Express Delivery Covers cont'd
An additional image and information was added to this page on March 16, 2001. Your comments and corrections would be appreciated.
If you have varieites not illustrated please contact me.
- MADHYA PRADESH: Black machine printed 25p surcharge and four line obliteration on 28p (Type B)envelope. Issued January 14, 1975.
- MADHYA PRADESH: Black machine printed 25p surcharge and five line obliteration on 28p (Type B) envelope. Issued September 15, 1975.
- MADHYA PRADESH: Black machine printed 35p on 40p small envelope. Sold at the Bhopal Post Office and it's branches. Issued at Bhopal only on August 10, 1981. It is stated that 17,666 envelopes were overprinted and surcharged.
- MAHARASHTRA: Blue machine printed 25p surcharge and obliteration on 28p (Type B) envelope. The obliteration bars are thinner and the "twenty five paise" is slightly larger in height and length than the envelope illustrated below this one and the "25 is slightly taller. Additionally, the "F" of "Five" is above the right side of the "25" below it. All varieties of this overprint and surcharge are in shades of blue. Some are so dark they almost appear black. The various varieties were issued from December, 1975 to May, 1976.
- MAHARASHTRA: Dark blue machine printed 25p surcharge and obliteration on 28p (Type B) envelope. All of the bars are thicker and the "twenty five paise" is shorter in length. The "F" in "Five" above it is almost over the center of the "2". Additionally, the "25" is slightly shorter in height than the one on the envelope illustrated above. All varieties of this overprint are in shades of blue and were issued between December, 1975 and May, 1976.
- MAHARASHTRA: Dark blue machine printed 25p surcharge and obliteration on 40p large envelope. The bars appear very even and clean in appearance. Note that the overprint is squarely place on the envelope, but due to folding errors, it looks like it is misplaced. All varieties of this overprint are in shades of blue and were issued between December, 1975 and May, 1976.
- MAHARASHTRA: Black handstamped 35p surcharge and obliteration on 40p large envelope. Earliest known use of December 1980.
Type 1 surcharge
- RAJASTHAN: Black printed 25p surcharge and obliteration on 28p (Type B) envelope. Obliteration is composed of three rows of nine decorative floral units and the "v" in "Five" is directly above the "2". Issued in March, 1979.
Type 2 surcharge
- RAJASTHAN: Black printed obliteration and 25p on 28p (Type B) envelope. Note that the obliteration consists of three rows of ten floral units and that the placement of the "25" is closer to the "Five" and is shifted more to the left, than the envelope illustrated above. Issued in March, 1979.
Type 3 surcharge
- RAJASTHAN: Black printed obliteration and 25p surcharge on 28p (Type A) envelope. Note that there are three rows of ten of the floral units and the "25" is different from that of the envelopes illustrated above. Issued in March, 1979.
Type 4 surcharge
- RAJASTHAN: Black printed obliteration and 25p surcharge on 28p (Type B) envelope. Note that the obliteration consists of three rows of ten of the floral units and the "25" is different from those above. Issued in March, 1979.
Type 5 surcharge
- RAJASTHAN: Black printed obliteration and 25p surcharge on 28p (Type B) envelope. Note that the obliteration consists of three rows of ten of the floral units and the "25" is larger than that above. Also, the "5" is raised a little higher than the "2". Issued in March, 1979.
- RAJASTHAN: Black machine printed 30p surcharge and obliteration on 40p small envelope.
- TAMILNADU: Black printed 25p surcharge and obliteration on 40 small envelope. Issued March 17, 1976.
- TAMILNADU: Black machine printed 25p surcharge and obliteration on 40p. large envelope. Issued March 17, 1976
- TAMILNADU: Black machine printed 25p surcharge and obliteration on 40 p. large envelope. The spacing of the lines in the obliteration are further apart than on the one above it. Issued March 17, 1976.
- TAMILNADU: Black machine printed 35p surcharge and obliteration on 40 p. large envelope. Issued October 20, 1980.
- UTTAR PRADESH: Black machine printed 25p surcharge and obliteration on 28p (Type A) envelope. Note that the surcharge is not placed over the embossed stamp image, but above the obliteration. While the normal printing exists, this has the variety with the flawed "l", making it look like an "i" in
Envelope". Issued September-October, 1975.
- UTTAR PRADESH: Black printed obliteration and 25p surcharge on 28p (Type A) envelope. Note that the "X" is smaller, as is all the black writing above it. In this instance "Embossed" is mispelled, as is "Envelope." Also, "Paisa" is spelled out in full. Issued in October 1975.
The following three envelopes (All are Type A) are most likely Uttar Pradesh as they are very similar to the two illustrated above. All of the "X"s are different.
- UTTAR PRADESH: Writing above the X is missing the "2" of 25 and the "P" is only partially printed (Type A). The "2" is most likely there but was not inked.
- Various sizes and types of "X"'s.
- WEST BENGAL: Blue machine printed 35p surcharge and obliteration on 40p large envelope. Issued March, 1981.
- WEST BENGAL: As above, but this variety has a large "S" in "Paise".
- UNKNOWN: Blue handstamp obliteration on 40p large envelope.
In July, 1979 the Director General, Posts & Telegraphs issued instructions to dispose of all the Express Delivery envelopes by selling them at their face value. "EXPRESS DELIVERY" was to be scored out. The envelopes were to be used as "Registered" envelopes after the necessary additional postage was added.
The overprints were authorized by the various Postmasters and all were done by hand stamping. No machine obliterations are known. Unfortunately, many of these handstamped varities have not been identified as to their point of origin.