Post office · North Western Provinces
MoradabadPostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Moradabad postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 6 Moradabad handstamps recorded between 1815 and 1854, North Western Provinces, with 7 Moradabad covers traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 6
- Recorded
- 1815–1854
- Rare
- 2
Moradabad, headquarters of the same named District, United Provinces, is situated 28°51' N and 78°46' E, on the Delhi-Bareily road, 868 miles from Calcutta and 1087 from Bombay. In 1740 it was included in the new State of Rohilkhand. In 1774 the Rohilla possessions fell into the power of Oudh and in 1801 was ceded to the British.
Moradabad has 6 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1815–1854 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Brown border = community submission, verified by editors
Moradabad handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
Moradabad— postal history & markings
Moradabad's six handstamps, from 1815 to 1854, open with HG 1, known from four examples — a scarce early strike — and include the very scarce HG 5 and the scarce HG 6. The office worked evenly in black and red. Headquarters of its United Provinces district on the Delhi–Bareilly road, the town leaves a compact record in which the scarcer marks outnumber the great commonplaces. For the collector of the region, the four-example HG 1 of 1815 is the opener to seek, anchoring the office in the second decade of the century.
Frequently asked — Moradabad postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Moradabad?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Moradabad are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Moradabad post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Moradabad was a post office of the North Western Provinces, British India, and this census records 6 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1815 and 1854.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Moradabad?
- 6 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Moradabad in this census, of which 2 are graded rare or better. 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.
- How do I identify a Moradabad 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 Moradabad 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 Moradabad were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Moradabad, Moradabad HG 1, Moradabad handstruck stamps, Moradabad pre stamp covers, Moradabad postal history.
How to cite
“Moradabad, North Western Provinces — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/n-w-provinces/moradabad (accessed 24 September 2026).
Updated: 24 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Moradabad?
If you hold a cover or strike from Moradabad 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.