Indore: the Holkar State Post and Its Portrait Stamps, 1873–1950

The state behind the stamp

Indore, the state of the Holkar Maratha Maharajas, was made up of scattered territories across Malwa and the Narmada and Satpura country, with its capital at Indore. Those detached pieces, separated by other states, made exchange with neighbouring posts essential, and the State’s own post, organised in 1873, issued stamps from 1886 until it joined the Imperial post on 1 March 1908. Holkar SERVICE stamps carried on for official mail within the State, and new portrait stamps appeared until 1947.^[2][21][20]

The rulers

A ruler’s reign and the dates a stamp was issued or valid are different kinds of evidence.^[15][6]

Reign	Ruler	Note
1844–1886	Tukoji Rao II	The first portrait stamp was issued at the end of his reign
1886–January 1903	Shivaji Rao	His portrait appears on the family of 1889; abdicated in January 1903
1903–1926	Tukoji Rao III	Succeeded as a minor; Council of Regency until full powers in 1911
1926–1948	Yeshwant Rao II Holkar	Succeeded 26 February 1926; full powers 9 May 1930; ruler when Indore entered Madhya Bharat in 1948

Chronology

Date	Event
2 March 1831	A Bhopal prepaid letter addressed to Indore
1851	Indore described as the sorting office between the North-West Provinces and Bombay
1873	Regular Holkar postal department organised under Sir T. Madhava Rao
1875–76	Return for Fusli 1285: 24 offices and the Bramnee Dak
27 January 1878	Exchange agreement with the Imperial post signed (ratified 22 April)
6 January 1886	First stamp, half anna Tukoji Rao II, by a translated Durbar circular (Luard: 1885)
1889–1892	Shivaji Rao stamps, recess-printed by Waterlow
1893	First portrait postcards and envelopes
1901–02	80 State offices; a Postal Guide on sale
1903–1904	Perkins Bacon stamps for Tukoji Rao III: HOLKAR, then INDORE
1 February 1905	SERVICE overprints (Harkawat); reported used on 31 January
1 September 1907	Resident reports the decision to seek postal unification
1 March 1908	Postal unity with the Imperial post
April–August 1908	Unused SERVICE stock offered for sale
21 October 1926	Portrait die for Yeshwant Rao II engraved by A. J. Downey
1928	Yeshwant Rao II engraved stamps, with values added to 1936
1 August 1940	Three diagonal surcharges available at the Treasury
16 December 1940	Reported earliest use of a Times of India half anna
1941–1947	Typographed Yeshwant Rao II stamps from Bombay
1948	Indore enters Madhya Bharat

A closer look at the stamps

The stamps

The issues and their values, from the research checklist. Official stamps, and the shades, papers, settings and varieties of each issue, are not listed. The collector’s checklist for Indore is a separate page in this section.

Period	Issue	Values
1886	Tukoji Rao II portrait	½ anna
1889	Circular provisional; black on red	½ anna
1889–1892	Shivaji Rao portrait	¼ anna, ½ anna, 1 anna, 2 annas
1904	Tukoji Rao III; HOLKAR / INDORE	¼ anna, ½ anna, 1 anna, 2 annas, 3 annas, 4 annas
1905	Quarter anna on half anna (postage surcharge)	¼ anna

Sources

• [2] Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th edition (1911), “Indore”.
• [6] Indian Round Table Conference, Second Session, 1931, Biographical Notes, “Indore”, printed p.31, University of Nottingham public digitisation.
• [15] C. U. Aitchison, A Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Sanads, Central India Agency, Indore. Indore narrative on succession, 1908 unification, full powers in 1911 and 1923 allowance; 1844 succession sanad.
• [16] Government of India, White Paper on Indian States, Appendix XXXVII, Madhya Bharat covenant.
• [20] L. C. Dhariwal, compiler, The Indore State Gazetteer (Revised and Enlarged), vol. III, Appendices & Statistical Tables, compiled under the authority of the Government of His Highness the Maharaja Holkar (Indore: Superintendent, Holkar Government Press, 1931), Appendix G, pp. 36–38.
• [21] Captain C. E. Luard, assisted by Major Ram Prasad Dube, Indore State Gazetteer, vol. II, Text and Tables, Central India State Gazetteer Series (Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing, India, 1908), pp. 132–133.