Postboxes & Mailboxes

It's time for the rest of the tasks I've received for this month's Monthly Task! As the October is almost over, I will publish another theme for the November task. More about it in the next post... Enjoy the articles of postcard lovers from Russia, Hong Kong and Norway ;)

Ivan, Hong Kong says...
Hong Kong was a colony of United Kingdom,  so Hong Kong postbox's style follows the UK (coloured red). When HK returned to China as a Special Administrative Region, the government intended to remove some characteristic related to the UK.

Central, Hong Kong

For instance, Hong Kong post decided to change the postbox color into green from red.

From his journey to Macau, Ivan shares... 

Macau was a Portuguese colony. As a result,the official language is  Portuguese and Cantonese.  As you can see, the postboxes are marked with two languages - Portuguese and Traditional Chinese.

The main post office, Macau

 A multi-functional stamp machine

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Cathrine, Norway says...
Here's a photo of my and my neighbours mailboxes, and the nearest "post office" where I send my postcards from. The "post office" is really a grocery store with a counter for mail related stuff. Many post offices has been closed in the last years, and been replaced with the counters in grocery stores. I usually end up writing the prize in the corner of the postcard before I even get there, as it goes faster when I can just say that I'm going to send "X postcards with this stamp and Y postcards with that stamp", rather than letting the person behind the counter figure it out. When the grocery store is nearby, I rather go to the there and buy the stamps I need when I actually need them, rather that buying a bunch of stamps once in a while and stick them on myself.

Sometimes I send postcards once every or every other week, and sometimes several times a weeks. Depends on how "addicted" I'm at the moment. Empty mailboxes is boring, and so are bills, so receiving something nice, like postcards, means a lot to me! Here in Norway, it's mail delivery 6 days a week.

Ya-ola-la, Russia says... 

The old and the new variant of Russian postboes in Arkhangelsk, Russia.

Ewa, Poland says...

3 years ago, it was dark and dull, so I decided to decorate it with a decoupage technique. I painted it on white and added some paper roses so that it would get some vintage style :) Now, it's a bit damaged, but still I like it ^^

Postboxes & Mailboxes

So, it's the time to see what did collectors actually have to say about their mailboxes and postboxes! Here are three different stories from three different countries... Enjoy!


Anu, UK says...

Wolverhampton, England

wallbox; Sedgley, Dudley

Mail is collected from both of these boxes Monday - Saturday, at least once a day. I prefer to use street mailboxes when mailing my cards as I'm not sure what some of the clerks in the post office would say about me sometimes using older stamps, or a combination of a first class stamp + smaller value stamps to make up the correct postage. I can't really say how many times a week I send postcards as it varies so much - sometimes it can be just once a week but at other times it's almost every day.  Mail is delivered in the UK six days a week (Monday - Saturday).


 Dewi, Indonesia says...

Hello, this is my mailbox! It is unusual here having mailbox, because the habit of sending mail doesn't exist here anymore. But i decided to make my own mailbox when I joined Postcrossin project. First postcards were being thrown by the postman to my terrace floor, all of them scattered around the floor.    Postcards are too precious to be trown just like that, so I decidet to make a mailbox! I took a small box, and named it 'kotak pos' with the permanent ink, still uncolored, and put it on a plant named lidah mertua, at the corner of terrace ("kotak pos" means "the mailbox" in Inodonesian).I thought it would be visible to the postman. But he didn't recognize it as a mailbox and that made me quiet mad. Then I bought  red poster paint and painted it with in red. Taraaaaaa! He recognized it and put the postcards into it. Handmade mailbox is now very useful, because those are rarely available in stores and a little bit expensive. The postman comes to my home to deliver the mail every 2 days.

Martiina, Estonia says...

Here you have the photo of a postbox nearest to my home. The post office door can be seen right behind it and actually it is just around the corner from my home. :) Eesti Post means Estonian Post of course. It's logo is a hooter horn that postmen used in the beginng times of postal service to announce they are coming. This postbox is emptied at 18.00 from Monday to Tuesday and at 16.00 on Sunday. I send letters and cards depending on how busy I am at the moment, but at least once a week I post a bunch of them. When I have just mail to post, any postbox on my way is fine, but when I have to buy cards and stamps, I visit the post office as well. I think I don't have any thrilling stories connected to a postbox, I just often forget to post the letters and cards I have taken with me and have to go back or post them the next day. :P (You are not the only one (;  )

Postboxes & Mailboxes

Postbox in Uzbekistan

It's time for the first post dedicated to my brand new project called The Monthy Task. You can read aout it on the separated part of this page (see: Join the Monthly Task!).
This month's theme are Mailboxes & Postboxes, so at first I'd like to write a few words about these. I think they are very important part of Postcrosser's routine, even though we do not pay attention on them most of the time.

What are mailboxes and postboxes at all...

Icelandic postbox

A postbox, known in the United States and Canada as collection box, mailbox,post box, or drop box as well,  is a physical box into which members of the public can deposit outgoing mail intended for collection by the agents of a country's postal service.
On the other hand , a mailbox, letterbox, letter plate, letter hole, deed or mail slot,  is a receptacle for receiving incoming mail at a private residence or business.







How did it all start...

Private mailboxes or mail slots did not become popular in most of Europe until the mid to late 19th century, although they were used in Paris from the late 18th century, while the first post boxes are believed to have been installed in Paris as early as early as 1653. By 1829, post boxes were in use throughout France.

First Paris street letter box cca. 1850

In 1849, the British Post Office first officially encouraged people to install letterboxes to facilitate the delivery of mail. Before then, letterboxes of a similar design had been installed in the doors and walls of post offices for people to drop off outgoing mail. An example of such a wall box (originally installed in the wall of the Wakefield Post Office) is dated 1809 and believed to be the oldest example in Britain.

 In 1863, with the creation of Free City Delivery, the U.S. Post Office Department began delivering mail to home addresses. Until 1916, U.S. mail carriers knocked on the door and waited patiently for someone to answer. Efficiency experts estimated that each mailman lost over 1.5 hours each day just waiting for patrons to come to the door. To correct this problem, the U.S. Post Office Department ordered that every household must have a mail box or letter slot in order to receive mail.Slowly, homeowners and businesses began to install mail slots or attached mailboxes to receive mail when they were either not at home or unable to answer the door.

Difference is shape and size around the world...

Some countries have different coloured post boxes; in countries such as Ausralia, 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, because of postal deregulation, the different colours are for the different postal services. Other nations use a particular colour to indicate common political or historical ties. You can fing postboxes colored in these colors aroun the world: red ( Belgium, Canada, India, Japan...), yellow (Brazil, Croatia, France, Spain, Turkey...), blue (Belarus, Russia, United States...), green (China, Hong Kong, Ireland and Taiwan), orange (Estonia, Indonesia, Netherlands and Czech Republic), white (San Marino and Singapore), grey (Philippines) and gold (some in the UK).

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.

In the following weeks I am going to post the pictures and descriptions of the postboxes and mailboxes that collectors all around the world have sent me! I hope you enjoy! ;)

Source: Wikipedia