THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LETTERBOX

The Development of the Letterbox

The Development of the Letterbox

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The Development of the Letterbox
In the pre-post box era, there have been two main strategies to delivering a letter; senders could be necessitated to take their mail with a Receiving House, or would await the Bellman. The latter would patrol the streets, collecting post from the community. In order to distinguish himself, and to make his presence known, the Bellman has on a uniform and sounds familiar.
It is at 1852 how the suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, which has a trial proposed to the Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were placed on Jersey to understand the newest system.
The success from the experiment resulted in a different four being placed on Guernsey, info now forms part from the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing on the mainland by 1853.
However, there were up to now no universal pillar box design that we are currently familiar. Design and manufacture was with the discretion of local authorities, plus it is at 1859 that attempts were made to standardise the structures.
Horizontal slits had become the 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 through the elements.
As of 1859, the box ended up being to be available in 2 sizes; a greater and wider size for highly populated areas, as well as a smaller version for elsewhere. However, the standardised pillar boxes didn't receive universal acclaim. It was up against the backdrop of these criticism that this Liverpool Special was formulated.
This prompted the Post Office (opened security letterboxes in 1861) to create another standard letter box in 1866. Again, this was not really a huge success so, an additional design came in 1879. This final design could be the one with which were acquainted with today. It was 24 months before this that the iconic red colour with the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before this time, the most well-liked colour option was green in order to blend in while using green British pastures. However, from a barrage of complaints that the structures were to tough to locate because of the camouflage, it turned out agreed that bright red was the best option. The programme of re-painting lasted for about 10 years.
For the population most importantly, 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 with a delivery service nothing you've seen prior witnessed in Great Britain.

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