Rare pre-stamp postal covers from Odisha fetch record prices at US auction

Bhubaneswar: Two rare pre-stamp era postal covers originating from Odisha have fetched record prices at a recent auction conducted by the Siegel Auction Galleries in the United States, drawing attention to the rich yet lesser-known postal heritage of the state.

The covers were part of the prestigious “Magnolia Collection of Indian Postal Stationery” and belong to a period before the invention of adhesive postage stamps, when postal charges were prepaid by the sender through handwritten or hand-stamped markings.

One of the rare covers, an official folded letter posted from Puri on May 2, 1838, was addressed to P. DaCosta and bore the oval hand-stamped marking “POOREE/FREE”. The cover was sold for 950 US dollars, approximately Rs 1.20 lakh.

Another historic cover, posted from Sambalpur on September 3, 1850, and addressed to Androssan in Scotland, fetched 800 US dollars, nearly Rs 1 lakh. The letter carried the framed hand stamp “SUMBULPORE/Paid” and reportedly travelled through Calcutta, Marseilles and London before reaching its destination on October 21, 1850.

The auction has generated renewed interest among philatelists and historians as the covers are considered among the earliest surviving postal records linked to Odisha during the East India Company period. The spellings “Poorie” and “Sumbulpore” reflect the colonial-era nomenclature used by British administrators at the time.

According to Anil Dhir, Vice-President of the Eastern India Philatelic Association and Fellow of the Philatelic Congress of India, pre-stamp covers from Odisha are extremely scarce and hold significant historical and philatelic value.

He said Odisha’s early postal network functioned under the Bengal Presidency, with important communication routes linking Cuttack, Puri and Balasore to Calcutta during the East India Company administration. These routes played a crucial role in connecting administrative centres across Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.

Dhir, who also serves as Convener of the INTACH Bhubaneswar Chapter, expressed concern over the gradual disappearance of several heritage post offices and Dak Bungalows across the state.

He noted that many such colonial-era structures have either been demolished or heavily renovated over the years, leading to the loss of important architectural and historical evidence associated with Odisha’s postal history.

“These heritage buildings are valuable remnants of the colonial period and deserve proper preservation considering the rich historical legacy attached to them,” he said.