British Ladakh Markings
This page abstracts from the combined chronology just those entries that pertain to the British operations at Leh; no information has been changed. Britain’s first offices were at Srinagar in Kashmir from spring 1867 and at Leh in Ladakh from autumn 1876. The first Leh marking was a circular datestamp that could be used with a separable 3/L-3 obliterator:
° First LEH datestamp. This marking is attested for more than seven years between October 1876 and March 1884, and is thus found with watercolors, oilcolors, and both Jammu- and Srinagar-printed New Rectangulars. The possibility has arisen that there are two different cuttings for this early type, where, most notably, a dot may or may not appear after the end of the name together with other differences in the lettering. (With thanks to Phil Lunn for the alert.) Despite its longevity, this marking is scarce and must be assiduously distinguished from the more commonly-seen version that immediately superseded it in March 1884. The scan is a detail from a March 1882 cover in the Bard collection.
° The 3/L-3 obliterator. This marking appeared with the first Leh cds in spring 1876 and both are occasionally seen on the same cover, at least up to late summer 1882 when the obliterator was abandoned. The scan on the left is a detail from a cover ex Mix and the other is the schematic drawing taken from Séfi & Mortimer. To go by Renouf’s description of these implements, the 3 at the top, assuming it refers to Leh, means that Leh was a non-disbursing office subordinate to Sialkot, which is designated by the 3 in the lower line. The L stands for Lahore, the head office for the Punjab Circle.
While Séfi & Mortimer report this Leh square-bar from as early as 1880 in registration usage, A.S. Bard puts the first attestation with the Leh/Gilgit cover mentioned just above (not a registered). It is known for a couple of years more, to spring 1884. It was “much used” on the famous Leh bisects of April and May 1883.
° Second LEH datestamp. This type, which appeared in March 1884 and lasted beyond the closing of the Native posts, is distinguished from the earlier version by the slightly smaller lettering situated slightly higher in the circle, and usually by the presence of the year. The early type never has year dates, while the later type often does, as in the scan. The year is missing for 1886, 1888, and sometimes in 1885; the example of the type given on Staal p. 138 does show an 1885 dating.
° The LEH Registration cachet. This R-class is known from August 1885 to 1900. The merchant notation in the corner of the image is for Poh 1943 ~ December 1886.