Editing Post box

{{short description|Box for collecting outgoing mail}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with [[Post office box]]. For another use, see [[Postbox (email client)]]. "Collection box" redirects here; for another use, see [[Poor box]].}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
[[Image:Russia Mailbox of the Russian Post in Moscow.jpg|thumb|right|Postbox of the [[Russian Post]] in Moscow]]
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]]), 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]]. The term ''post box'' can also refer to a private [[letter box]] for incoming mail.

==History of post boxes==
===Europe===
[[File:VR Pillar box, Hull.JPG|A [[Queen Victoria|Victorian]] era Type B [[pillar box|pillar postbox]] in [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]]|thumb|upright]]
In 1653, the first post boxes are believed to have been installed in and around Paris.<ref>{{cite web | last = Lawrence | first = Ken | title = Before the Penny Black | publisher = Ken Lawrence | url = http://www.norbyhus.dk/btpb.html | access-date = 15 August 2008 }}</ref> By 1829, post boxes were in use throughout France.<ref>{{cite web | last = Batcow | first = Stan | title = The Post Boxes of Blackpool, England | date = 2 December 2001 | url = http://www.ausgang.com/collect/post.html | access-date = 15 August 2008 }}</ref> The first public post boxes in Poland were installed in [[Warsaw]] in 1842.<ref>{{cite book |title= Encyklopedia filatelistyki|last=Hampel|first=Tadeusz|year= 1993|publisher= Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN|location=Warszawa|isbn= 83-01-11373-1|page=509}}</ref>

A post box originally installed in the wall of the Wakefield Post Office is dated 1809 and is believed to be the oldest example in Britain.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/southwestwales/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8207000/8207489.stm |title=Putting history on an envelope |work=BBC NewsSouth West Wales |date=18 August 2009 |location=London |quote=The earliest known surviving posting slot was placed in the wall of Wakefield Post Office in Yorkshire in 1809 |access-date=8 August 2012}}</ref> It is now on display at the [[Wakefield Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/content/articles/2009/08/18/slaithwaite_postbox_stamp_feature.shtml |title=BBC Slaithwaite gets the stamp of approval! |publisher=BBC |date=24 August 2012 |access-date=9 May 2014}}</ref>

In Britain, the first red [[Pillar box|pillar postboxes]] were erected in [[Guernsey]] in 1852.<ref>{{cite web|last=Barford |first=Vanessa |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21668477 |title=Are there places more British than the UK? |publisher=BBC |date=2 March 2012 |access-date=10 March 2013}}</ref> 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, Cumbria|Carlisle]]. 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.<ref>{{cite web | last = Wicks | first = Paul | title = History of British Letter Boxes – Part 1: Victorian Letter Boxes | publisher = Paul Wicks | year = 2002 | url = http://www.wicks.org/pulp/part1.html | access-date = 15 August 2008 }}</ref> In 2012, to celebrate [[2012 Summer Olympics|Olympic]] gold medals for [[Team GB]], [[2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes|selected boxes]] were painted gold.<ref name="royalmail2">{{cite web |date=24 July 2012 |title=Royal Mail goes Gold this summer |url=http://www.royalmailgroup.com/royal-mail-goes-gold-summer |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120818043345/http://www.royalmailgroup.com/royal-mail-goes-gold-summer |archive-date=18 August 2012 |access-date=24 August 2012 |work=Royal Mail |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The first public letter boxes (post boxes) in Russia appeared in 1848 in St. Petersburg.{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}} 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 {{convert|45|kg|lb}}.{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}}

<gallery>
Paris musee de la poste c. 1850.jpg|First Paris Street letter box from c. 1850
Lamp_Box_2019.jpeg|A [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] Lamp Box post box of the circa-1954 pattern in [[Eaves, Lancashire]]
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]], ([[Canary Islands]]), [[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,<ref name="RMPP">{{cite web |title=Priority postboxes - Delivering coronavirus tests to NHS staff |url=https://www.royalmail.com/priority-postboxes |publisher=[[Royal Mail]] |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> Birmingham, England, November 2020
File:PrivatePOstBoxYork.jpg|A note attached to an old private posting box in St John University ([[York]])
File:Edward VII Pillar Box, Arran Quay, Dublin, Ireland - geograph.org.uk - 2566679.jpg|Edward VII Pillar Box, [[Dublin quays|Arran Quay]], [[Dublin]]
</gallery>

===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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hongkongfp.com/2015/10/05/hongkong-post-to-cover-royal-cyphers-on-59-historic-post-boxes/|title=Hongkong Post to cover royal cyphers on 59 historic post-boxes to 'avoid confusion' – Hong Kong Free Press HKFP|date=5 October 2015|website=hongkongfp.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref>

