Editing Post box (section)

==Types of post boxes==
Varieties of post boxes (for outgoing mail) include:

* [[Lamp box]]
* [[Pillar box]]
* [[Wall box]]
* [[Ludlow style wall box]]

Some [[postal administration|postal operators]] have different types of post boxes for different types of mail, such as, ordinary post, [[Airmail|air mail]] and [[express mail]], for local addresses (defined by a range of [[postal code]]s) and out-of-town addresses, or for post bearing postage stamps and post bearing a [[postage meter]] indicator.{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}}

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]], 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.<ref>Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, ''Colour, A Postal Symbol'', Civilisation.ca. http://www.civilisations.ca/cpm/histbox/couleu_e.htm</ref>

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.<ref name="shaman" /><ref name="glancey">{{cite web |last= Glancey |first= Jonathan |title= Classics of everyday design No 6 |work = theblog, The Guardian |date= 16 January 2007 | url = http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/art/2007/01/classics_of_everyday_design_no_6.html |access-date= 16 August 2008 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="shaman" /><ref name="glancey" /><ref>{{cite web |last= Marsh |first= Allison |title= Street collection box damaged September 11, 2001 |work= Postal Collection Mailboxes |publisher= [[National Postal Museum]] |date= 29 April 2006 |url= http://www.arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=2&cmd=1&id=83037&img=1&mode=&pg=1&tid=2032051 |access-date= 15 August 2008 }}</ref> Bright colours are often used to increase visibility and prevent accidents and injuries.<ref>{{cite news |title= A Victorian post box in Brecon – made in the Black Country |newspaper= Black Country Bugle |date= 28 June 2007 |url= http://www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/blackcountrybugle-news/displayarticle.asp?id=106007 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20110716224011/http://www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/blackcountrybugle-news/displayarticle.asp?id=106007 |url-status= dead |archive-date= 16 July 2011 |access-date= 15 August 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Campaign to preserve red post boxes |work= BBC UK News |publisher= BBC |date= 3 October 2002 |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2294797.stm |access-date= 15 August 2008 }}</ref> Entry openings are designed to allow the free deposit of mail, yet prevent retrieval via the access slot by unauthorised persons.<ref name="shaman" /><ref>{{cite web |last= William |first= Earle |title= Secured mailbox |work= USPTO Database |publisher= [[United States Patent and Trademark Office|USPTO]] |date= 29 April 1975 |url= http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=38&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PALL&s1=3880344&OS=3880344&RS=3880344 |access-date= 16 August 2008 |archive-date= 23 January 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170123155034/http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=38&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PALL&s1=3880344&OS=3880344&RS=3880344 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

<gallery>
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 [[franking|franked]], mail
File:Burlington House Wall Box, London.jpg|A wooden wall box in [[Burlington House]], 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
</gallery>