The Development on the Letterbox
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The Development of the Letterbox
In the pre-post box era, there have been two main means of delivering a letter; senders can be necessitated to create their mail to your Receiving House, or would await the Bellman. The latter would patrol the streets, collecting post through the community. In order to distinguish himself, also to make his presence known, the Bellman has on a uniform and sound familiar.
It what food 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 understand the new system.
The success from the experiment led to one more four being attached to Guernsey, one of these now forms part with the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing on the mainland as of 1853.
However, there was to date no universal pillar box design with which we're currently familiar. Design and manufacture was on the discretion of local authorities, and yes it was in 1859 that attempts were created to standardise the structures.
Horizontal slits had become the favoured option over vertical ones, and had become the 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 available in 2 sizes; a bigger and wider size for highly populated areas, plus a smaller version for elsewhere. However, the standardised pillar boxes didn't receive universal acclaim. It was up against the backdrop of which criticism that the Liverpool Special was formulated.
This prompted the Post Office (opened in 1861) to create another standard letter box in 1866. Again, this is not just a huge success therefore, an additional design arrived 1879. This final design is the one that we're familiar with today. It was 24 months before this that this iconic red colour in the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before this time around, the preferred colour option was green as a way to blend in while using green British pastures. However, after having a barrage of complaints that the structures were to challenging to locate because of website the camouflage, it was agreed that bright red was the best option. The programme of re-painting lasted for about a decade.
For people at large, the introduction and refinement of letter boxes enhanced the capability for sending and receiving mail easily. With the exception of oversized parcel delivery, individuals were afforded access to a delivery service no time before witnessed in Great Britain.