Post office · North Western Provinces
MirzaporePostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Mirzapore postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 13 Mirzapore handstamps recorded between 1817 and 1856, North Western Provinces, with 38 Mirzapore covers traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 13
- Recorded
- 1817–1856
Mirzapore is situated 25°9' N and 82°35' E, on the right bank of the Ganges in Mirzapore District, United Provinces, 509 miles from Calcutta and 891 from Bombay. It became an important trading centre at the close of the eighteenth century.
Mirzapore has 13 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1817–1856 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Mirzapore handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
| Mark | Type | Colour | Dates | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HG 1 | Handstamp | Black | 1817–1827 | Scarce |
| HG 2 | Handstamp | Black | 1823–1837 | Scarce |
| HG 3 | Handstamp | Black | 1826 | Common |
| HG 4 | Handstamp | Black | 1833–1837 | Common |
| HG 5 | Handstamp | Red | 1838–1850 | Common |
| HG 6 | Handstamp | Black | 1838–1839 | Common |
| HG 7 | Handstamp | Red | 1841–1852 | Common |
| HG 8 | Handstamp | Red | 1847–1855 | Common |
| HG 9 | Handstamp | Black | 1848 | Common |
| HG 10 | Handstamp | Red | 1852 | Common |
| HG 11 | Handstamp | Red | 1854 | Common |
| HG 12 | Handstamp | Black | 1828–1856 | Common |
| HG 13 | Handstamp | Red | 1846–1851 | Common |
Mirzapore— postal history & markings
Mirzapore's thirteen handstamps run from 1817 to 1856, worked in roughly equal measure in black and red. The record opens with the scarce HG 1 of 1817 and HG 2 of 1823, before settling into common use from HG 3. The office served a town that had grown into an important trading centre on the Ganges at the close of the eighteenth century.
Its most distinctive mark is HG 12, an intaglio handstamp struck white on black — the reverse-cut style that always catches a collector's eye and sets a strike apart from the ordinary run of the series. Beyond that, Mirzapore is a steady, workmanlike record: a pair of scarce openers and a body of common later marks, cleanly spanning four decades of United Provinces posting.
Frequently asked — Mirzapore postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Mirzapore?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Mirzapore are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Mirzapore post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Mirzapore was a post office of the North Western Provinces, British India, and this census records 13 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1817 and 1856.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Mirzapore?
- 13 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Mirzapore 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 Mirzapore called today?
- Mirzapore is the colonial-era name of present-day Mirzapur, India. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify a Mirzapore 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 Mirzapore 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.
For background on the material itself, see the guides to the handstruck stamps of India, the pre covers of India and the pre stamp covers of India, which explain how marks like those recorded at Mirzapore were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Mirzapore, Mirzapur, Mirzapore HG 1, Mirzapore handstruck stamps, Mirzapore pre stamp covers, Mirzapore postal history.
How to cite
“Mirzapore, North Western Provinces — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/n-w-provinces/mirzapore (accessed 24 September 2026).
Updated: 24 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Mirzapore?
If you hold a cover or strike from Mirzapore that does not match any figure above, submit it below. Approved additions appear here as new entries in the census — every submission is reviewed first.
Same presidency
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.