aleteo.co

• Post Box Old Kent Road
• Post Box Online
• Postbox Folders

The National Archives has historical records of the Post Office Department in Record Group 28. Apart from documenting the historical of postal activities, post office records may be useful sources of genealogical information about a researcher's ancestor or the ancestor's community.

Records of Postmaster Appointments

Postmasters were usually appointed by the Postmaster General or, if they were to make more than $1,000 per year, by the President with the consent of the U.S. Senate. U.S. citizenship was usually required to become a postmaster at all but the smallest of post offices. Prior to 1971, postmasters were also required to live in their post office's delivery area. Women were eligible and were frequently appointed postmasters of small rural post offices, especially starting in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. U.S. citizenship was usually required to become a postmaster at all but the smallest of post offices. Prior to 1971, postmasters were also required to live in their post office's delivery area.

Postmasters served as little as a few months or more than thirty years. Sometimes, control of the post office was a family affair, with multiple generations of a family serving as postmaster of the same post office. Family relationships, however, are not stated in appointment records.

1. Post Office door - I got mine on eBay for $19.33 including postage. The prices vary on how old and rare they are. Wood - I used salvaged wood because of the distressed look but any wood that is 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick will do. The dimensions of this build are (2) 5' X 4' X 3/4' for the top and bottom (2) 6 1/2 ' X 4' X 3/4' for the sides.
2. Post Sign - Old Antique Style Wall Post Plaque Solid Cast Metal British UK Made Black - Post Box Sign YesterHomeUK 5 out of 5 stars (6,463).

1789-1832

Director: Ravindra DaveProducer: Ravindra Dave.Writer: P.L. SantoshiMusic: Kalyanji Veerji ShahYear: 1958Cast: Sunil Dutt, Shakila, Leela Chitnis, Po.

Seven volumes of postmaster appointments for 1789-1832 have been reproduced as Microfilm Publication M1131, Record of Appointment of Postmasters, Oct. 1789–1832 (4 rolls). Links to digital images are given below.

Volume 1, October 1789-July 1818, contains a chronological list of first returns of postmasters and can be used primarily to verify service.

Volumes 2 through 7 are generally arranged alphabetically by name of post office on a national basis without regard to state or county. Records before 1824 do not show the names of counties in which post offices were situated. Some pages are not entirely legible. Typical information includes the name of the post office, the state in which the post office was located, dates of the post office's establishment and discontinuance, names of the postmasters, and dates of the postmasters' appointments. Although these records do not indicate when the postmaster resigned or was terminated, his or her length of service can be approximated by noting the date of appointment of the postmaster's successor.

1832-1971 Records

Postmaster appointments for 1832-1971 have been reproduced as Microfilm Publication M841, Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832–Sept. 30, 1971 (145 rolls). These records are arranged alphabetically by state, thereunder by county, and thereunder by the name of the post office. The content is similar to the pre-1832 records.

Records of Post Office Locations

Information about the physical location of post offices is found in National Archives Microfilm Publication M1126, Post Office Department Records of Site Locations, 1837-1950 (683 rolls). The quantity and quality of information about each post office varies but it may be useful for learning more about an ancestor's community.
Early site reports are relatively infrequent and often contain little information. An undated report for Frostville, Cuyahoga County, OH, for example, simply states that neighboring post offices are Rockport, which is 7 miles northeast, and Copopa, which is 6 miles south. It also states that the Frostville post office is on the west side of the Rockey [sic] River, 7 1/2 miles from its mouth at Lake Erie.
Site reports become more common and more informative after 1870. Information generally includes the post office's proximity to nearby rivers, creeks, postal routes, railroad stations, and to other post offices. Many postmasters requested permission to move the post office to a more convenient location. They frequently submitted maps with the site reports. Most maps relating to rural post offices are hand-drawn, while many relating to cities are annotated copies of published street maps, especially after 1900.
These maps vary in content. For example, postmaster J.K. McNutt of Eagleville, Ashtabula County, OH, submitted a hand-drawn map in 1889 showing nine townships covering a 225 square mile area. He included the position of his post office in relation to two railroad lines; several roads, rivers, and creeks; and one dozen other post offices. The postal site reports for Dorset, Ashtabula County, OH, include an undated map, probably circa 1905, of the commercial area of Dorset Township. The map shows the locations of the current and proposed post office sites, two churches, a cheese factory, two hotels, two stores, and the railroad depot. The Dorset postmaster wanted to move the post office from the south end of the commercial district to its center.

