The Development in the Letterbox

The Development in the Letterbox

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The Development of the Letterbox
In the pre-post box era, there are two main means of delivering correspondence; senders can be necessitated to get 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, also to make his presence known, the Bellman would wear a uniform and ring a bell.
It was in 1852 that this suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, with a trial proposed for your Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were installed on Jersey to test out the brand new system.
The success of the experiment resulted in yet another four being attached to Guernsey, info now forms part with the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing for the mainland since 1853.
However, there were as yet no universal pillar box design in which we are currently familiar. Design and manufacture was at the discretion of local authorities, and it was at 1859 that attempts were created to standardise the structures.
Horizontal slits became the favoured option over vertical ones, and had become the norm in letterbox design. Further improvements upon the first included the addition from the protruding cap to shield the contents through the elements.
As of 1859, the lamp would have been to be around in 2 sizes; a larger 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 for these 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 was letterboxes for apartments not just a huge success and so, a further design arrived 1879. This final design will be the one in which we are acquainted with today. It was 2 years prior to this the iconic red colour with the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before on this occasion, the most well-liked colour option was green as a way to blend in with the green British pastures. However, following a barrage of complaints the structures were to tough to locate because of their camouflage, it had been agreed that bright red was the best choice. The programme of re-painting lasted for a decade.
For the populace at large, the introduction and refinement of letter boxes enhanced the ability for sending and receiving mail easily. With the exception of oversized parcel delivery, everyone was afforded access to your delivery service nothing you've seen prior witnessed in Great Britain.