The Development on the Letterbox
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The Development of the Letterbox
In the pre-post box era, there were two main methods for delivering a letter; senders can be necessitated to take their mail to some Receiving House, or would await the Bellman. The latter would patrol the streets, collecting post from the community. In order to distinguish himself, and make his presence known, the Bellman has on a uniform and ring a bell.
It was at 1852 the suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, which has a trial proposed for your Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were placed on Jersey to understand the newest system.
The success from the experiment led to yet another four being placed on Guernsey, info now forms part with the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing on the mainland since 1853.
However, there is confirmed no universal pillar box design that we are currently familiar. Design and manufacture was on the discretion of local authorities, also it what food was in 1859 that attempts were designed to standardise the structures.
Horizontal slits became the favoured option over vertical ones, and took over as norm in letterbox design. Further improvements upon the original included the addition in the protruding cap to shield the contents in the elements.
As of 1859, the lamp ended up being to be available in 2 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 from the backdrop for 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 is not a huge more info success therefore, an extra design arrived 1879. This final design could be the one with which we have been accustomed to today. It was 24 months before this that the iconic red colour with the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before on this occasion, the most preferred colour option was green as a way to blend in using the green British pastures. However, after having a barrage of complaints that the structures were to tough to locate this can camouflage, it was agreed that bright red was the best choice. The programme of re-painting lasted for as much as 10 years.
For the populace most importantly, the introduction and refinement of letter boxes enhanced the ability for sending and receiving mail with ease. With the exception of oversized parcel delivery, everyone was afforded access with a delivery service no time before witnessed in Great Britain.