Postcrossing Blog

If you’ve ever been to the U.K., you may have seen bright red cylindrical objects around town. These pillar boxes are the U.S. equivalent of the free-standing blue arch-like mailboxes (and should not be confused with pillarboxes, which are the black bars that appear to the sides of a movie image that wasn’t formatted for widescreen). Although they’re more common in the U.K. or in former nations of the British empire, versions of this special red post box can also be found in other countries, such as Japan or Portugal.

Pillar boxes started to appear in 1852, twelve years after the first adhesive postage stamp was introduced. Before then, citizens would have to take their outgoing mail to the nearest letter receiving house or post office and personally deliver it to the postmaster after purchasing a stamp. Although they were initially proposed in 1840 by Sir Rowland Hill (who thought they would “add greatly to the public convenience”), it wasn’t until 1852 that the first pillar boxes were erected in the Channel Islands. It was a successful trial, which later spread with their implementation accross the mainland.

The boxes varied slightly from one area to the next, as each District Surveyor gave their own specifications for the design. You can find the most unique-looking ones that were made early on, when they included things like octagonal pillars, fluted columns, vertical slits instead of horizontal ones, and different coloring. The construction of pillar boxes was standardized in 1905, generally made of cast iron and in a cylindrical shape.

There are three distinct parts of a pillar box: the cap, which sits on the carcass and is bolted down from the inside, the door, which is hinged and displays the Royal Cypher of the reigning monarch, and the carcass, the main body that produced down below ground level, giving stability to the pillar box. Over 150 designs and varieties of pillar boxes, and their cousins, wall boxes (mail receptacles that are set into a walls), have emerged, though not all have survived.

Next time you’re in the UK, or any other country that sports these postal beauties, look a little closer and see if you can guess what time period it was erected (check out this page for some clues on the Royal cyphers)!

For a more in depth look into the history of these boxes, check out “Well adapted for a purpose…”, a really neat post from the British Postal Museum’s blog.

Happy pillar box spotting! :)

Some weeks ago, we took the Little Mail Carrier’s cousin along for a trip to the United Kingdom! It was his first time outside of Germany, and he loved going to all the touristic places and discovering the land of Her Majesty! On May 4th, there was a big meetup in Oxford, which we couldn’t miss, of course! Here’s his account of the day :)

Hi everyone!

The day started on the wrong foot… we left home in London with plenty of time to spare, but I got distracted riding this cute red cart…

… and just missed the bus to Oxford! Luckily, there were plenty more, and half an hour later we were zooming past the rolling hills of the English countryside. When we arrived in Oxford, postcrossers from all over Europe were having breakfast at a café near the bus station, already digging into their stashes of postcards – and they had brought sweets!

The day started with the obligatory trip to the post office, to stock on stamps. Did you know they have Doctor Who stamps here? They’re brilliant! They also had very neat posting boxes!

The day was beautiful, and we took the opportunity to stroll around the city center, to admire its history and architecture.

Oxford is known for its University, the oldest in the English-speaking world, dating back to the late 11th century! There were a lot of happy students zooming by in their graduation garments, and many proud parents as well – it almost made me want to go back to school, but for now a trip to the university’s shop would have to do. :)

We also visited the Alice in Wonderland shop for postcards…

… and many other stationery shops, including the delightful Paperchase!

During the tour, we had the opportunity to check out some British classics, like shortbread biscuits and all kinds of fun souvenirs!

After all the walking and postcard shopping, we had all worked up quite an appetite, and so it was time to sit down to eat, chat, swap presents…

… and write some postcards! There was much laughter and conversations in different languages between friends, old and new. :)

It was a lovely day, the kind that makes your cheeks hurt from so much smiling! A big thank you to Andy (aka Duplevista) for organising such a wonderful meetup! If you’re curious, check out more photos on some of the participant’s galleries: here, here, here or here.

What are you waiting to attend a meetup near you? Check this forum thread for updated dates and locations – and if there’s nothing near you, consider organising your own!

Some months ago, while touring an underground bunker in Berlin, I was treated to a rare sight: a mini-demonstration of Berlin’s old pneumatic dispatch system! And that got me thinking… were there other pneumatic mail delivery systems in the world? What could we find out about them? If you’re curious too, keep reading!

The story of pneumatic tubes starts with William Murdoch, a Scottish engineer, who invented them in the 19th century. Developed later by the London Pneumatic Despatch Company, these tubes used pressurised air to propel cylindrical containers throughout systems set up in certain buildings or sometimes, entire cities. During the second half of the 19th century, the pneumatic post system was implemented in post offices and telegraph offices of several large cities to quickly deliver letters and telegrams between themselves, banks, stock exchanges, and ministries. This method was found to be much more convenient and quicker than transporting letters in horse-drawn carriages or depending on human messengers.

Control Panel of Prague’s Pneumatic Post system

In 1853 the first system was built, linking the London Stock Exchange to the city’s main telegraph station; in 1861 it transported mail from the Euston railway station to the General Post Office and Holborn; in 1865 the Rohrpost was developed in Berlin, spanning 400km; in 1866 Paris created their system, a total length of 467km. Other cities like Vienna, Prague, New York City, Munich, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Hamburg, Naples, Rome, Milan, Melbourne, Marseilles, Philadelphia, Boston, St. Louis, and Chicago soon followed.

