A post box (British English; also written postbox; also known as pillar box), also known as a collection box, mailbox, letter box or drop box (

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...

) is a physical

box A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...

into which members of the public can deposit outgoing mail intended for collection by the agents of a country's

postal service The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

. The term ''post box'' can also refer to a private letter box for incoming mail.

History of post boxes

Europe

In 1653, the first post boxes are believed to have been installed in and around Paris. By 1829, post boxes were in use throughout France. The first public post boxes in Poland were installed in Warsaw in 1842. A post box originally installed in the wall of the Wakefield Post Office is dated 1809 and believed to be the oldest example in Britain. It is now on display at the new

Wakefield Museum Wakefield Museum is a local museum in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, north England, covering the history of the city of Wakefield and the local area from prehistoric times onwards. History From 1955 Wakefield Museum was housed in a 19th century l ...

. In the British Isles, the first red pillar post boxes were erected in

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

in 1852. Roadside wall boxes first appeared in 1857 as a cheaper alternative to pillar boxes, especially in rural districts. In 1853 the first pillar box in the United Kingdom was installed at Botchergate,

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

. In 1856, Richard Redgrave of the Department of Science and Art designed an ornate pillar box for use in London and other large cities. In 1859 the design was improved, and this became the first National Standard pillar box. Green was adopted as the standard colour for the early Victorian post boxes. Between 1866 and 1879 the hexagonal Penfold post box became the standard design for pillar boxes and it was during this period that red was first adopted as the standard colour. The first boxes to be painted red were in London in July 1874, although it would be nearly 10 years before all the boxes had been repainted. In 2012, to celebrate

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medals for Team GB, selected boxes were painted gold. One was defaced briefly by a vandal with graffiti. One has been painted in the 'wrong' town. The first public letter boxes (post boxes) in Russia appeared in 1848 in St. Petersburg. They were made of wood and iron. Because these boxes were lightweight and easy to steal, they disappeared frequently; later boxes were made of cast iron and could weigh up to . Paris musee de la poste c. 1850.jpg, First Paris street letter box from c. 1850 VR Pillar box, Hull.JPG, A

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

era Type B pillar postbox in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

1977 pattern French wall box at the Colne Valley Postal History Museum, Essex.jpg, French wall box of the 1977 pattern now on display at the Colne Valley Postal History Museum, Essex Brievenbussen Post-NL.jpg, A Dutch "''Post-NL''" postbox in orange at different heights Mailbox Metropolin in Estonia.jpg, Modern postbox in Estonia Mailbox in Ustroń, Poland.jpg, Modern postbox in Poland Yaiza Playa Blanca - Plaza de la Marina 02 ies.jpg, Post box in

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the i ...

, (

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

), Spain Boîte aux lettres à Mons en Belgique - vrijstaande brievenbus in Mons België - Foto Wolfgang Pehlemann IMG 1684.jpg, Post box in Belgium Priority Postbox for COVID-19 testing - 2020-11-25 - Andy Mabbett - 01.png, "Priority Postbox", designated for returning COVID-19 home testing kits, Birmingham, England, November 2020 File:PrivatePOstBoxYork.jpg, A note attached to an old private posting box in St John University ( York)

Asia

The post box arrived in the late 19th century Hong Kong and were made of wood. In the 1890s, metal pillar box appeared in Hong Kong and remained in use until the late 1990s. From the 1890s to 1997 the boxes were painted red and after 1997 were painted green. Postbox Uji Japan shaped as tea caddy.jpg, A public (though unconventional) post box in Japan shaped as tea caddy Japan Post Angle Model 10 Mailbox.jpg, Japanese post box in

Matsuda Matsuda (written: lit. "pine ricefield") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese badminton athlete *Eiji Matsuda (1894–1978), Mexican botanist *Fujio Matsuda (1924–2020), president of the University of Hawa ...

