The event of your Letterbox
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The Development of the Letterbox
In the pre-post box era, there was two main means of delivering a letter; senders could be necessitated to bring their mail to your Receiving House, or would await the Bellman. The latter would patrol the streets, collecting post from your community. In order to distinguish himself, and to make his presence known, the Bellman has on a uniform and ring a bell.
It was at 1852 that the suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, with a trial proposed to the Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were installed on Jersey to try out the newest system.
The success of the experiment triggered an additional four being installed on Guernsey, one of these now forms part in the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing around the mainland since 1853.
However, there was as yet no universal pillar box design with which we are currently familiar. Design and manufacture was in the discretion of local authorities, plus it is at 1859 that attempts were created 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 main included the addition of the protruding cap to shield the contents in the elements.
As of 1859, this area would have been to be for sale in two sizes; a greater and wider size for highly populated areas, along with a smaller version for elsewhere. However, the standardised pillar boxes would not receive universal acclaim. It was contrary to the backdrop of these criticism that the Liverpool Special was formulated.
This prompted the Post Office (opened in 1861) to make another standard letter box in 1866. Again, this was not just a huge success and so, an extra design came in 1879. This final design is the one in which we have been acquainted with today. It was 24 months prior to this that the iconic red colour of the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before this time around, the most preferred colour option was green so that you can blend in with the green British pastures. However, multi letter boxes Melbourne Australia after having a barrage of complaints the structures were to challenging to locate because of their camouflage, it was agreed that bright red was your best option. The programme of re-painting lasted for about a decade.
For people most importantly, the introduction and refinement of letter boxes enhanced the ability for sending and receiving mail easily. With the exception of oversized parcel delivery, everyone was afforded access to your delivery service no time before witnessed in Great Britain.