The Development of the Letterbox
In the pre-post box era, there were two main means of delivering a letter; senders would be necessitated to create their mail to your Receiving House, or would await the Bellman. The latter would patrol the streets, collecting post from the community. In order to distinguish himself, and also to make his presence known, the Bellman has on a uniform and sounds familiar.
It what food was in 1852 the suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, using a trial proposed to the Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were attached to Jersey to try out the modern system.
The success with the experiment triggered an additional four being set up on Guernsey, info now forms part in the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing for the mainland since 1853.
However, there was clearly confirmed no universal pillar box design in which we have been currently familiar. Design and manufacture was in the discretion of local authorities, plus it what food was in 1859 that attempts were designed to standardise the structures.
Horizontal slits had become the favoured option over vertical ones, and became the norm in letterbox design. Further improvements upon the main included the addition letterboxes for apartments with the protruding cap to shield the contents from your elements.
As of 1859, the box ended up being to be available by 50 percent sizes; a more substantial 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 contrary to 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, it was not really a huge success therefore, an additional design came in 1879. This final design may be the one with which were used to today. It was 24 months ahead of this that the iconic red colour in the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before now, the most preferred colour option was green to be able to blend in with the green British pastures. However, after a barrage of complaints how the structures were to hard to locate because of their camouflage, it had been agreed that bright red was your best option. The programme of re-painting lasted for 10 years.
For people at large, the introduction and refinement of letter boxes enhanced the ability for sending and receiving mail effortlessly. With the exception of oversized parcel delivery, individuals were afforded access to a delivery service nothing you've seen prior witnessed in Great Britain.