HK SOHO Mail Box 318.jpg, ''Singapore AA'' style sheet metal mail box in Hong Kong Hong Kong Post street posting box number 110.jpg, Hong Kong Post box bearing insignia of King George V HKPostbox.jpg, PB27/1 type post box in Hong Kong with "EIIR" cypher Post boxes in Gongguan, Taipei City 20070723.jpg, Post boxes in Taipei, Taiwan L164 - Boîte aux lettres - Inde.JPG, A post box in India

North America

The United States Post Office Department began installing public mail collection boxes in the 1850s outside post offices and on street corners in large Eastern cities. American collection boxes were initially designed to be hung or supported, and were mounted on support pillars, lamp-posts, telegraph poles, or even the sides of buildings. By the 1880s, these pillar boxes were made of heavy cast iron to deter theft or vandalism. As mail volume grew, the Post Office Department gradually replaced pillar mailboxes with larger free-standing models, though many of the pillar boxes continued in service as late as the 1960s. The four-footed, free-standing ''U.S. Mail'' collection box was first suggested in 1894, following the successful use of such designs in Canada, and quickly became a fixture on American city street corners. Unlike Canadian mailboxes, which were painted red, American mail collection boxes were originally painted in red or green. Beginning in 1909, all mail collection boxes were painted a dark green to avoid confusion with emergency and fire equipment. Dark green gave way to olive drab green after World War I, when the United States Army donated a large supply of olive drab green paint to the Post Office. Olive drab green subsequently became the standard colour for all American mail collection boxes until 1955. On 4 July 1955, Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield announced that the Post Office would begin painting all mail collection boxes in red, white, and blue to make them easily identifiable. Subsequently, the Post Office began painting mail collection boxes in red and blue, with white lettering. In 1971 the United States Postal Service changed mail collection boxes to the current USPS Dark Blue with contrasting lettering. The coming of the automobile also influenced American mailbox design, and in the late 1930s, an extension chute or "snorkel" to drive-up curbside collection boxes was adopted. File:Post office drivethrough lane.jpg, USPS "Snorkel" collection boxes for drive-through access in Los Altos, California File:It is in the mail (8080987511).jpg, A USPS collection box without a "snorkel" File:Old USPS Collection Box.jpg, A USPS storage box in Venice, Los Angeles, California, in 2018 with the olive green USPS colouring scheme used between World War I and 1955 File:CanadaPost Mailbox in Markham, Ontario.jpg, Post box in Markham, Ontario, Canada, decorated with

postal codes A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

Africa

In 1500, a Portuguese sea captain named Pêro de Ataíde lost much of his fleet in a storm off the Southern Cape. He wrote a message reporting the damage and a warning relating the state of affairs in India, for future Portuguese captains to avoid Calicut, which was now hostile. Ataíde tucked the message in a boot dangling from a milkwood tree near a spring where sailors often drew water, Aguada de São Brás ( Mossel Bay). Miraculously, the message was retrieved by its intended recipient, João da Nova, admiral of the outgoing 3rd armada, the very next year. The tree became a de facto post office box, where sailors would exchange letters protected in boots, iron pots, or beneath rocks. Seamen would leave their messages behind, trusting that their countrymen would pick them up and deliver them to their correct destination, albeit very slowly. The Post Office Tree, now believed to be approximately 600 years old, still continues to send and receive mail. A large post office box shaped like a giant boot has been constructed beneath the tree, where people can send letters anywhere in the world and receive a special stamp. Presumably, delivery now takes less than a year.

Types of post boxes

Varieties of post boxes (for outgoing mail) include: *

Lamp box Lamp boxes are the smallest of the post boxes used by the Royal Mail in the UK, by its counterparts in the Commonwealth of Nations and also by An Post in Ireland. Their name derives from the fact that they were designed to be affixed to lamp pos ...

* Pillar box *

Wall box Wall boxes are a type of post box or letter box found in many countries including France, the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth of Nations, Crown dependencies and Ireland. They differ from pillar boxes in that, instead of being a free-standing s ...

Ludlow style wall box In the United Kingdom, UK, a Ludlow wall box is a post box where mail is deposited to be collected by the Royal Mail. They are built into stone pillars or the walls of buildings and are never found free-standing. This is because they are made lar ...

Some

postal operators This is a list of postal entities by country. It includes: *The governmental authority responsible for postal matters. *The regulatory authority for the postal sector. Postal regulation may include the establishment of postal policies, postal rate ...

have different types of post boxes for different types of mail, such as, ordinary post,

air mail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...

and express mail, for local addresses (defined by a range of postal codes) and out-of-town addresses, or for post bearing postage stamps and post bearing a postage meter indicator. Some countries have different coloured post boxes; in countries such as Australia, Portugal, and Russia, the colour indicates which type of mail a box is to be used for, such as 1st and 2nd class post. However, in Germany and parts of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, because of postal

deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...

