The Development of the Letterbox
In the pre-post box era, there are two main methods for delivering correspondence; senders would be necessitated to create their mail to your Receiving House, or would await the Bellman. The latter would patrol the streets, collecting post from the community. In order to distinguish himself, also to make his presence known, the Bellman would wear a uniform and sound familiar.
It what food was in 1852 how the suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, having a trial proposed for the Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were installed on Jersey to understand the newest system.
The success of the experiment led to yet another four being placed on Guernsey, info now forms part with the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing on the mainland since 1853.
However, there was clearly as yet no universal pillar box design that were currently familiar. Design and manufacture was at the discretion of local authorities, also it what food was in 1859 that attempts were made to standardise the structures.
Horizontal slits had become the favoured option over vertical ones, and took over as the norm in letterbox design. Further improvements upon the original included the addition with the protruding cap to shield the contents from your elements.
As of 1859, the therapy lamp would have been to be around in 2 sizes; a bigger and wider size for highly populated areas, and a smaller version for elsewhere. However, the standardised pillar boxes would not receive universal acclaim. It was up against the backdrop for these criticism the Liverpool Special was formulated.
This prompted the Post Office (opened in 1861) to create another standard letter box in 1866. Again, this was not only a huge success therefore, an additional design arrived 1879. This final design is the one in which we have been familiar with today. It website was 2 years before this how the iconic red colour with the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before this time around, the preferred colour option was green as a way to blend in with all the green British pastures. However, following a barrage of complaints that the structures were to challenging to locate because of the camouflage, it was agreed that bright red was the best option. The programme of re-painting lasted for as much as ten years.
For the population most importantly, the introduction and refinement of letter boxes enhanced the capability for sending and receiving mail with ease. With the exception of oversized parcel delivery, individuals were afforded access with a delivery service never before witnessed in Great Britain.