic archive collection in superb condition with the letters giving much information of India, the postal system, the War and its personalities. Note: From Peter Collins's monograph the letters offered are: (-), 1, 6-8, 10-16, 18, 22, 26, 31, 33-35, 37, 38, 42-46, 48-53, 56, 70, 71, 73-76, (77a), 78, 85, 87-89, 93, 95, 96, 98, 100, 102, 109, 113, 119, 122-123, 128, 131-132, 136, 138, 142, 145, 148. Provenance: Initial offering of the correspondence was in Robson Lowe, Bournemouth, 5 July 1973 ex lots 1049-1072. Many purchased by Major Adrian Hopkins, Robson Lowe, Zurich, 19 May 1988, ex lots 3307, and collection Horst Dietrich, DF, Geneva, 17 Nov 2003 where further items can be found
Auction
367. - 371. Corinphila Auktion, Lot 6005
Same office
Other recorded marks at Merut
17 marks17 other pre-1854 postal markings of Merut are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
- Merut HG 1handstampBlack1809–1827
- Merut HG 1AhandstampRed1827
- Merut HG 2handstampRed1814–1827
- Merut HG 3handstampBlack1831–1837
- Merut HG 3AhandstampBlack1827–1832
- Merut HG 4handstampBlack1835–1837
+11 more at this office.View all Merut marks and postal history →
About this Merut pre stamp cover
COV-5102 is a Merut pre stamp cover of 9 February 1843 bearing the Merut HG 6 handstamp, struck in black, recorded in the census of Merut postal history — the office known today as Meerut, North Western Provinces. What is a pre stamp cover?
1st Afghan War - The journey to retake Kabul The Captain (later Major-General) William Riddell (1805-1875) correspondence to his wife Maggie in Indore. December 1841-September 1842: The extraordinary correspondence (63 entires and 1 letter-sheet) of which this is a large part of the 148 letters found (all except the first were numbered, many with contents already printed in Peter Collins's booklet on this correspondence published by Robson Lowe in 1977) begins with Riddell's letter from Rajwas on 26 Dec 1841 where he starts his journey towards Afghanistan, second entire from Rajwas (each with 'Bearing' handstamp in brown); thence via Tippree with two entires with "Tippree / Paid", entires prepaid from Gwalior, Agra (2), Meerut, Kurnaul, Umballa ("Sir William MacNaghten's murder is not believed...I am certain that the whole force at Cabool will be sacrificed"), prepaid entires from Loodianah, Ferozepore (2), Bearing entires from Camp Chong, Bukrala, near Attock, Peshawar and Camp Kowulsur (4, one stating "The (Khyber) Pass is purchased as far as Ally Musjid but beyond that...") and Camp at Jamrud (3) two with "L.P.O." and Loodianah handstamps; double rate letter from Camp at Ally Musjid ("we fought every inch of the way...the arrangement for purchasing the pass having completely fallen..the sepoys behaved admirably"), letter from Gen. Pollock's Camp, West end of the Gurhee all Beg Valley, another from Dukha opposite Lallpoora and another from Camp Gyrhee with "L.P.O." and Loodianah handstamps stating "Shah Soojah is probably murdered", further entire from General Pollock's Camp near Ally Baghan again via Loodianah (as are nearly all the following entires), entire from Jelalabad with similar markings applied, fully describing the march into the Jelalabad garrison, following cover stating "it is now known that the Barukjee party have got the upper hand at Cabool...", whilst stationed at Jelalabad Riddell suffers from dysentery, 3 Aug 1852 entire stating that the prisoners Capt. Troup and Capt. Lawrence had ridden in to the Camp having been freed by Mahomed Akbar, this and the following letters all now sent via Ferozepore; 30 August entire with superb (for this) "AFIGHANISTAN / Bearing" in black dated and with "10 annas." notation (illustrated in Collins, page 21) ; 5 Sept entire with fine "AFIGHANISTAN / Bearing" in black dated and with "10 annas." notation and boxed Ferozepore below; 9 Sept entire with superb (for this) "AFIGHANISTAN / Bearing" in black dated and with "10 annas." notation and sent via Loodianah, and the famous 15th Sept minute entire with "L.P.O." and framed Loodianah carried at 5 anna rate, sent with General Pollock's despatches, written on the day of the capture of Kabul with fascinating contents (in full in Collins's monograph, the cover illustrated on page 22) "we had to fight our way inch by inch the whole way up the severe ascents and on arriving at the last summit we had the good fortune to capture one of our own 24lb. howitzers taken from the Cabool force and to learn it was against Mahomed Nekbar and his whole strength we had been fighting...Tom (his brother) and I have been mercifully protected by providence and got through one of the severest fights which has ever taken place in Afghanistan". Followed by letters sent during his return written from Camp at Jugdulluck, entires from Jelalabad, Var, Kooar, Paree Wala, Junjattee and Ferozepore (2) all bearing "AFIGHANISTAN / Bearing" handstamps in black (the last in red) with many unusually well struck. An astonishing historic archive collection in superb condition with the letters giving much information of India, the postal system, the War and its personalities. Note: From Peter Collins's monograph the letters offered are: (-), 1, 6-8, 10-16, 18, 22, 26, 31, 33-35, 37, 38, 42-46, 48-53, 56, 70, 71, 73-76, (77a), 78, 85, 87-89, 93, 95, 96, 98, 100, 102, 109, 113, 119, 122-123, 128, 131-132, 136, 138, 142, 145, 148. Provenance: Initial offering of the correspondence was in Robson Lowe, Bournemouth, 5 July 1973 ex lots 1049-1072. Many purchased by Major Adrian Hopkins, Robson Lowe, Zurich, 19 May 1988, ex lots 3307, and collection Horst Dietrich, DF, Geneva, 17 Nov 2003 where further items can be found
Its recorded auction history runs through Corinphila 367. - 371. Corinphila Auktion lot 6005.