Some systems became rather complex and effective, but were eventually surpassed by more modern methods of communication and transport, and were mostly abandoned during the 20th century. The Paris network was in use until 1984, finally replaced by computers and fax machines. One lasting pneumatic post network still exists in the Czech Republic, known as the Old Lady of Czech telecommunications. Prague’s network of tubes extends 55km and was still used for delivering letters and parcels until 2002, when a flood rendered it inoperative. The current owner is gradually repairing and preserving the system, in hopes of using it as an educational experience and tourist attraction. Today, hospitals, banks, nuclear reactors, and some airports still have uses for these systems, and have updated and refined its technological ability.

Check out the blog pneumaticpost.blogspot.com to learn more interesting facts about these tubes and about the subculture of “steampunks” who cherish it so. The blog also features a many tube maps, like this one of Prague.

The Olympic Games start in a couple of days in London, and you can almost feel the global rush of excitement! Who will crowned the best of the best? And how many medals will each country get?

Great Britain is now immersed in preparations for the games, and Royal Mail is not an exception! They’ve come up with a couple of interesting initiatives to honour Great Britain’s gold medalists.

To begin with, for each gold medal earned by Team GB, they plan to paint one of their famous red post boxes… gold! That’s right – for the first time ever, their iconic post boxes will be dressed in a different color. And the mailboxes will be picked according to the home town of the winners, so if you’re cheering for your town’s local athlete, keep an eye on your post box!

But that is not all! Royal Mail is also engaging in a race against time to have a commemorative stamp and their respective mini-sheet printed for each golden medalist the day after their medals are won – shortening the stamp making process to 24 hours or less!

Mr. Andrew Hammond, Royal Mail’s director of stamps and collectables explains how they plan to achieve this remarkable feat:

They will work around the clock to accomplish this operation (including weekends!), delivering the special stamps overnight to 500 post offices around the UK.

If you live in Great Britain, and see one of these special post boxes or stamps, do post a comment below with a link to a photo! We’d love to see how they look in real life! :)

Marianna7 (aka Marianne), is from Germany but moved to the UK in 2001. In this Spotlight interview, she tells us about her life-long passion for letter-writing… and bread-baking! :)

How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?

I’ve lived since 2001 abroad (not in Germany) and my favorite weekly newspaper is “Die Zeit”. I try to get it, either from an airport or when friends/family bring it on a visit, but very irregularly.

On one of those I found an article about Willi, the German postcrosser who has sent the most postcards from Germany. At the same time I found life pretty stressful, being self-employed and I wanted a positive change in my mailbox (something else than advertisement, junkmail and invoices).

The other reason why I joined is this one: a good German friend of mine and I have been penfriends and friends for 11 years. Our friendship started more with letters, because I met her just before I left Germany. But we developed it over the years and last year, at our 10 years anniversary, we arranged an exhibition with our best envelopes (handmade), statements from letters of these last 10 years and our own arts (I do photography, Daniela does painting). This meant, we both read through the letters of 10 years again, we discussed which statements to use and which not over mail and phone and letters (obviously) and exhibited in Hamburg, Germany. It was a very interesting experience to go public with parts of our private thoughts, doubts, fears, happiness etc… anyhow, the exhibition exhausted us a bit and we are writing now less than before – so I missed the input of written words in my life.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I bake my own bread (buns, scones, croissants, bagels, ciabattas – you name it!). I call it a hobby, because it is a very satisfying work. It is so essential, so basic, but it fills a house with a beautiful smell and everyone comes running and wants some warm bread. I like walking with my sons and my partner most. Photography. Reading. I love languages. Arts!

Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!

This picture is the picture of my main postoffice in the village – but I go for miles all over the North East to send my mail.

Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.

RU-884413 a letter, very unexpected and mindblowingly beautiful

NL-1056976 one of the very first cards I received with great words

US-1652878 a handmade card on rice paper

I’ve also received mind-blowing letters and postcards with just a few words, which made me stumble. All words, I receive are precious to me. The fact that a complete stranger writes a few sentences out of his/her soul, is absolutely amazing to me.

Have you inspired anyone else to join Postcrossing or start collections of their own?

Yes, my son :-) He is only 8, but a fanatic reader and writer (is true) and he collects stamps. So one day I told him I wouldn’t give him my stamps anymore, because I didn’t want to ruin my precious cards/words. That’s when he joined Postcrossing! The only thing I help him, is a)to get the address of recipient right, b) to send cards on time and c) to help him match the recipient’s preferences.

I’m trying to get my mother on it – she is very old and would have to learn to use the pc, but I am sure it would change her life for the better.

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

Requesting a postcard. What type of person will it go to? What cards do they like?

I also like the process of finding the right card, though sometimes it takes me days to find one (it’s very rural here and i have to travel far for a card).

And lastly, I also like to receive a card. Who is the sender? After registering, I find it extremely exciting to read the sender’s profile.

Have you been surprised by any place that you have received a postcard from or sent a postcard to?

No, not by the places… But very often I’m surprised by the messages on the cards; the sentences in unexpected letters. I am surprised by the wonderful things other postcrossers are sending. By the passionate words of postcrossers. By the openness of peoples minds towards a complete stranger. I have greatest respect to every cards/letter I receive.