Post office · Punjab
RawalpindeePostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Rawalpindee postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 4 Rawalpindee handstamps recorded between 1849 and 1854, Punjab, with 2 Rawalpindee covers traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 4
- Recorded
- 1849–1854
Rawalpindee, headquarters of Rawalpindee District, Punjab, on the Grand Trunk road, on the north bank of the Leh River, and separating the town from the cantonments, is situated 33°36' N and 737 E. Here, in 1849, the Sikh army under Chattar Singh and Sher Singh finally laid down their arms after the battle of Gujrat.
Rawalpindee has 4 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1849–1854 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Rawalpindee handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
Rawalpindee— postal history & markings
Rawalpindee's four handstamps, from 1849 to 1854, are worked mainly in red and are all in common use. Headquarters of its district on the Grand Trunk Road in the northern Punjab, the office opens only with British administration, and its record is the ordinary output of a frontier district post in its first years. There is no rarity here to single out; the value lies in completeness. For the collector, Rawalpindee is a clean, complete run from a north-western headquarters — a tidy record of the early years of organised posting after the Punjab's annexation.
Frequently asked — Rawalpindee postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Rawalpindee?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Rawalpindee are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Rawalpindee post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Rawalpindee was a post office of the Punjab, British India, and this census records 4 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1849 and 1854.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Rawalpindee?
- 4 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Rawalpindee 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 Rawalpindee called today?
- Rawalpindee is the colonial-era name of present-day Rawalpindi, India. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify a Rawalpindee 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 Rawalpindee 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 Rawalpindee were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Rawalpindee, Rawalpindi, Rawalpindee HG 1, Rawalpindee handstruck stamps, Rawalpindee pre stamp covers, Rawalpindee postal history.
How to cite
“Rawalpindee, Punjab — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/punjab/rawalpindee (accessed 24 September 2026).
Updated: 24 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Rawalpindee?
If you hold a cover or strike from Rawalpindee 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.