The Development of the Letterbox

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The Development of the Letterbox
In the pre-post box era, there are two main methods for delivering a letter; senders will be necessitated to bring 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 might wear a uniform and ring a bell.
It is at 1852 the suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, using a trial proposed for your Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were set up on Jersey to try out the modern system.
The success of the experiment triggered an additional four being placed on Guernsey, info now forms part in the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing for the mainland as of 1853.
However, there was as yet no universal pillar box design in which we have been currently familiar. Design and manufacture was on the discretion of local authorities, and it was 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 initial get more info included the addition with the protruding cap to shield the contents from the elements.
As of 1859, this area ended up being be accessible by 50 percent sizes; a larger and wider size for highly populated areas, along with a smaller version for elsewhere. However, the standardised pillar boxes failed to receive universal acclaim. It was against the backdrop of these criticism how the Liverpool Special was formulated.
This prompted the Post Office (opened in 1861) to generate another standard letter box in 1866. Again, it was not just a huge success and so, another design came in 1879. This final design may be the one in which we are used to today. It was two years just before this how the iconic red colour in the post boxes became a standard feature.
Before on this occasion, the most well-liked colour option was green so that you can blend in using the green British pastures. However, following a barrage of complaints the structures were to tough to locate due to their camouflage, it was agreed that bright red was the best option. The programme of re-painting lasted for 10 years.
For the population in particular, the introduction and refinement of letter boxes enhanced the ability for sending and receiving mail without difficulty. With the exception of oversized parcel delivery, people were afforded access to a delivery service nothing you've seen prior witnessed in Great Britain.