<gallery>
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, Kanagawa|Matsuda]]
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 "E<small>II</small>R" 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]]
</gallery>

===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.<ref name="npm1">{{cite web | last = Marsh | first = Allison | title = Postal Collection Mailboxes | publisher = [[National Postal Museum]] | date = 20 March 2006 | url = http://www.arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd=1&mode=&tid=2032051 | access-date = 15 August 2008 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="npm1"/> By the 1880s, these pillar boxes were made of heavy cast iron to deter theft or vandalism.<ref name="npm1"/> 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.<ref name="npm1"/>

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.<ref name="npm1"/><ref name="shaman">{{cite web |last= Shaman |first= Tony |title= Antique Street Letterboxes |publisher= Antique67.com |url= http://www.antique67.com/articles/antique_letterboxes/antique_letterboxes.html |access-date= 16 August 2008 }}</ref>

Unlike Canadian mailboxes, which were painted red,<ref>Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, ''History in a Box: Red Forever!'', Civilisation.ca. http://www.civilisations.ca/cpm/histbox/canad_e.htm</ref> 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.<ref name="npm1"/>  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.<ref>http://www.uspostalbulletins.com/PDF/Vol76_Issue19867_19550809.pdf U.S. Post Office Bulletin 19867, 9 August 1955</ref><ref name="npm2">{{cite web |last= Marsh |first= Allison |author2=Pope, Nancy |title= Orr & Painter mailbox |work= Postal Collection Mailboxes |publisher= [[National Postal Museum]] |date= 28 April 2006 |url= http://www.arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=2&cmd=1&id=76927&img=1&pg=1 |access-date= 16 August 2008 }}</ref> In 1971 the [[United States Postal Service]] changed mail collection boxes to the current USPS Dark Blue with contrasting lettering.<ref name="shaman" /><ref name="npm2"/><ref>''[http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91185802-OPP-34.pdf United States Postal Service v. Lost Key Rewards, Inc.]'', U.S. Patent and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, Opposition No. 91185802 (15 November 2010). Retrieved 23 January 2012</ref>

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.<ref name="npm1" /> Beginning in 2019 in [[New York City]], the United States Postal Service began replacing collection boxes with a new model with a thin slit for the insertion of letters, instead of the former pull-down flap, in order to prevent "fishing" for valuable mail. The new boxes do not have extension chutes, so are harder to use in drive-up locations.<ref>{{cite news |first=Angi |last=Gonzalez |url=https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2019/01/29/usps-replacing-all-nyc-mailboxes-for-new--anti-fishing-model- |title=USPS Replacing All NYC Mailboxes for New 'Anti-Fishing Model' |publisher=[[NY1]] |date=January 29, 2019 |access-date=September 27, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=David |last=Winter |url=https://cbsaustin.com/news/nation-world/us-postal-services-new-blue-boxes-are-designed-to-thwart-crime-not-for-ease-of-use-mail-fishing-usps-crime-rates-big-blue-postal-boxes-tamper-proof-slots |title=US Postal Service's new blue boxes are designed to thwart crime, not for ease of use |publisher=[[WKRC-TV]] |date=May 5, 2023 |access-date=September 27, 2024 }}</ref>

<gallery>
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:New-style USPS box, detail.jpg|Slit for letters, replacing the flap on a new USPS collection box
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#Canada|postal codes]]
</gallery>

===Africa===
<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-post-office-tree-mossel-bay-south-africa |title=The Post Office Tree: South Africa's First Mailbox |website=www.atlasobscura.com |access-date=13 June 2019}}</ref> 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 [[Sideroxylon inerme|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 Portuguese India Armada (Nova, 1501)|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]]
* [[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>

== Clearance ==
Post boxes are emptied ("cleared") at times usually listed on a [[collection plate (postal)|collection plate]] 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.{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}}

Since 2005, most [[Royal Mail]] 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'<ref>{{cite web | title = Changes to post box collections: Collection Tabs | publisher = Postwatch.co.uk | url = http://www.postwatch.co.uk/issues/CurrentIssues.asp?id=15  | access-date = 15 August 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070630075459/http://www.postwatch.co.uk/issues/CurrentIssues.asp?id=15 |archive-date = 30 June 2007}}</ref> 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.<ref name="BBCDerbyNeedles">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/7675689.stm|title=Used needles found in post boxes|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=6 January 2013|quote=Postal workers in Derby are being warned to take care after a rise in the number of used syringes being found in post boxes.|date=17 October 2008}}</ref> In such cases staff are issued with protective equipment.<ref name="BBCNeedles">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-20908577|title=Somerset postal workers given gloves to protect against needles|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=4 January 2013|access-date=6 January 2013|quote=Protective gloves are issued to postal workers emptying a Somerset postbox used by drug addicts to dump needles.}}</ref>