, the different colours are for the different postal services. Other nations use a particular colour to indicate common political or historical ties. Post boxes or mailboxes located outdoors are designed to keep mail secure and protected from weather. Some boxes have a rounded or slanted top or a down turned entry slot to protect mail from rain or snow. Locks are fitted for security, so mail can be retrieved only by official postal employees, and the box will ordinarily be constructed so as to resist damage from vandalism, forcible entry, or other causes. Bright colours are often used to increase visibility and prevent accidents and injuries. Entry openings are designed to allow the free deposit of mail, yet prevent retrieval via the access slot by unauthorised persons. Image:Double postbox with two apertures, one for stamped, and the other for franked, mail.jpg, A British pillar box with two apertures, one for stamped, and the other for franked, mail File:Burlington House Wall Box, London.jpg, A wooden wall box in

Burlington House Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in Mayfair, London. It was originally a private Neo-Palladian mansion owned by the Earls of Burlington and was expanded in the mid-19th century after being purchased by the British government. Toda ...

, London. File:Clackmannan Original GR VI Wall Post Box Still in use.jpg, British Royal Mail GR VI Cast Iron Wall Post Box in Clackmannan, Scotland and still in use File:Royal Mail Lamp Box (Scotland).jpg, Post-GR VI style of Royal Mail Lamp Box used in Scotland, showing the Crown of Scotland instead of the EIIR cypher

Clearance

Post boxes are emptied ("cleared") at times usually listed on a

collection plate The offertory (from Medieval Latin ''offertorium'' and Late Latin ''offerre'') is the part of a Eucharistic service when the bread and wine for use in the service are ceremonially placed on the altar. A collection of alms (offerings) from the co ...

fixed to the box. In urban areas, this might be once or twice a day. Busy boxes might be cleared more frequently to avoid overflowing, and also to spread the work for the sorters. Extra clearances are made in the period leading up to Christmas, to prevent boxes becoming clogged with mail. Since 2005, most

Royal Mail , kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Royal Mail.svg , logo_size = 250px , type = Public limited company , traded_as = , foundation = , founder = Henry VIII , location = London, England, UK , key_people = * Keith Williams ...

post boxes have had the time of only the last collection of the day shown on the box, with no indication of whether the box is cleared at other times earlier in the day. Royal Mail say they needed to increase the type size of the wording on the plate to help those with poor sight, and so there was not enough room to list all collection times throughout the day. Some post boxes may indicate the next collection time by a metal 'tab' or dial that can be changed while the box is open. The tab displays a day or number, each number corresponding to a different time shown on the plate. Some boxes have been used as a dumping ground for used hypodermic needles. In such cases staff are issued with protective equipment.

Terrorism and political vandalism

United Kingdom

Scotland

In 1952, a number of post boxes were attacked in Scotland in a dispute over the regnal number adopted by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, which was displayed as the EIIR

cypher Cypher is an alternative spelling for cipher. Cypher may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Cypher (French Group), a Goa trance music group * Cypher (band), an Australian instrumental band * Cypher (film), ''Cypher'' (film), a 2002 film * C ...

. This included at least one damaged in Gilmerton Road, The Inch, Edinburgh by a homemade explosive device. This was because many Scottish people did not believe Queen Elizabeth II should take that title. Rather Elizabeth Queen of Scots as Scotland had never had a Queen Elizabeth before. Following a civil case in the Scottish courts, a compromise was reached where the Crown of Scotland was placed upon Scottish pillar boxes in place of the St Edward's Crown, without any reference to the particular reigning monarch. To this day Scottish post boxes and Royal Mail vans use the Scottish Crown with no mention of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Troubles

During 1939 a number of bombs were put in post boxes by the IRA as part of their S-Plan campaign. When the Provisional IRA blew up the Arndale shopping centre in the

1996 Manchester bombing The 1996 Manchester bombing was an attack carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on Saturday, 15 June 1996. The IRA detonated a lorry bomb on Corporation Street in the centre of Manchester, England. It was the biggest ...