Other Records

M601. Letters Sent by the Postmaster General, 1789-1836 (50 rolls).
M2076. Index and Registers of Substitute Mail Carriers in First- and Second-Class Post Offices, 1885-1903 (1 roll).
M2077. Indexes to Rosters of Railway Postal Clerks, ca. 1883-ca. 1902 (1 roll).
T268. Journal of Hugh Finlay, Surveyor of Post Roads and Post Offices, 1773-1774;
Accounts of the General Post Office in Philadelphia and of the Various Deputy Postmasters;
'The Ledger of Benjamin Franklin'--Jan. 1775-Jan. 1780 (1 roll).
Available for purchase, or search the Microfilm Catalog for the nearest Regional Archives that has a copy of this microfilm publication.

Post Office Names

Before 1891, the Post Office Department had no written policies about post office names. Post office names were derived from several sources, including names of towns, townships, neighborhoods, crossroads, or from the postmaster's name or place of business. The post office of Chesterland in Geauga County, OH, was in Chester Township. A second post office in the same township was named Mulberry Corners after its location in an area where a farmer had once grown mulberry trees. Dr. Frost named his post office 'Frostville' after himself; it was located in the village of Olmsted Falls. Subsequent postmasters changed its name to Norris Falls in 1843, Olmsted in 1845, and Olmsted Falls in 1889. In 1819 the post office of Carson's Tavern, OH, was obviously the location of a tavern operated by postmaster William J. Carson, while in 1821-1823 the post office of Gassaway's Mill, OH, was undoubtedly the location of a mill operated by postmaster Nicholas Gassaway.
Information about policies for assigning post office names after 1891 can be found in Arthur Hecht and William J. Heynen, comps., Records and Policies of the Post Office Department Relating to Place-Names, Reference Information Paper No. 72 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Service, 1975).

For more information

• For more information about assignment of post office names after 1891, see an excerpt from Arthur Hecht and William J. Heynen, comps., Records and Policies of the Post Office Department Relating to Place-Names, Reference Information Paper No. 72 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Service, 1975).
  
• For more information about post office records available as National Archives microfilm publications, see listings for Record Group 28, Records of the Post Office Department, in ourMicrofilm Catalog.
  
• For information about other records in Record Group 28, Records of the Post Office Department, search RG 28 in the online National Archives Catalog.
  
• For a listing of some postal maps, consult see Janet L. Hargett, comp., List of Selected Maps of States and Territories. Select List No. 29. (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Service, 1971).
  
• Many books about post offices and postmarks have been published. For titles and book locations, search online library catalogs such as the Library of Congress online catalog, WorldCat, Hathitrust Digital Library, and so forth.

A post box (British English and others, also written postbox, known in the United States and Canada as collection box, mailbox, post box, or drop box) 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.

Varieties of post boxes (for outgoing mail) include:

History of post boxes

Europe

In 1653, the first post boxes are believed to have been installed in Paris.^[1] By 1829, post boxes were in use throughout France.^[2]

In the British Isles the first pillar post boxes were erected in Jersey in 1852. 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 Britain was installed at Botchergate, 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.^[3]

The first public letter boxes (post boxes) in Russia appeared in 1848 in St. Petersburg.^{[citation needed]} 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 45 kilograms.^{[citation needed]}

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 till the late 1990s. From the 1890s to 1997 the boxes were painted red and after 1997 were painted green.

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 cities. Collection boxes were initially mounted on lamp-posts.^[4] As mail volume grew, the Post Office Department gradually replaced these small boxes with larger models. 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 U.S. city street corners.^[4][5] Unlike Canadian mailboxes, which were painted red,^[6] U.S. mail collection boxes were originally painted a dark green to avoid confusion with emergency and fire equipment, then to red and blue in the 1950s, and finally, all-blue with contrasting lettering.^[5][7] The coming of the automobile also influenced U.S. mailbox design, and in the late 1930s, an extension chute or 'snorkel' to drive-up curbside collection boxes was adopted.^[4]

Types of post boxes

Some postal operators have different types of post boxes for different types of mail, such as, regular post, air mail and express mail, for local addresses (defined by a range of postal codes) and out-of-town addresses, or for post bearing postage stamps and post bearing a postage meter indicator.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[8]

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.^[5][9] 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.^[5][9][10] Bright colours are often used to increase visibility and prevent accidents and injuries.^[11][12] Entry openings are designed to allow the free deposit of mail, yet prevent retrieval via the access slot by unauthorised persons.^[5][13]

Clearance

Post boxes are emptied ('cleared') at times usually listed on the box in a TOC, Times of Collection, plate affixed to the box. In metropolitan areas, this might be once or twice a day. Busy boxes might be cleared at other times 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]}

Since 2005, most Royal Mail post boxes have had the time of only the last collection of the day listed on the box, with no indication of whether the box is cleared at other times earlier in the day. The reason given for this by the Royal Mail is that they needed to increase the type size of the wording on the 'plate' listing the collection times to improve legibility for those with poor sight and that consequently there was insufficient room for listing all collection times throughout the day. Some post boxes may indicate the next collection time by a metal 'tab'^[14] 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.

