The Feudatory State of Alwar

Alwar was a Rajput Princely State in northwest India, that shared its borders with Jaipur and Delhi. The kingdom was established in 1771 when Pratap Singh, a chieftain, captured the city of Ulwar and declared independence. Throughout its history, the princely states remained allied to the British, being the first Indian state to formally ally with the East India Company. The kings of Alwar aided the against the Scindhia and later helped suppress the revolt of 1857.  

Despite its alliance with the British, the state of Alwar had an often turbulent relationship with their Imperial masters. There were assassinations, suicides and deportations of kings who failed to fall in line and the state was put under British governorship for extended periods owing to bankruptcy and the general inability of the rulers to manage affairs. On 18th March 1948, the state of Alwar, along with three other princely states of Rajputana, merged into the Union of India. In 1949, its territories became a part of the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan. 

Stamps of Alwar

Maharaja Mangal Singh Prabhakar, who ruled Alwar from 1874-1892, issued the state’s first stamps in 1877.

In its postal history, Alwar produced a total of 6 different stamps, all based on the same design, in four different colour-coded denominations. The various types were: steel blue (¼ anna), brown (1 anna), slate blue (¼ anna), and emerald green (¼ anna). The stamps were lithographed in sheets of 70, on gummed wove paper, rouletted and with sheet watermarks “A.C.&F.” and “SUPERFINE”. The stamps were rectangular, with the image of an Indian dagger within an oval border in the centre, over which “RAJ ALWAR” and denominations were inscribed in Devanagari, ending with the number 31 probably indicating the samvat. The area between the outer rectangular border and the oval was filled with floral patterns. Minor variations and errors exist.

The first two stamps, the ¼ anna steel blue and 1 A brown, issued in 1877, were in use for 22 years. In 1901, two additional ¼ anna stamps were issued, with narrower margins and a slight colour variation. All Alwar stamps were issued with gum except the rare ¼ anna green where all the known variations were without gum. 

The last print run of the Alwar stamps was in 1901. They went obsolete in 1902 when the British India postal service took over the state’s postage.