, one of the few things to survive unscathed was a Victorian pillar box dating from 1887 (a type A Jubilee pillar). In Northern Ireland several red Royal Mail post boxes were painted green by

Irish Republicans Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The developm ...

in early 2009, in order to resemble

An Post (; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of postal services in Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provided include letter post, p ...

's post boxes in the Republic of Ireland.

United States

Nearly 7,000 USPS collection boxes were removed following the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and the

2001 anthrax attacks The 2001 anthrax attacks, also known as Amerithrax (a portmanteau of "America" and "anthrax", from its FBI case name), occurred in the United States over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 ...

in which letters containing anthrax spores were placed in public collection boxes. Since that time, a decrease in first-class mail volume and the onset of online bill payment processing has resulted in lower demand for collection box service in the United States. File:Royal Mail lamp box type LB3426 (Crown of Scotland).jpg, Royal Mail lamp box type LB3426 showing the Crown of Scotland on a steel plate File:Postbox Manchester survived IRA 1996 bomb 20051020.jpg, The surviving pillar box from the

File:Painting postbox green in Derry for the Green Post-Box Campaign in 2008.jpg, Irish Republicans painting a

postbox in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

for the ''Green Post-Box Campaign'' in 2008

Colours

;Red: Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, Denmark ''( Post Danmark)'',

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, Greece ''(express post)'', Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, India, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy ''(domestic post)'', South Korea, Japan, Jersey, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands – surviving heritage and PTT boxes, New Zealand, Norway ''(national and international mail)'', Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain ''(express mail)'', South Africa,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, Taiwan ''(airmail and prompt delivery)'', Thailand, United Kingdom ;Yellow: Algeria, Australia ''(Express Post)'', Austria,

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus ''(red before 1960)'', Finland (2nd class), France, Germany ''( Deutsche Post)'', Greece ''(regular & international mail)'', Iran,

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, Malaysia ''(Express Post)'', Montenegro, Morocco, Norway ''(local mail)'', Russia ''(1st Class)'', Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain ''(regular mail)'',

''(national and international mail)'',

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

(& Liechtenstein), Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Vatican City, Vietnam ;Blue: Belarus, Finland (1st class), Faroe Islands, Germany ''(many private postal companies)'',

Alderney Alderney (; french: Aurigny ; Auregnais: ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest ...

, Dominican Republic, Sark, Italy ''(Air Mail only)'', United Kingdom ''(Air Mail – 1933–1940)'', Portugal ''(1st Class (Blue Mail) only)'',

''(local mail)'', Russia, United States ;Green:

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Hong Kong ''(red before 1997)'', Taiwan ''(regular mail)'', Republic of Ireland ''(red before 1922)'', ''Some heritage boxes in the United Kingdom, notably

Stoke on Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

, Rochester & Scunthorpe'' ;Orange: Czech Republic, Estonia, Indonesia, Netherlands (''

TNT N.V. PostNL (), formerly TNT N.V., is a mail, parcel and e-commerce corporation with operations in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. It provides universal delivery in the Netherlands, and is publicly listed at Eurone ...

/ PostNL (red before 2006))'' ;White: San Marino, Singapore ;Gray: Philippines ;Gold: United Kingdom ''(only for 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold medal winners)''In 2012 UK post boxes mostly in the hometowns of Team GB gold medal winners in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

were painted gold. ;Black: United Kingdom ''(only for 2020 Black History Month)''

Symbols

* Australia – a styled red letter "P" on a white circle, "P" standing for "Post". * Canada – a combination of a bird wing and an aircraft wing in a red circle and flanked by the words ''Canada Post'' / ''Postes Canada''. Previously the words ''Canada'', ''Canada Post'', or ''Canada Post Corporation'') were used on post boxes. Until the early 1970s, post boxes had the words "Royal Mail" and the

Royal Coat of Arms of Canada The Arms of Canada (french: Armoiries du Canada, links=no), also known as the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada (french: armoiries royales du Canada, links=no) or formally as the Arms of His Majesty the King in Right of Canada (french: Armoiries de Sa M ...

