
Scan or Photo Courtesy of Spink
Date
1853
Description
Pre-stamp to 1860s postal history selection of covers and cards (21), including undated Sit Charles Napier cover front to Sukkur (rebacked) bearing "karatchee/free" oval h.s., 1843 Nagpore to London redirected to Crookham (Hampshire) with 1d. red cancelled numeral "2" in maltese cross, 1858 Allahabad Cantonment to London Indian Mutiny cover franked 10a. routed via Calcutta (Bombay crossed out) and Marseilles with note in flap "Bombay steamer in - telegraph out of order", 1859 "per overland via marseilles" envelope franked 6a. to Cardiff, 1866 Meeanmeer to Cardiff cover franked 6a8p., 1879 Second Anglo-Afghan War 8p. soldier's letter with contents describing the 10th Royal Hussars drowning incident in the Kabul River near Jalalabad leaving 47 men dead, 1880 ¼a stationary card uprated 2a. to London to philatelist F.A. Philbrick noting "The Rajpeepla stamps are already obsolete" and "All the old square Bhopal have been destroyed", 1894 9p. soldier's letter of the 3rd Battation Rifle Brigade Peshawar, various North West Frontier F.P.O.s, including F.P.O. 6 squared circle on 1897 cover to Surrey with R.P.S. cert (1983) and F.P.O. 33 on cover to Bombay with R.P.S. cert (1983). Mixed condition.
Auction
Same office
Other recorded marks at Simla
9 marks9 other pre-1854 postal markings of Simla are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
- Simla HG 1handstampBlack1832
- Simla HG 2handstampBlack1835-36
- Simla HG 3handstampRed1838-45
- Simla HG 4handstampBlack1849–1852
- Simla HG 5handstampRed1845–1850
- Simla HG 6handstampRed1845–1852
+3 more at this office.View all Simla marks and postal history →
About this Simla pre stamp cover
COV-1922 is a Simla pre stamp cover of 1853 bearing the Simla HG 8 handstamp, struck in red, recorded in the census of Simla postal history — the office known today as Shimla, Punjab. What is a pre stamp cover?
Pre-stamp to 1860s postal history selection of covers and cards (21), including undated Sit Charles Napier cover front to Sukkur (rebacked) bearing "karatchee/free" oval h.s., 1843 Nagpore to London redirected to Crookham (Hampshire) with 1d. red cancelled numeral "2" in maltese cross, 1858 Allahabad Cantonment to London Indian Mutiny cover franked 10a. routed via Calcutta (Bombay crossed out) and Marseilles with note in flap "Bombay steamer in - telegraph out of order", 1859 "per overland via marseilles" envelope franked 6a. to Cardiff, 1866 Meeanmeer to Cardiff cover franked 6a8p., 1879 Second Anglo-Afghan War 8p. soldier's letter with contents describing the 10th Royal Hussars drowning incident in the Kabul River near Jalalabad leaving 47 men dead, 1880 ¼a stationary card uprated 2a. to London to philatelist F.A. Philbrick noting "The Rajpeepla stamps are already obsolete" and "All the old square Bhopal have been destroyed", 1894 9p. soldier's letter of the 3rd Battation Rifle Brigade Peshawar, various North West Frontier F.P.O.s, including F.P.O. 6 squared circle on 1897 cover to Surrey with R.P.S. cert (1983) and F.P.O. 33 on cover to Bombay with R.P.S. cert (1983). Mixed condition.
Its recorded auction history runs through Spink 25118 - The Philatelic Collector's Series Sale - e-Auction lot 4507.
1 image of COV-1922 is recorded; the Simla HG 8 mark itself is recorded in use 1852.
Questions about COV-1922
- What is COV-1922?
- COV-1922 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Simla, Punjab of 1853, bearing the Simla HG 8 handstamp in red. Pre-stamp to 1860s postal history selection of covers and cards (21), including undated Sit Charles Napier cover front to Sukkur (rebacked) bearing "karatchee/free" oval h.s., 1843 Nagpore to London redirected to Crookham (Hampshire) with 1d. red cancelled numeral "2" in maltese cross, 1858 Allahabad Cantonment to London Indian Mutiny cover franked 10a. routed via Calcutta (Bombay crossed out) and Marseilles with note in flap "Bombay steamer in - telegraph out of order", 1859 "per overland via marseilles" envelope franked 6a. to Cardiff, 1866 Meeanmeer to Cardiff cover franked 6a8p., 1879 Second Anglo-Afghan War 8p. soldier's letter with contents describing the 10th Royal Hussars drowning incident in the Kabul River near Jalalabad leaving 47 men dead, 1880 ¼a stationary card uprated 2a. to London to philatelist F.A. Philbrick noting "The Rajpeepla stamps are already obsolete" and "All the old square Bhopal have been destroyed", 1894 9p. soldier's letter of the 3rd Battation Rifle Brigade Peshawar, various North West Frontier F.P.O.s, including F.P.O. 6 squared circle on 1897 cover to Surrey with R.P.S. cert (1983) and F.P.O. 33 on cover to Bombay with R.P.S. cert (1983). Mixed condition.
- How scarce is the Simla HG 8 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Simla HG 8 as common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1852.
- What is the provenance of COV-1922?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Spink 25118 - The Philatelic Collector's Series Sale - e-Auction lot 4507.
- When was COV-1922 posted?
- COV-1922 is dated 1853, within the recorded period of use of Simla HG 8 (1852).
About this record
This 1853 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Simla HG 8 handstamp of the Punjab, a mark graded “Common” in this census — one of 9 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Spink, 25118 - The Philatelic Collector's Series Sale - e-Auction, lot 4507.

