The First Stamps of India were issued in October 1854 in four denominations – Half, One, Two and Four Annas. Warren Hastings, the then Governor General of the East India Company, initiated systematic and effective postal reforms in India in 1774. The success of the Scinde District Dawk stamps in 1852 paved the way for the Imperial Post Offices Act XVII, which came into effect on 1st October 1854. This act replaced the existing franking system with the first postage stamps for prepaid postal services in India and throughout the British colonies in Asia.

This display offers a comprehensive study of the first British India stamp issues, highlighting the earliest attempts at postage prepayment, such as the “Patna Copper Tickets (1774),” “Scinde District Dawks (1852),” “Early Trials & Unadopted Designs,” and the 1854 lithographic and typographic issues in four denominations (½, 1, 2, and 4 annas).