. *

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

– most designs include a Post horn, like those used by postmen to announce their arrival. In Germany the post horn is the only element indicating post services. * France – the arrow-shaped logo of La Poste. * Greece –

Hellenic Post The Hellenic Post S.A. ( el, Ελληνικά Ταχυδρομεία, abbreviated ΕΛΤΑ, ELTA) is the state-owned provider of postal services in Greece. It succeeded the former government Postal Service, founded in 1828. ELTA provides a ''uni ...

use the head of god Hermes wearing a winged petasos (summer hat) as their logo. Hermes was usually portrayed as the messenger of the gods * Netherlands – an orange triangle with "postnl" and a royal crown in it. *Republic of Ireland – from 1922 the Irish harp entwined with the letters "SE" for

Saorstát Éireann The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the ...

, then "P⁊T" Gaelic script for Post and Telegraphs and from 1984

with their wavy lines logo, often on the door as a raised casting. * Portugal - logo of the CTT Correios, consisting of a mounted postman playing a post horn. * Russia – logo of Russian Post (Почта России) written white on blue and black on yellow 1st class mail boxes. * Spain – Post horn and a royal crown over it. * Japan – a "T" with bar above it (

〒 is the service mark of Japan Post and its successor, Japan Post Holdings, the postal operator in Japan. It is also used as a Japanese postal code mark since the introduction of the latter in 1968. Historically, it was used by the , which ope ...

). * United Kingdom – all post boxes display the Royal Cypher of the reigning monarch at the time of manufacture. Exceptions are the Anonymous pillar boxes of 1879–1887, where the cypher was omitted, and all boxes for use in Scotland manufactured after 1952 (including replicas of the 1866 Penfold design) which show the Crown of Scotland instead of the Royal Cypher for Elizabeth II. Private boxes emptied by Royal Mail do not have to carry a cypher. Royal Mail post boxes manufactured since 1994 carry the wording "Royal Mail", normally above the aperture (lamp boxes) or on the door (pillar boxes). Before this date all post boxes, with the exception of the Anonymous pillar boxes, carried the wording "Post Office". * United States – the United States Postal Service (USPS) eagle logo, except that boxes for Express Mail use the USPS Express Mail logo.

Gallery

File:Pillar box in Bruges, Belgium.gif, Pillar box in Bruges, Belgium File:Poštanski sandučić u Dubrovniku (Zračna luka).jpg, Post box at Dubrovnik Airport, Croatia File:Postovni schranka.jpg, A Czech post box File:Post Danmark Post boxes in Fåborg, Denmark.jpg, Post boxes in

Fåborg Faaborg or Fåborg () is an old port town located on Faaborg Fjord in Faaborg-Midtfyn municipality on the island of Funen in Denmark. By road, Faaborg is located southwest of Odense, west-northwest of Svendborg, and roughly southeast of Mid ...

, Denmark File:Postbox in Funningur, Faroe Islands.jpg, A post box in Funningur, Faroe Islands File:Finnish mailboxes.jpg, Post boxes in

Heinola Heinola () is a town and a municipality of inhabitants () located in the eastern part of the Päijänne Tavastia region, Finland, near the borders of the South Savonia region and the Kymenlaakso region. It is the third largest municipality in ...

, Finland. Yellow 2nd class postbox is very common, blue 1st class mailboxes only at selected places. File:Wooden barrel postbox in the Galapagos Islands, 1983.jpg, Post box in Galápagos Islands, 1983 File:French-postbox at Dinard–Pleurtuit–Saint-Malo Airport.jpg, French Post Box at

Dinard–Pleurtuit–Saint-Malo Airport Dinard–Pleurtuit–Saint-Malo Airport or ''Aéroport de Dinard – Pleurtuit – Saint-Malo'' is an airport serving the city of Saint-Malo, France. It is located south-southwest of Dinard in Pleurtuit, a ''commune'' of the ''département'' o ...