Terrorism and political vandalism

During 1939 a number of bombs were put in post boxes by the IRA as part of their S-Plan campaign. When the Provisional IRA blew up the Arndale shopping centre in the 1996 Manchester bombing one of the few things to survived unscathed was a Victorian pillar box dating from 1887 (A type A Jubilee pillar).

In 1952, a number of post boxes were attacked in Scotland in a dispute over the title adopted by the British monarch which was displayed in cypher on the boxes. This included at least one which was damaged in the Inch housing estate in Edinburgh with a home made explosive device. The issue in question was the fact that Queen Elizabeth I had not been the queen of Scotland, and so Scotland couldn't have a Queen Elizabeth II. The compromise was to put the Scottish crown on Scottish pillar boxes, without any reference to the particular reigning monarch. One such example can still be seen today in Hong Kong at Statue Square.

In the United States of America, nearly 7,000 USPS collection boxes were removed following the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack and the 2001 anthrax attacks in which letters containing anthrax spores were placed in public collection boxes. Since that time, a decrease in first-class mail volume and the onset of online bill payment processing has resulted in lower demand for collection box service in the U.S.^[4]

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.^{[citation needed]}

In Britain the disposal of hypodermic needles into post boxes is a modern problem. This raises concerns among employees about AIDS/HIV and other infectious diseases and has caused Royal Mail (UK) to issue metal needle-proof gauntlets for their employees in high risk areas to protect those employees from infection.^{[citation needed]}

Colours

Post Box Old Kent Road

Symbols

• Australia – a styled red letter 'P' on a white circle, 'P' standing for 'Post'.
• Canada – 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. Some older post boxes had the words 'Royal Mail'.
• Continental Europe – 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.
• Ireland – from 1922 the Irish harp entwined with the letters 'SE' for Saorstát Éireann, then 'P7T' Gaelic script for Post & Telegraphs and from 1984 An Post with their wavy lines logo, often on the door as a raised casting.
• Russia – logo of Russian Post (Почта России) written white on blue and black on yellow 1st class mail boxes.
• Japan – a 'T' with another bar above it (〒).
• United Kingdom – all post boxes display the Royal Cypher of the reigning monarch at the time of manufacture. Exceptions are the Anonymous pillar boxes of 1879–87, 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 Queen's 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 – the United States Postal Service (USPS) eagle logo, except that boxes for Express Mail use the USPS Express Mail logo.

Gallery of Post Boxes from around the world

• British Edward VII Type A pillar box of 1902 by A.Handyside of Derby in front of Mansfield College, Oxford

• French Post Box at Dinard airport

• French Post Box at Ile de Bréhat

• Post Boxes in Lisbon, Portugal (1st class mail in blue and 2nd class in red)

• Post Box of Indian Postal Service

• VR pillar box in Kilkenny, Ireland, painted green with obvious door repair

• IrishLamp Box erected by An Post

• Italian domestic Post Box

• Japanese Post Box at the Osaka Central Post Office

• U.S. Post Box in front of the Post Office in Conneaut, Ohio

• Post box incorporated into a Type K4 telephone kiosk, introduced in 1927. 10 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

• A standard British lamp letter box mounted on a post in Menai Bridge, Anglesey, Wales

• A Victorian wall box of the Second National Standard type dating from 1859, in Brough, Derbyshire, England

• Large square pillar box (type A wall box freestanding) in Gloddaeth Street, Llandudno, Wales

• A Guernsey Post Type C double aperture pillar box

• A Victorian hexagonal red post box of the Penfold type manufactured in 1866 outside King's College, Cambridge (not the original location for this box).

• One of the 150 post boxes erected during the uncrowned reign of Edward VIII

• 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

• A post box in San Marino

• A Polish post box

• Swedish post box

• A post box in Funningur, Faroe Islands

• Pillar box in Bruges, Belgium

• Singapore AA style sheet metal mail box in Hong Kong

• A Ukrainian post box in the city of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine

• A Czech post box

• A R2-D2 themed post box in Boston, Massachusetts as part of the celebration for Star Wars' 30th anniversary

• A postbox of one the many private mail companies in Germany, this one PIN in Berlin^[16]

• Post box mounted on an electric pole in Bangalore, India

• In Chellaston, Derby, United Kingdom

• Krakow, Poland

• Post box in Macau, China with Cantonese & Portuguese text

• Post box in Lützelflüh-Goldbach, Switzerland

• Post box in Quebec city, Canada

• Post boxes in Heinola, Finland. Orange 2nd class postbox is very common, blue 1st class mailboxes only at selected places.

