Many postal historians cannot resist the charms of ‘Overland Mails’.1 The words evoke imagery of those early days when pioneering individuals and companies carried letters across virgin untamed lands battling and overcoming problems of all sorts.
The overland mail route with respect to India’s communications with Great Britain and beyond2 was the short-cut across the middle east which connected the East and the West and thus avoided the long transit times associated with the ‘all-sea’ route around the Cape of Good Hope.
By the 1850s, almost mails between East and West were being carried through Egypt. By the 1860s, the phrase ‘overland mail’ was itself becoming obsolete.3 It is, therefore, surprising that the double circular ‘G.P.O / MADRAS / OVERLAND MAIL’ handstamp made its appearance in 1867 and stuck around until the early 1880s.
The origin of this handstamp is shrouded in some mystery. In this article, I will review existing literature and present my own thoughts on its genesis. Later, I will also show the different usages of this handstamp (feel free to jump ahead if that interests you more).
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