The Development of the Letterbox
In the pre-post box era, there have been two main methods for delivering instructions; senders can be necessitated to create their mail to some 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 has on a uniform and ring a bell.
It is at 1852 that the suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, which has a trial proposed for the Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were placed on Jersey to try out the new system.
The success of the experiment resulted in an additional four being installed on Guernsey, one ofthese now forms part from the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing on the mainland at the time of 1853.
However, there is to date no universal pillar box design with which we have been currently familiar. Design and manufacture was with the discretion of local authorities, also it what food was in 1859 that attempts were designed to standardise the structures.
Horizontal slits became 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 box would have been to be available by 50 % sizes; a larger and wider size for highly populated areas, along with a smaller version for elsewhere. However, the standardised pillar boxes did not receive universal acclaim. It was contrary to the backdrop of which criticism the Liverpool Special was formulated.
This prompted here the Post Office (opened in 1861) to generate another standard letter box in 1866. Again, this is not only a huge success and so, an extra design were only available in 1879. This final design is the one with which we are used to today. It was 2 years prior to this the iconic red colour of the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before this time, the preferred colour option was green as a way to blend in while using green British pastures. However, from a barrage of complaints that the structures were to tough to locate this can camouflage, it was agreed that bright red was the most suitable choice. The programme of re-painting lasted for as much as a decade.
For the populace at large, the introduction and refinement of letter boxes enhanced the ability for sending and receiving mail without difficulty. With the exception of oversized parcel delivery, individuals were afforded access with a delivery service nothing you've seen prior witnessed in Great Britain.