.Bhubaneswar: Two pre-stamp era postal covers posted from Odisha have fetched record prices in an recent auction held by the Siegel Auction Gallery of USA recently. The covers were part of the Magnolia Collection of Indian Postal Stationery. These rare covers are from the time when the postage stamp had not been invented and the postal amount had to be prepaid by the sender. These are among the earliest covers from Odisha and have the names of the cities mentioned as “Poorie” and “Sumbulpore”, which were prevalent during the times of the East India Company rule over Odisha/The official folded letter addressed to P. DaCosta posted from Puri on 2nd May 1838 has the marking as “POOREE/FREE” with an oval hand stamp. The cover was sold for $950, nearly Rs 1.20 lacs at the Siegel Auction of USA. The Sambalpur cover was posted on 3rd September 1850 and addressed to Androssan, Scotland.
The cover, bearing the framed hand stamp “SUMBULPORE/Paid travelled vis Calcutta, Marseilles and London, reaching the addressee on 21st October . It was sold for $ 800, nearly Rs 1.00 lac to an unknown bidder. According to Anil Dhir, the Vice president of the Eastern India Philatelic Association who is also a Fellow of the Philatelic Congress of India, pre-stamp covers from Orissa are scarce and valuable, often featuring early hand stamps or manuscript markings from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. 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 connect the administrative centres of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.Anil Dhir, who is also the Convener of Intach’s Bhubaneswar Chapter said that there are many heritage post offices and Dak Bungalows in the State, many of which have been demolished or renovated. These are important vestiges of the colonial era and should be properly preserved for the rich history that is attributed to them.
