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...deliverying The Postal Museum

Pillar boxes

The BPMA’s letter box collection includes over 50 pillar boxes. It reflects their history from one of the first boxes trialled in the UK to modern designs and prototypes. It includes rarities such as boxes from the short reign of Edward VIII but also more common types of boxes.

It depicts the significant variations in pillar box design in the years following their introduction and the evolution to the standard red, cylindrical box first used in 1879 that has today become such a well-known British icon.

Examples from our Collection

Here are some examples of pillar boxes in our collection:

Channel Island Box, c.1853

Originally from Guernsey, this was one of the first pillar boxes to be introduced in the UK.
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London Ornate Box, 1857-59

An attempt to make pillar boxes more attractive, only fifty of these were produced.
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Penfold Pillar Box, 1872-79

These boxes are examples of perhaps the most popular type of pillar box introduced.
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'Anonymous' Pillar Box, 1883-87

With a few modifications, this box is still in use today.
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