India 1845 Aug 4 SULTAPORE Bearing 8as HG 1 on mourning cover to Benares

1827 entire letter from Norwood, Great Britain to Calcutta, India, per forwarding agent Horatio Hardy, signed by him on reverse and dated “21 Nov 1827”, handstamped framed “Inld. Ptg.-5/Ship Do-2/(1) As.7” with red “CALCUTTA/G.P.O./27 MY 27/1858” arrival datestamp alongside. Horatio Hardy was the proprietor of Jerusalem and East India Coffee House and acted as a forwarding agent for transmitting mail to India. An important and rare piece of postal history.