The Development of the Letterbox
In the pre-post box era, there are two main strategies to delivering instructions; senders could be necessitated to create their mail with a Receiving House, or would await the Bellman. The latter would patrol the streets, collecting post in the community. In order to distinguish himself, also to make his presence known, the Bellman has on a uniform and ring a bell.
It was at 1852 how the suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, with a trial proposed for your Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were set up on Jersey to understand the modern system.
The success in the experiment generated a different four being attached to Guernsey, one of which now forms part from the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing on the mainland as of 1853.
However, there is as yet no universal pillar box design that we have been currently familiar. Design and manufacture was in the discretion of local authorities, plus it is at 1859 that attempts were designed to standardise the structures.
Horizontal slits took over as favoured option over vertical ones, and took over as norm in letterbox design. Further improvements upon the initial 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 for sale by 50 % sizes; a more substantial 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 from the backdrop of such 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 thus, an extra design were only available in 1879. This final design is the one check here in which we're familiar with today. It was 2 years before this how the iconic red colour of the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before on this occasion, preferred colour option was green to be able to blend in with the green British pastures. However, after having a barrage of complaints the structures were to hard to locate because of the camouflage, it was agreed that bright red was the most suitable choice. The programme of re-painting lasted for about decade.
For the populace most importantly, the introduction and refinement of letter boxes enhanced the capacity for sending and receiving mail easily. With the exception of oversized parcel delivery, individuals were afforded access to some delivery service nothing you've seen prior witnessed in Great Britain.