== Terrorism and political vandalism ==

=== United Kingdom ===

====Scotland====
{{Main|Pillar Box War}}
In 1952, a number of post boxes were attacked{{how many|date=June 2022}}{{Where|date=June 2022}} in [[Scotland]] in a dispute over the [[regnal number]] adopted by [[Queen Elizabeth II]], which was displayed as the '''E<small>II</small>R '''[[Royal cypher|cypher]]. 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.<ref name="scotsman">{{cite news |last=Mclean |first=David |title=Lost Edinburgh: the Queen and the exploding post box |work=Arts and Culture |publisher=[[The Scotsman]] |date=3 September 2014 |url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/lost-edinburgh-queen-and-exploding-post-box-1527366 |access-date=24 June 2022 }}</ref><ref name="edinburghlive">{{cite web |last=Dalgetty |first=Lee |title=The Edinburgh post box war that saw a bomb go off in a housing estate |work=History |publisher=edinburghlive.co.uk |date=6 June 2022 |url=https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/history/edinburgh-post-box-war-saw-24155234 |access-date=24 June 2022 }}</ref>

Following a [[MacCormick v Lord Advocate|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 or King Charles III.<ref name="scotsman"/><ref name="edinburghlive"/>

====The Troubles====
During 1939 a number of bombs were put in post boxes by the [[Irish Republican Army (1922–1969)|IRA]] as part of their [[S-Plan#Events June 1939 - December 1939|S-Plan]] campaign. When the [[Provisional IRA]] blew up the Arndale shopping centre in the [[1996 Manchester bombing]], 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]] in early 2009, in order to resemble [[An Post]]'s post boxes in the [[Republic of Ireland]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Louise |last=Quinn |date=4 February 2009 |title=Green postbox row MLA told to say sorry |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/green-postbox-row-mla-told-to-say-sorry-14169746.html |work=[[The Belfast Telegraph]] |access-date=20 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Anger over green postboxes |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/anger-over-green-postboxes-15000124.html |work=[[The Belfast Telegraph]] |date=10 November 2010 |access-date=20 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Seeing red on green postboxes |url=http://www.derryjournal.com/news/local/seeing-red-on-green-postboxes-1-2129548# |work=[[Derry Journal]] |date=10 September 2008 |access-date=20 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503102338/http://www.derryjournal.com/news/local/seeing-red-on-green-postboxes-1-2129548 |archive-date=3 May 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===United States===
Nearly 7,000 [[USPS]] collection boxes were removed following the aftermath of the [[September 11 attacks]] and the [[2001 anthrax attacks]] in which letters containing anthrax spores were placed in public collection boxes.<ref name="npm1" />

<gallery>
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 [[1996 Manchester bombing]]
File:Painting postbox green in Derry for the Green Post-Box Campaign in 2008.jpg|Irish Republicans painting a [[Royal Mail]] postbox in [[Derry]] for the ''Green Post-Box Campaign'' in 2008
</gallery>

{{Clear}}

=== Colours ===
[[File:Map of colours of post boxes.svg|thumb|upright=1.4|Colors of post boxes for standard mailings]]

