The Development of the Letterbox
In the pre-post box era, there were two main means of delivering a letter; senders could be necessitated to get their mail to some Receiving House, or would await the Bellman. The latter would patrol the streets, collecting post through the community. In order to distinguish himself, and to make his presence known, the Bellman has on a uniform and ring a bell.
It is at 1852 that this suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, with a trial proposed for that Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were set up on Jersey to test out the brand new system.
The success in the experiment led to one more four being attached to Guernsey, info now forms part of the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing around the mainland at the time of 1853.
However, there were as yet no universal pillar box design that we have been currently familiar. Design and manufacture was with the discretion of local authorities, and yes it was in 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 main included the addition in the protruding cap to shield the contents from the elements.
As of 1859, this area ended up being to be accessible by 50 percent sizes; a more substantial and wider size for highly populated areas, plus a smaller version for elsewhere. However, the standardised pillar boxes failed to receive universal acclaim. It was up against the backdrop of which check here criticism that this Liverpool Special was formulated.
This prompted the Post Office (opened in 1861) to generate another standard letter box in 1866. Again, this is not just a huge success therefore, another design started in 1879. This final design may be the one with which we are accustomed to today. It was 2 years before this how the iconic red colour with the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before this time around, the most well-liked colour option was green to be able to blend in with the green British pastures. However, from a barrage of complaints how the structures were to tough to locate because of their camouflage, it was agreed that bright red was the most suitable choice. The programme of re-painting lasted for ten years.
For the population most importantly, the introduction and refinement of letter boxes enhanced the capability for sending and receiving mail with ease. With the exception of oversized parcel delivery, everyone was afforded access to some delivery service no time before witnessed in Great Britain.