The Development with the Letterbox
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The Development of the Letterbox
In the pre-post box era, there was two main methods for delivering instructions; senders could be necessitated to create their mail with a Receiving House, or would await the Bellman. The latter would patrol the streets, collecting post from your community. In order to distinguish himself, also to make his presence known, the Bellman dons a uniform and sounds familiar.
It is at 1852 the suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, having a trial proposed for that Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were placed on Jersey to test out the brand new system.
The success of the experiment led to an additional four being installed 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 to date no universal pillar box design that we're currently familiar. Design and manufacture was in the discretion of local authorities, and it was in 1859 that attempts were created to standardise the get more info structures.
Horizontal slits took over as the favoured option over vertical ones, and took over as the norm in letterbox design. Further improvements upon the first included the addition with the protruding cap to shield the contents in the elements.
As of 1859, this area was to be available by 50 % sizes; a more substantial 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 from the backdrop of such criticism that the Liverpool Special was formulated.
This prompted the Post Office (opened in 1861) to generate another standard letter box in 1866. Again, this became not just a huge success and thus, a further design were only available in 1879. This final design could be the one that we're accustomed to today. It was two years ahead of this the iconic red colour of the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before on this occasion, preferred colour option was green so that you can blend in using the green British pastures. However, after a barrage of complaints how the structures were to tough to locate due to their camouflage, it turned out agreed that bright red was the best choice. The programme of re-painting lasted for about 10 years.
For people in particular, the introduction and refinement of letter boxes enhanced the capacity for sending and receiving mail without difficulty. With the exception of oversized parcel delivery, everyone was afforded access to a delivery service no time before witnessed in Great Britain.