File:Buzon-correos-madrid-xanadu.jpg, Spanish Post Box at Madrid parking lot. File:German mailbox with an old Posthorn.jpg, German mail box with an old Post horn with arrows (stylized lightning bolts) from the ''Deutsche Bundespost'', on the top sign the new post horn from Deutsche Post AG File:Briefkasten PIN p1160380.jpg, A postbox of one of the many private mail companies in Germany, this one PIN in Berlin File:Guernsey Postbox type C double aperture pillar box.jpg, A Guernsey Post type C double aperture pillar box File:Budapest_postbox.jpg, Post box in Budapest, Hungary File:Icelandic postbox in Reykjavík.jpg, Post box in Reykjavík, Iceland File:Indian_Post_Box.jpg, Post box of Indian Postal Service File:VR pillar box in Kilkenny, Ireland, painted green.gif, VR pillar box in

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

, Ireland, painted green with obvious door repair File:Edward VII postbox, Ireland.jpg, Edward VII post box in Ireland, painted green. File:Irish lamp box erected by Anpost.jpg, Irish

lamp box Lamp boxes are the smallest of the post boxes used by the Royal Mail in the UK, by its counterparts in the Commonwealth of Nations and also by An Post in Ireland. Their name derives from the fact that they were designed to be affixed to lamp pos ...

erected by

File:Cassetta posta italiana.jpg, Italian domestic post box File:Vittorioso. EVIIR Edwardian Post Box.,Malta - Flickr - sludgegulper.jpg, King Edward VII pillar box in Birgu, Malta File:Malta Post Box, Mellieha. March 2010 - Flickr - sludgegulper.jpg, Modern MaltaPost post box in Mellieħa, Malta File:Marcos correio (Porto).JPG, 1st class (Blue Mail) and standard mail post boxes in Porto, Portugal File:Polish Postbox in Kraków.jpg, Post box in Kraków, Poland File:San Marino cassetta postale.jpg, A post box in San Marino File:Slovak postbox in Bratislava.jpg, Post box in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, Slovakia File:Postbox at Cape Agulhas.jpg, A GR Lamp Box at Cape Agulhas, the most southern post box in Africa File:Briefkasten Schweden.jpg,

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

post box File:Swiss Postbox in Lützelflüh-Goldbach.jpg, Post box in

Lützelflüh-Goldbach Lützelflüh-Goldbach is a Swiss twin suburb located about 36 km driving distance from Bern and 9 km from Burgdorf, Switzerland Burgdorf (french: Berthoud; High Alemannic: ''Bùùrdlef'') is the largest city in the Emmental in the cant ...

, Switzerland File:Ukrainian Postbox in Dnipro.jpg, A Ukrainian post box in the city of

Dnipro Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

, Ukraine File:Correio Mailbox in Belo Horizonte, Brasil.jpg, A standardized Brazilian post box, in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

File:Dubai postbox in Al Satwa.jpg, in Al Satwa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates File:Wallbox in phone kiosk in Warrington, Cheshire, England.jpg, Post box incorporated into a Type K4 telephone kiosk, introduced in 1927. 10 survive in the UK of this design by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott which also incorporates two stamp vending machines. This red telephone box is in Warrington, Cheshire, England File:Wall box75.jpg, A Victorian wall box of the Second National Standard type dating from 1859, in Brough, Derbyshire, England File:Penfold post box on King's Parade, Cambridge.jpg, A

hexagonal red post box of the Penfold type manufactured in 1866 outside King's College, Cambridge (not the original location for this box). File:EdwardVIIIpostbox.jpg, One of the 150 post boxes erected during the uncrowned reign of

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

File:Buxoro, Uzbekistan postbox.jpg, Soviet postbox in

Bukhara Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...

, Uzbekistan File:Wall box freestanding in Gloddaeth Street, Llandudno, Wales.jpg, Large square pillar box (type A wall box freestanding) in Gloddaeth Street,

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...

, Wales File:Victorian post box Guernsey.jpg, This VR pillar box originally installed in

in 1852/3 on the recommendation of

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...

and is one of the oldest still in use. File:Underwater post box at the Izu Ocean Park.jpg, Underwater post box for

divers Diver or divers may refer to: *Diving (sport), the sport of performing acrobatics while jumping or falling into water *Practitioner of underwater diving, including: **scuba diving, **freediving, **surface-supplied diving, **saturation diving, a ...

at the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

References and sources

Notes

Sources

External links

Letter Box Study GroupBritish Postal Museum & ArchiveColne Valley Postal History Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Post Box Containers Postal infrastructure Street furniture