Post office · Punjab
DerahPostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Derah postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 4 Derah handstamps recorded between 1838 and 1853, Punjab, with 2 Derah covers traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 4
- Recorded
- 1838–1853
- Rare
- 1
Derah Town is situated 30°19' N and 78°2' E, in the United Provinces at an elevation of 2,300 fee t above the sea. After a perpetual inundation of Rajputs, Gujars, Sikhs and Gurkhas, the latter occupying the valley in 1803, and remaining there until the Gurkha war in 1814, when the British occupied the town, the area was ceded by the G urkhas to the British under the treaty of 1815.
Derah has 4 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1838–1853 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Brown border = community submission, verified by editors
Derah handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
Derah— postal history & markings
Derah's four handstamps, from 1838 to 1853, are worked evenly in red and black, mostly in common use — but HG 4 of 1838 is known from a single example. Set at some two thousand feet in the Dehra Doon, the office served a hill town below the Himalayan foothills. The record is small and otherwise ordinary, but that single-example HG 4 gives the collector a scarce target. For the specialist in the hill offices of the north, Derah is a compact record with one genuine rarity anchoring its opening year.
Frequently asked — Derah postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Derah?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Derah are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Derah post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Derah was a post office of the Punjab, British India, and this census records 4 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1838 and 1853.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Derah?
- 4 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Derah in this census, of which 1 is 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 Derah 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 Derah 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 Derah were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Derah, Dera, Dera Ismail Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Derah HG 1, Derah handstruck stamps, Derah pre stamp covers, Derah postal history.
How to cite
“Derah, Punjab — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/punjab/derah (accessed 24 September 2026).
Updated: 24 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Derah?
If you hold a cover or strike from Derah 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 Punjab
Explore the pre-1854 postal history of other Punjab post offices — each page lists its recorded handstruck markings, dates and surviving covers.