;Red: [[Argentina]], Australia, [[Bahamas]], [[Barbados]], [[Belgium]], Canada, Denmark ''([[Post Danmark]])'', [[Gibraltar]], [[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]], [[Republic of China|Taiwan]] ''(airmail and prompt delivery)'', [[Thailand]], [[Uganda]] ''([[Posta Uganda]])'', United Kingdom<ref>All Royal Mail / GPO post boxes were painted BS 538 Post Office Red between 1874 and 1969. With the introduction of the K8 [[Telephone booth|Telephone kiosk]] in 1969, a new "red" colour was adopted for GPO street furniture, designated [[British Standards|BS]] 539 Post Haste Red. After [[British Telecom]] and [[Royal Mail]] were split by the British Government, BT continued to use BS539 exclusively, whilst Royal Mail use both BS538 and BS539 in a seemingly random way. Prior to 1859 there was no standard colour although there is a document in the [[BPMA]] archive indicating that optionally, the lettering and Royal cypher could be picked out in white or black. In 1859, a bronze green colour became standard until 1874. It took ten years for every box to be repainted during this period).</ref>
;Yellow: [[Algeria]], Australia ''(Express Post)'', [[Austria]], [[Bosnia-Herzegovina]], [[Brazil]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Croatia]], [[Cyprus]] ''(red before 1960)'', [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|D.R.Congo]] ''([[Congolese Posts and Telecommunications Corporation|scpt]])'', [[Finland]] (2nd class), France, Germany ''([[Deutsche Post]])'', [[Greece]] ''(regular and international mail)'', [[Iran]], [[Lithuania]], [[Malaysia]] ''(Express Post)'', [[Montenegro]], [[Morocco]], [[Norway]] ''(local mail)'', Russia ''(1st Class)'', [[Rwanda]] ''([[National Post Office (Rwanda)|iposita]])'', [[Serbia]], [[Slovakia]], [[Slovenia]], Spain ''(regular mail)'', [[Sweden]] ''(national and international mail)'', [[Switzerland]] (and [[Liechtenstein]]), [[Tunisia]], [[Turkey]], [[Ukraine]], [[Vatican City]], [[Vietnam]]
;Blue: [[Belarus]], [[Finland]] ''(1st class)'', [[Faroe Islands]], Germany ''(many private postal companies)'', [[Guernsey]], [[Alderney]], [[Dominican Republic]], [[Sark]], Italy ''(Air Mail only)'', United Kingdom ''(Air Mail – 1933–1940)'', [[Portugal]] ''(1st Class (Blue Mail) only)'', [[Sweden]] ''(local mail)'', Russia, United States
;Green: [[People's Republic of China|China]], Hong Kong ''(red before 1997)'', [[Republic of China|Taiwan]] ''(regular mail)'', [[Sudan]] ''([[SudaPost]])'', [[Republic of Ireland]] ''(red before 1922)'', ''Some heritage boxes in the United Kingdom, notably [[Stoke on Trent]], [[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]] and [[Scunthorpe]]''
;Orange: [[Czech Republic]], [[Estonia]], [[Indonesia]], [[Netherlands]] (''[[TNT N.V.]]/[[PostNL]] (red before 2006))''
;White: [[San Marino]], Singapore
;Gray: [[Philippines]]
;Gold: United Kingdom ''(only for [[2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes|2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold medal winners]])''<ref name="ennisgold">{{cite news |date=8 August 2012 |title=Jessica Ennis gold postbox in Sheffield vandalised |publisher=[[BBC]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-19177730 |access-date=8 August 2012 |quote=A postbox that was painted gold in [[Jessica Ennis]]'s home city of Sheffield, to celebrate her Olympic triumph, has been vandalised.}}</ref><ref name="trottgold">{{cite news |date=8 August 2012 |title=Laura Trott golden postbox painted in Harlow by mistake |publisher=[[BBC]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19137832 |access-date=8 August 2012 |quote=The Royal Mail has promised to paint a postbox in Olympic cycle champion [[Laura Kenny|Laura Trott]]'s home town gold, after first painting one in the wrong place.}}</ref><ref name="ukgoldboxes">In 2012 UK post boxes mostly in the hometowns of [[Team GB]] gold medal winners in the [[2012 Summer Olympics]] were painted gold.</ref>
;Black: United Kingdom ''(only for 2020 [[Black History Month#United Kingdom (1987)|Black History Month]])''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54344961|title=Black History Month: Postboxes painted to honour black Britons|date=30 September 2020|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=1 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/01/some-efforts-to-mark-black-history-month-tokenistic-say-activists|title=Activists criticise 'tokenistic' efforts after rebrand of Royal Mail postboxes|last=Rawlinson|first=Kevin|date=1 October 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=1 October 2020}}</ref>

