Show us letterboxes...

Howard_S wrote: Awful; is the letter slot closed too?

The colour scheme adopted for the jubilee was distinctly dull but it isn't helped by the tacky paint job. I guess it will be red again fairly soon.

There are at least five more post boxes within a couple of hundred yards of this - so blocking some up is not so much of an issue and may make sense from the security point of view. Around here (Windsor Castle) the streets have gates so they can be quickly closed off when a VIP in need of a protection detail passes through. This was happening as we arrived and there was lots of weaponry in sight.

Back in Newbury here is a nice Type A wall box from 1936-52 (George VI) cast by McDowell Stevens & Co Ltd, Falkirk. This is the largest size of wall box and has a larger capacity than most pillar boxes.

addy landzaat wrote: You have a lot of different letterboxes in the UK. I feel the Dutch design is a nice piece of industrial design. The latest version is from 2011, but the first design with two slots is from 1960. It is bit boring that all the letterboxes follow this design, but it is very good design. Anyway, here is a picture:

1960? We're still using boxes from 1860. This one is a little newer - the first of this design were installed in 1861.

addy landzaat wrote: A good thing they are from before 1973, else you need to replace them all

To be fair, most of the designs introduced since 1973 have been abandoned.

Here is the oldest version of a national standard wall box - 1857. A bit like post-1973 designs it wasn't a success - it leaked (they have drilled a drain hole in the bottom of this rare survivor).



Edited by Phil Wood - 23 July 2022 at 18:27

Boit Boite rurale


A7 III and FE 24-70 F4

Edited by Howard_S - 24 July 2022 at 23:26

alanfrombangor wrote: Two pleasing and contrasting scenes of boxes in the countryside. Phil's at first glance seems to be floating, the red line to the right gives away its well camouflaged post. Howard's features the kind of stone wall often seen near me.

It's not a wall, the box was attached to a telegraph pole. When the pole became redundant they just cut it off above the post box. The red lines are the big U-bolt/bracket thingies that attach box to post.

VR & VRoom


A00ii / KM 17-35

A Belgian letterbox, specifically dressed up for your letters to Santa


A7ii + Tamron FE 28-200 Di III RXD, obviously not a recent shot

Old and new in Melbourne, Australia.
The Victorian era cast iron model clearly a carry over/import from the Mother Country. I remember some of them did carry the VR (Queen Victoria), E vii R (King Edward VII), G v R, G vi R (Kings George V and VI) and finally E ii R (Queen Elizabeth II) castings. Back then it was the Postmaster-General's Department, GPO and Royal Mail. In 1975 it became a Corporation and renamed Australia Post. The remaining cast iron pillar boxes are sealed off and unused - perhaps kept as part of heritage streetscape?

Letterboxes, old and new by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

Old letterbox door handle by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

Cast iron Royal Mail letterbox by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

Royal Mail by Joe Lewit, on Flickr