We've been using post boxes, for more than 200 years and research has discovered that the earliest known post box was installed at Wakefield Post Office in 1809. To celebrate this anniversary Royal Mail is releasing a Miniature Sheet of four stamps featuring iconic wall mounted Post Boxes.
1st Class – George V Type B Wall Box
This example with the royal cipher of George V was cast by W T Allen & Co Ltd, London, between 1933-36, and is from Cookham Rise near Maidenhead.
56p – Edward VII Ludlow Box
Introduced in 1887 this type of standardized box derives its name from the foundry where many of them were made. This example is from Bodiam, East Sussex.
81p – Victorian Lamp Box
The lamp box could also be attached to lamp post or other such structure. This example is from Hythe in Kent and was installed in 1896.
90p – Elizabeth II Type A Wall Box
This Elizabeth II Wall box is located in Slaithwaite near Huddersfield and would have been made between 1962 and 1963.
Royal Mail is also issuing a Prestige Stamp Book entitled 'Treasures of the Archive'.
Some of the amazing artefacts held in trust for the nation by the British Postal Museum and Archive are shown in the booklet - including a stamp pane featuring all four of the Post Boxes stamps. The book contains four exclusive stamp panes unavailable anywhere else.
