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A 1875 Envelope Addressed to Sylk's Hotel

Sylk's / Savoy Hotel, Ooty

The Story

The Savoy Hotel has been in existence since 1841. It was built by H. Royal Dawson and was then called Dawson’s Hotel. It was built around the cottage called Woodwille which is now the Garden Cottage at the hotel. In 1868, the name of the hotel was changed to Sylk’s Hotel, and thereafter to Savoy Hotel. (See an envelope addressed to the Sylk’s Hotel above) The hotel was renovated in 2018 and is now part of Taj Hotels (Indian Hotels Company Limited)


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A 1893 Envelope Addressed to The Bank of Bombay

    Bank of Bombay

    The Story

      The bank was established in 1840 and was based in Bombay. Though, a commercial bank, it undertook certain functions of Central Bank as the Reserve Bank of India was not established at that time. It was merged with the two other Presidency Banks, the Bank of Calcutta and the Bank of Madras and was renamed Imperial Bank of India in 1921. In 1955 the merged entity was renamed the State Bank of India. Bank.


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    Envelopes Addressed to the Bank of Bengal : Agra - 1895; Cawnpore - 1899; Hyderabad - 1905

      Bank Of Bengal

      The Story

      The Bank of Calcutta was founded in 1806 and was renamed Bank of Bengal in 1809.


      The bank was risk averse and limited lending to a period of three months, leading to launch of other banks, many of which failed. The Bank of Calcutta, and the two other Presidency banks i.e., the Bank of Bombay and the Bank of Madras amalgamated in 1921 to form the Imperial Bank of India. In 1955 the merged entity was renamed as the State Bank of India. 


      The sender of the 1905 envelope is National Bank of India. See postal history of National Bank of India here and read about the bank here.


      A 1945 letter from Bank of Bengal can be seen here.


      Back to Restructuring Trivia


      Source:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Calcutta

      A 1931 Envelope to Standard Bank of South Africa - Standard Bank merged with Chartered Bank in 1969 to form Standard Chartered Bank

      A 1933 Envelope to The African Oil Nut Company Ltd, England, from Calcutta, India

      The African Oil Nut Company

      The Story

      The African Oil Nuts Company Limited was Established in 1916 with a Head Office at Central House, Kingsway, London and branches in Lagos, Kano, Zaria, Badagry, Opobo, Eket, Egwanga, Aba, Udi and Port Harcourt. 


      It was purchased by Lever Bros Ltd, and subsequently vested in the Niger Company on September 24, 1960.


      These companies have now become Unilever Nigeria Plc.

      A 1937 Envelope from The Nederlandsch Indische Handelsbank

      The Story

      The Nederlandsch-Indische Handelsbank (NIHB, Dutch East Indies Trade Bank) was established in 1863 to finance trade between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies.


      In 1920 the bank opened branches in Bombay, Calcutta, Shanghai, and Kobe to aid in cotton trading with Japan.


      In 1959, its Indonesian activities were nationalized and eventually led to the formation of Bank Mandiri in 1998. In 1960, NIHB's remaining activities were acquired by the Rotterdamsche Bank. The bank in turn merged with Amsterdamsche Bank to create AMRO Bank. A few more mergers ensued which finally resulted in creation of the ABN AMRO Bank.


      Back to Restructuring Trivia


      Source:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nederlandsch-Indische_Handelsbank


      A 1941 Envelope to Standard Vacuum Oil

      Standard Vacuum Oil Company

      The Story

      The envelope above travelled from Portuguese India to British India.


      The Standard Vacuum Oil Company was established in 1931 as a joint venture between Standard Oil of New Jersey and Socony-Vacuum Oil, which was later known as Mobil. Socony stood for the Standard Oil Company of New York which was formed in 1882. Vacuum Oil was formed in 1866. In 1931, Socony had merged with Vacuum Oil to create Socony-Vacuum Oil.


      During the 1950s, disagreements arose between the partners, ultimately leading to their split in 1962. As a result, two companies were formed: Jersey Standard Southeast Asia and Mobil Oil Southeast Asia. Interestingly, in 1999, the two entities reunited, merging to form the now-famous ExxonMobil.


      In India, the company started its operations in 1910 as Standard Oil Company of New York and thereafter changed its name in 1931 to Socony-Vacuum Oil. In 1951, the company signed an agreement with Government of India to set up a refinery at Trombay. A new company Standard Vacuum Refining Company of India was incorporated. The company started manufacturing motor gasoline and expanded to LPG, JBO, asphalt, SBP spirit, hexane, naptha, petroleum ether and propane. 


      In 1954, Socony-Vacuum Oil built the iconic Petroleum House in Bombay and relocated its headquarters there, which was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister, Morarji Desai. The building was notable for its modern and environmentally friendly design, featuring open office spaces. In 1974, the company was nationalized and rebranded as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL).


      The sender of the letter is Vita Pack Corporation. Not much is known about Vita Pack Corporation, but the company played a significant role in the history of cashew nut exports from India. In the late 1920s, American businessmen from Vita Pack Corporation and General Food Corporation collaborated with Shri Narayan Zantye, a pioneer in the cashew processing industry in Goa. They provided technical and financial assistance to successfully export cashew kernels to the U.S. for the first time in 1928. This partnership marked the beginning of a thriving cashew export industry in Goa.

      A 1944 Envelope From Polson Model Dairy, Anand, Gujarat

      Copyright © 2026 Devendra Mehta - All Rights Reserved.

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