Guide
Pre-1854 Postal History of India
India’s postal system predates the first adhesive stamps by more than a century. From the East India Company’s earliest mail routes in the 1760s to the introduction of the Scinde Dawk in 1852 and the general issue of 1854, every letter was marked by hand — struck with metal or wooden devices at post offices across the subcontinent.
The East India Company mails
Organised postal services in India began under the East India Company, which established mail routes between the presidency capitals — Calcutta, Bombay and Madras — and their outlying stations. Post offices were set up at military cantonments, trading settlements and administrative centres. Each office was supplied with handstamps to mark incoming and outgoing letters: circular or oval datestamps bearing the town name and date, and separate marks to show whether postage had been paid or was to be collected.
By the 1830s and 1840s the network extended well beyond the presidency cities. Offices in places like Dinapore, Trichinopoly and Poona used their own distinctive handstamps, many of which survive only on a handful of covers.
Three presidencies, three postal systems
Each presidency administered its own post offices independently. Handstamp designs, ink colours and marking practices varied:
- Bengal — the largest presidency, with the General Post Office in Calcutta and routes stretching from Dacca to Delhi. Many early Bengal handstamps use red ink.
- Bombay — centred on the port of Bombay, with offices at Poona, Ahmedabad, Surat and the western coast. Bombay marks are often in black ink.
- Madras — covering southern India, with a distinctive system of Receiving Houses (sub-offices) identified by MX numbers in the Giles catalogue.
In addition, the North-Western Provinces and Punjab had their own offices, many established after the annexation of Sindh (1843) and Punjab (1849).
Ship Letters and forwarding agents
Mail between India and Britain moved by ship, and the port offices at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras applied Ship Letter markings to letters arriving or departing by sea. These marks are designated SD (Ship Despatch) and SR (Ship Receipt) in the Giles catalogue.
Private mercantile firms known as forwarding agents also handled mail on behalf of their clients, applying their own handstamps. These agents — Dorin & Co, Dorin & D’Monte and others — played an important role in connecting India with the wider postal network before the establishment of regular steamer routes.
The transition to stamps (1852–1854)
The Scinde Dawk of 1852 — a circular embossed stamp used in Sindh — was India’s first experiment with adhesive postage. The general issue of lithographed ½-anna stamps followed on 1 October 1854, replacing the handstruck “Post Paid” and “Bearing” marks with prepaid adhesive stamps.
Many handstamps continued in use as datestamps and cancellers after 1854, but they were no longer the primary evidence of postage. The pre stamp period — roughly 1773 to 1854 — remains the most fascinating chapter of Indian postal history, and the surviving covers are the primary documents of that era.
Recorded covers and markings
This site documents 2,023 handstamps from 438 post offices, spanning the years 1773 to 1878. Each handstamp is catalogued with its Giles number, colour, recorded date range and rarity. Where scans are available, 4,501 covers are shown with provenance and auction history.