1 image of COV-5102 is recorded; the Merut HG 6 mark itself is recorded in use 1839–1843.
Questions about COV-5102
- What is COV-5102?
- COV-5102 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Merut, North Western Provinces of 9 February 1843, bearing the Merut HG 6 handstamp in black. 1st Afghan War - The journey to retake Kabul The Captain (later Major-General) William Riddell (1805-1875) correspondence to his wife Maggie in Indore. December 1841-September 1842: The extraordinary correspondence (63 entires and 1 letter-sheet) of which this is a large part of the 148 letters found (all except the first were numbered, many with contents already printed in Peter Collins's booklet on this correspondence published by Robson Lowe in 1977) begins with Riddell's letter from Rajwas on 26 Dec 1841 where he starts his journey towards Afghanistan, second entire from Rajwas (each with 'Bearing' handstamp in brown); thence via Tippree with two entires with "Tippree / Paid", entires prepaid from Gwalior, Agra (2), Meerut, Kurnaul, Umballa ("Sir William MacNaghten's murder is not believed...I am certain that the whole force at Cabool will be sacrificed"), prepaid entires from Loodianah, Ferozepore (2), Bearing entires from Camp Chong, Bukrala, near Attock, Peshawar and Camp Kowulsur (4, one stating "The (Khyber) Pass is purchased as far as Ally Musjid but beyond that...") and Camp at Jamrud (3) two with "L.P.O." and Loodianah handstamps; double rate letter from Camp at Ally Musjid ("we fought every inch of the way...the arrangement for purchasing the pass having completely fallen..the sepoys behaved admirably"), letter from Gen. Pollock's Camp, West end of the Gurhee all Beg Valley, another from Dukha opposite Lallpoora and another from Camp Gyrhee with "L.P.O." and Loodianah handstamps stating "Shah Soojah is probably murdered", further entire from General Pollock's Camp near Ally Baghan again via Loodianah (as are nearly all the following entires), entire from Jelalabad with similar markings applied, fully describing the march into the Jelalabad garrison, following cover stating "it is now known that the Barukjee party have got the upper hand at Cabool...", whilst stationed at Jelalabad Riddell suffers from dysentery, 3 Aug 1852 entire stating that the prisoners Capt. Troup and Capt. Lawrence had ridden in to the Camp having been freed by Mahomed Akbar, this and the following letters all now sent via Ferozepore; 30 August entire with superb (for this) "AFIGHANISTAN / Bearing" in black dated and with "10 annas." notation (illustrated in Collins, page 21) ; 5 Sept entire with fine "AFIGHANISTAN / Bearing" in black dated and with "10 annas." notation and boxed Ferozepore below; 9 Sept entire with superb (for this) "AFIGHANISTAN / Bearing" in black dated and with "10 annas." notation and sent via Loodianah, and the famous 15th Sept minute entire with "L.P.O." and framed Loodianah carried at 5 anna rate, sent with General Pollock's despatches, written on the day of the capture of Kabul with fascinating contents (in full in Collins's monograph, the cover illustrated on page 22) "we had to fight our way inch by inch the whole way up the severe ascents and on arriving at the last summit we had the good fortune to capture one of our own 24lb. howitzers taken from the Cabool force and to learn it was against Mahomed Nekbar and his whole strength we had been fighting...Tom (his brother) and I have been mercifully protected by providence and got through one of the severest fights which has ever taken place in Afghanistan". Followed by letters sent during his return written from Camp at Jugdulluck, entires from Jelalabad, Var, Kooar, Paree Wala, Junjattee and Ferozepore (2) all bearing "AFIGHANISTAN / Bearing" handstamps in black (the last in red) with many unusually well struck. An astonishing historic archive collection in superb condition with the letters giving much information of India, the postal system, the War and its personalities. Note: From Peter Collins's monograph the letters offered are: (-), 1, 6-8, 10-16, 18, 22, 26, 31, 33-35, 37, 38, 42-46, 48-53, 56, 70, 71, 73-76, (77a), 78, 85, 87-89, 93, 95, 96, 98, 100, 102, 109, 113, 119, 122-123, 128, 131-132, 136, 138, 142, 145, 148. Provenance: Initial offering of the correspondence was in Robson Lowe, Bournemouth, 5 July 1973 ex lots 1049-1072. Many purchased by Major Adrian Hopkins, Robson Lowe, Zurich, 19 May 1988, ex lots 3307, and collection Horst Dietrich, DF, Geneva, 17 Nov 2003 where further items can be found
- How scarce is the Merut HG 6 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Merut HG 6 as common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1839–1843.
- What is the provenance of COV-5102?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Corinphila 367. - 371. Corinphila Auktion lot 6005.
- When was COV-5102 posted?
- COV-5102 is dated 9 February 1843, within the recorded period of use of Merut HG 6 (1839–1843).
About this record
This 9 February 1843 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Merut HG 6 handstamp of the North Western Provinces, a mark graded “Common” in this census — one of 3 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Corinphila Auctions, 367. - 371. Corinphila Auktion, lot 6005.