The Development of the Letterbox
In the pre-post box era, there were two main ways of delivering a letter; senders would be necessitated to bring their mail to a Receiving House, or would await the Bellman. The latter would patrol the streets, collecting post from the community. In order to distinguish himself, and to make his presence known, the Bellman would wear a uniform and ring a bell.
It was in 1852 that the suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, with a trial proposed for the Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were installed on Jersey to test out the new system.
The success of the experiment led to an additional four being installed on Guernsey, one of which now forms part of the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing on the mainland as of 1853.
However, there was as yet no universal pillar box design with which we are currently familiar. Design and manufacture was at the discretion of local authorities, and it was in 1859 that attempts were made to standardise the structures.
Horizontal slits became the favoured option over vertical ones, and became the norm in letterbox design. Further improvements upon the original included the addition of the protruding cap to shield the contents from the elements.
As of 1859, the box was to be available in two sizes; a larger and wider size for highly populated areas, and a smaller version for elsewhere. However, the standardised pillar boxes did not receive universal acclaim. It was against the backdrop of such criticism that the Liverpool Special was formulated.
This prompted the Post Office (opened in 1861) to produce another standard letter box in 1866. Again, this was not a huge success and so, a further design came in 1879. This final design is the one with which we are accustomed to today. It was 2 years prior to this that the iconic red colour of the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before this time, the preferred colour option was green in order to blend in with the green British pastures. However, after a barrage of complaints that the structures were to hard to locate due to their camouflage, it was agreed that bright red was the best option. The programme of re-painting lasted for approximately 10 years.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Harvey_McEwan
It was in 1852 that the suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, with a trial proposed for the Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were installed on Jersey to test out the new system.
The success of the experiment led to an additional four being installed on Guernsey, one of which now forms part of the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing on the mainland as of 1853.
However, there was as yet no universal pillar box design with which we are currently familiar. Design and manufacture was at the discretion of local authorities, and it was in 1859 that attempts were made to standardise the structures.
Horizontal slits became the favoured option over vertical ones, and became the norm in letterbox design. Further improvements upon the original included the addition of the protruding cap to shield the contents from the elements.
As of 1859, the box was to be available in two sizes; a larger and wider size for highly populated areas, and a smaller version for elsewhere. However, the standardised pillar boxes did not receive universal acclaim. It was against the backdrop of such criticism that the Liverpool Special was formulated.
This prompted the Post Office (opened in 1861) to produce another standard letter box in 1866. Again, this was not a huge success and so, a further design came in 1879. This final design is the one with which we are accustomed to today. It was 2 years prior to this that the iconic red colour of the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before this time, the preferred colour option was green in order to blend in with the green British pastures. However, after a barrage of complaints that the structures were to hard to locate due to their camouflage, it was agreed that bright red was the best option. The programme of re-painting lasted for approximately 10 years.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Harvey_McEwan
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