The Development of the Letterbox

In the pre-post box era, there was two main strategies to delivering a letter; senders could be necessitated to create their mail to a Receiving House, or would await the Bellman. The latter would patrol the streets, collecting post through the community. In order to distinguish himself, also to make his presence known, the Bellman might wear a uniform and sound familiar. It was in 1852 how the suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, using a trial proposed for that Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were installed on Jersey to try out the brand new system. The success of the experiment generated one more four being placed on Guernsey, one ofthese now forms part with the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing on the mainland at the time of 1853. However, there was clearly confirmed no universal pillar box design in which we have been currently familiar. Design and manufacture was at the discretion of local authorities, and yes it is at 1859 that attempts were built to standardise the structures. Horizontal slits had become the favoured option over vertical ones, and took over as norm in letterbox design. Further improvements upon the first included the addition with the protruding cap to shield the contents from your elements. As of 1859, this area would have been to be accessible in 2 sizes; a greater and wider size for highly populated areas, plus a smaller version for elsewhere. However, the standardised pillar boxes didn't receive universal acclaim. It was from the backdrop of these criticism how the Liverpool Special was formulated. This prompted the Post Office (opened in 1861) to produce another standard letter box in 1866. Again, this is not just a huge success and so, an additional design arrived 1879. This final design may be the one in which we are acquainted with today. It was two years before this how the iconic red colour from the post boxes became a standard feature. Before stainless steel letterbox , the most preferred colour option was green as a way to blend in while using green British pastures. However, from a barrage of complaints how the structures were to challenging to locate because of the camouflage, it had been agreed that bright red was the best option. The programme of re-painting lasted for decade. For people most importantly, 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 to your delivery service no time before witnessed in Great Britain.