British Postbox
| Designer | Anthony Trollope |
| Dates | 1854 |
Description
The british postbox is famous for being a big red cylinder shaped object with a red cap on top, which has a slit in to simply post a letter. They also feature a door ready for collections by a postman.
The boxes are made in cast iron and finished with a bright red paint which is then varished which makes the box appear to shine.
The boxes are easy to use as you simply place the letter in the slot which can fit letters easily upto a4 size, and the door for letter collection is big enough to allow a sack full of letters out of the box.
The postboxs also have a sign on them which tells us when they will be cleared out so you know when they will be delivered.
A Personal View
I like the postbox as it is so simple and easy to use. Once you have a letter you simply just post it into the slot of the postbox and then your letter can be sent anywhere in the world. As well as the way it works, the look of the postbox is also something that I can appreciate as like the way it works it is a simple design; a big bright red poll with a slot in for your letter. This makes it easy to find when you are looking for somewhere to post a letter.
When I need to post a letter I find that the fact that it is a big bright red object makes it so much easier to find, compared to a bin for example which are often green or a colour that does not stand out in its surroundings the post box does its job, and is easy to spot.
It is also an icon of Britain as it is so simple but also represents our past as the postbox feature the current King or Queen who was reigning when the postbox was put in place, as it represents Royal Mail. So it really is part of the British heritage with the colour and shape recognisable as being from Britain.
Context
Post boxs are new used around the world but are often different shapes, sizes and colours. For example in France, Australia and Germany to name three, their post boxes are yellow. Whereas in Russia and the USA their postboxes are blue.
Before post boxes where used people would just use post offices or houses that where used as pick up points before being delivered or just delivered their letters in person.
Links
http://www.bathpostalmuseum.co.uk/explore/history_postbox.html - This site gives a history and evolution of the postbox.
http://www.royalmail.com/ - The company that first brought us the post box in Britain, see what they do now.
| Author: | David Garlick | Date: | April 2008 |