Pre-stamp Postal Covers from Odisha Fetch Record Prices at US Auction

These rare covers belong to the period before the invention of postage stamps, when postal charges had to be prepaid by the sender. They are among the earliest known postal covers from Odisha and bear the city names “Poorie” and “Sumbulpore,” spellings that were in use during the East India Company’s rule over the region.

The official folded letter addressed to P. DaCosta and posted from Puri on May 2, 1838, bears the oval hand stamp marking “POOREE/FREE.” The cover was sold for $950, nearly Rs 1.20 lakh, at the US auction.

The Sambalpur cover, posted on September 3, 1850, was addressed to Androssan, Scotland. Bearing the framed hand stamp “SUMBULPORE/PAID,” the cover travelled via Calcutta, Marseilles and London before reaching the addressee on October 21. It was sold for $800, nearly Rs 1 lakh, to an unknown bidder.

According to Anil Dhir, Vice-President of the Eastern India Philatelic Association and a Fellow of the Philatelic Congress of India, pre-stamp covers from Odisha are scarce and highly valuable, often featuring early hand stamps or manuscript markings from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

He said Odisha’s early postal history was largely governed under the Bengal Presidency, with crucial mail routes and early hand-struck stamps connecting Cuttack, Puri and Balasore to Calcutta. Early postal routes were established by the East India Company to link the administrative centres of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

Dhir, who is also the convener of INTACH Bhubaneswar Chapter, said many heritage post offices and Dak Bungalows in the State have either been demolished or heavily renovated over the years. “These are important vestiges of the colonial era and should be properly preserved because of the rich history associated with them,” he said.