See also

• Post Office box, used for incoming mail
• Stamp vending machine, often attached to post boxes

References and sources

Notes

1. ^Lawrence, Ken. 'Before the Penny Black'. Ken Lawrence. http://www.norbyhus.dk/btpb.html. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
2. ^Batcow, Stan (2001-12-02). 'The Post Boxes of Blackpool, England'. http://www.ausgang.com/collect/post.html. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
3. ^Wicks, Paul (2002). 'History of British Letter Boxes - Part 1: Victorian Letter Boxes'. Paul Wicks. http://www.wicks.org/pulp/part1.html. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
4. ^ ^abcdMarsh, Allison (2006-03-20). 'Postal Collection Mailboxes'. National Postal Museum. http://www.arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd=1&mode=&tid=2032051. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
5. ^ ^abcdeShaman, Tony. 'Antique Street Letterboxes'. Antique67.com. http://www.antique67.com/articles/antique_letterboxes/antique_letterboxes.html. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
6. ^ Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, History In A Box: Red Forever!, Civilisation.ca. http://www.civilisations.ca/cpm/histbox/canad_e.htm
7. ^Marsh, Allison; Pope, Nancy (2006-04-28). 'Orr & Painter mailbox'. Postal Collection Mailboxes. National Postal Museum. http://www.arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=2&cmd=1&id=76927&img=1&pg=1. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
8. ^ Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, Colour, A Postal Symbol, Civilisation.ca. http://www.civilisations.ca/cpm/histbox/couleu_e.htm
9. ^ ^abGlancey, Jonathan (2007-01-16). 'Classics of everyday design No 6'. theblog. The Guardian. http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/art/2007/01/classics_of_everyday_design_no_6.html. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
10. ^Marsh, Allison (2006-04-29). 'Street collection box damaged September 11, 2001'. Postal Collection Mailboxes. National Postal Museum. http://www.arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=2&cmd=1&id=83037&img=1&mode=&pg=1&tid=2032051. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
11. ^'A Victorian post box in Brecon - made in the Black Country'. Black Country Bugle. 2007-06-28. http://www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/blackcountrybugle-news/displayarticle.asp?id=106007. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
12. ^'Campaign to preserve red post boxes'. BBC UK News. BBC. 2002-10-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2294797.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
13. ^William, Earle (1975-04-29). 'Secured mailbox'. USPTO Database. USPTO. 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. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
14. ^'Changes to post box collections: Collection Tabs'. Postwatch.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2007-06-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070630075459/http://www.postwatch.co.uk/issues/CurrentIssues.asp?id=15. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
15. ^ All Royal Mail / GPO post boxes were painted BS 538 Post Office Red between 1874 and 1969. With the introduction of the K8 Telephone kiosk in 1969, a new 'red' colour was adopted for GPO street furniture, designated B.S. 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).
16. ^PIN MAIL AG

Sources

Farrugia, Jean (1969). The letter box: a history of Post Office pillar and wall boxes. Fontwell: Centaur Press. p. 282. ISBN 0900000147.

External links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Post Box Online

Look at other dictionaries:

Postbox Folders

• post box — post boxes also post box N COUNT A post box is a metal box in a public place, where you put letters and packets to be collected. They are then sorted and delivered. Compare letterbox. [BRIT] (in AM, use mailbox) … English dictionary

• post box — «POHST BOKS», noun. = mailbox. (Cf. ↑mailbox) … Useful english dictionary

• post box — noun A box in which post can be left by the sender to be picked up by a courier. Would you take these letters down to the post box please theyve already got stamps … Wiktionary

• post-box — see post box … English dictionary

• POST-BOX — … Useful english dictionary

• post·box — /ˈpoʊstˌbɑːks/ noun, pl boxes [count] Brit : ↑mailbox 1 … Useful english dictionary

• Post-office box — redirects here. For the electrical device, see Post Office Box (electricity). A Post Office box full of mail … Wikipedia

• Box — describes a variety of containers and receptacles. When no specific shape is described, a typical rectangular box may be expected. Nevertheless, a box may have a horizontal cross section that is square, elongated, round or oval; sloped or domed… … Wikipedia

• Post office box — A post office box (often abbreviated P.O. Box or PO Box) is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office station. In many countries, particularly in Africa, and the Middle East there is no door to door delivery of… … Wikipedia

• box — [[t]bɒ̱ks[/t]] ♦♦ boxes, boxing, boxed 1) N COUNT A box is a square or rectangular container with hard or stiff sides. Boxes often have lids. He reached into the cardboard box beside him... They sat on wooden boxes. ...the box of tissues on her… … English dictionary