== Symbols ==
[[File:Swedish Royal Posthorn.jpg|thumb|Swedish Royal Post]]
[[File:Irish Post & Telegraphs P&T (Ireland).png|thumb|Irish [[Minister for Posts and Telegraphs|Post & Telegraphs]] "P&T" logo]]
* Australia&nbsp;– a styled red letter "P" on a white circle, "P" standing for "Post".
* Canada&nbsp;– 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 [[Arms of Canada|Royal Coat of Arms of Canada]].
* [[Continental Europe]]&nbsp;– 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&nbsp;– the arrow-shaped logo of [[La Poste (France)|La Poste]].
* Greece&nbsp;– [[Hellenic Post]] use the head of god [[Hermes]] wearing a winged [[petasos]] (summer hat) as their logo. Hermes was usually portrayed as the messenger of the [[Twelve Olympians|gods]]
* [[Netherlands]]&nbsp;– an orange triangle with "postnl" and a royal crown in it.
*Republic of Ireland&nbsp;– from 1922 the Irish harp entwined with the letters "SE" for [[Irish Free State|Saorstát Éireann]], then "P⁊T" Gaelic script for [[Minister for Posts and Telegraphs|Post and Telegraphs]] and from 1984 [[An Post]] with their wavy lines logo, often on the door as a raised casting. Many boxes installed prior to 1922 contain the [[Royal Cypher]] of the reigning monarch at the time of manufacture.
* Portugal&nbsp;- logo of the [[CTT Correios de Portugal, S.A.|CTT Correios]], consisting of a mounted postman playing a post horn.
* Russia&nbsp;– logo of [[Russian Post]] (Почта России) written white on blue and black on yellow 1st class mail boxes.
* [[Spain]]&nbsp;– [[Post horn]] and a royal crown over it.
* Japan&nbsp;– a "T" with bar above it ([[〒]]).
* United Kingdom&nbsp;– all post boxes display the [[Royal Cypher]] of the reigning monarch at the time of manufacture. Exceptions are the [[Pillar box#Anonymous boxes|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&nbsp;– the [[United States Postal Service]] (USPS) eagle logo, except that boxes for [[Express Mail]] use the USPS Express Mail logo.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Post Office Mail Boxes Charnwood.jpg|Express post box (yellow) and [[Australia Post|Australian Postal Corporation]] box (red) in [[Canberra]], Australia
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]], Denmark
File:Postbox in Funningur, Faroe Islands.jpg|A post box in [[Funningur]], [[Faroe Islands]]
File:Finnish mailboxes.jpg|Post boxes in [[Heinola]], 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]]
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]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pin-group.net/index.php|title=PIN MAIL AG|website=pin-group.net|access-date=16 April 2018}}</ref>
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|[[Victoria of the United Kingdom|VR]] pillar box in [[Kilkenny]], Ireland, painted green with obvious door repair
File:Edward VII postbox, Ireland.jpg|[[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|Edward VII]] post box in Ireland, painted green
File:Irish lamp box erected by Anpost.jpg|Irish [[lamp box]] erected by [[An Post]]
File:Cassetta posta italiana.jpg|Italian domestic post box
File:Pillar letter Box at Vittoriosa, Malta.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]], 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|[[Sweden|Swedish]] post box
File:Swiss Postbox in Lützelflüh-Goldbach.jpg|Post box in [[Lützelflüh-Goldbach]], Switzerland
File:Ukrainian Postbox in Dnipro.jpg|A Ukrainian post box in the city of [[Dnipro]], Ukraine
File:Correio Mailbox in Belo Horizonte, Brasil.jpg|A standardized Brazilian post box, in [[Belo Horizonte]]
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. Ten 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|Brough]], Derbyshire, England
File:Penfold post box on King's Parade, Cambridge.jpg|A [[Victorian era|Victorian]] 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 reign of [[Edward VIII of the United Kingdom|Edward VIII]]
File:Buxoro, Uzbekistan postbox.jpg|Soviet postbox in [[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]], Wales
File:Victorian post box Guernsey.jpg|This [[Victorian era|VR]] [[pillar box]] was originally installed in [[Guernsey]] in 1852/53 on the recommendation of [[Anthony Trollope]] and is one of the oldest still in use.
File:Underwater post box at the Izu Ocean Park.jpg|Underwater post box for [[Scuba diving|divers]] at the [[Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park]], [[Japan]]
File:Oxfordwoodpillar.jpg|The wooden postbox in '''Oxford city''' center was erected in 1857.
File:Wall letter box at Mdina, Malta.jpg|alt=Wall mounted post box in Mdina, Malta|Wall mounted post box in Mdina, Malta. This is similar to the ones mounted in 1862 at Police Stations in 25 towns and villages of Malta and Gozo
</gallery>

== See also ==
*[[General Post Office]]
*[[Packstation]]
*[[Post-office box]], used for incoming mail
*[[Stamp vending machine]], often attached to post boxes
*[[2012 Olympics gold post boxes in the United Kingdom]]

==References and sources==
===Notes===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
{{cite book | last =Farrugia | first =Jean | title =The letter box: a history of Post Office pillar and wall boxes | publisher =Centaur Press | year =1969 | location =Fontwell | isbn =0-900000-14-7 | page =282 }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Post boxes}}
*[https://www.the-postbox-hunter.co.uk/ the-post-box-hunter]
*[http://www.lbsg.org/ Letter Box Study Group]
*[http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/streets/post_boxes/index.html Post Boxes of Oxford]
*[http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/ British Postal Museum & Archive]
*[http://www.cvphm.org/ Colne Valley Postal History Museum]

{{Postal system}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Post Box}}
[[Category:Containers]]
[[Category:Postal infrastructure]]
[[Category:Street furniture]]