Preserving history one letter box at a time. Inspired by Jean Young Farrugia’s The Letter Box, our group has spent years tracking down old and unusual pillar boxes—like Edward VIIIs—and working with Royal Mail to save them from replacement #postboxsaturday

The first LBSG meeting took place in June 1979 in London. Designer Tony Gibbs attended to present his Type K pillar box, which would be appearing on the streets from 1980. Over the decades since we have had many more meetings, and seen many more new postboxes. But this was our first #postboxsaturday

"One Saturday afternoon early in 1976, three men met... each, in their own way, had become interested in the subject of the roadside letter box." 50 years later, their new-founded Letter Box Study Group is still going, protecting and preserving the UK's postbox heritage #postboxsaturday

Dec 24: Blists Hill This living Victorian museum invites its visitors to step back over 125 years to the end of the Victorian era. Sharing traditional crafts, vehicles and food, it also features this slightly less authentic replica Penfold pillar box. Website: www.ironbridge.org.uk/visit/blists...

Dec 23: Dover Transport Museum Alongside historic vehicles, a model railway and vintage shop fronts, this museum also features a George V pillar box. The crack in the door shows the sort of damage pillar boxes can take over time. Website: www.dovertransportmuseum.org.uk

Dec 22: Amberley Museum This beautiful heritage museum in West Sussex has not one, not two, but six postboxes - from this fabulous Edward VII pillar box, through to the experimental George V phone box/post box combination! And it's a wonderful day out, too! Website: www.amberleymuseum.co.uk

Dec 21 - National Museum of Flight From the early days of flight, through World War II, to supersonic jets, there's something for everyone at this museum in East Lothian. And if you like postboxes, it's also got a post-1905 Edward VII pillar box! Website: www.nms.ac.uk/national-mus...

Dec 20: Isle of Wight Postal Museum Our own Arthur Reeder runs this extensive postal museum near Newport, and it is always a favourite. His collection includes over 200 postboxes from all eras. Want to visit? Please contact Arthur to make an appointment. Website: www.postalmuseum.co.uk/page21.html

Dec 19 - GWR Toddington The Gloucester Warwickshire Steam Railway runs alongside the former route of the Great Western Railway's main line, taking in the beautiful Cotswolds. Toddington Station features this repainted Victorian pillar box to collect donations for the railway Website: www.gwsr.com

Dec 18 - Potteries Museum Most notable for its Staffordshire Hoard exhibition, this museum explores the culture and history of The Potteries. One of its exhibitions is this fabulous green First National Standard pillar box, on display in its shop. Website: www.stokemuseums.org.uk/pmag/

Dec 17 - Beaulieu Motor Museum Beaulieu is well worth a visit if you're interested in the history of cars and other motorised transport. A postbox is not a key exhibit here, but this Victorian wall box adds to the scene outside this reconstructed garage. Website: www.beaulieu.co.uk

Dec 16 - Museum for Communication, Berlin This is the world's oldest postal museum. Founded in 1872 by the German postmaster general in the 19th Century, it features many historic German postboxes amongst its exhibitions. Website: www.mfk-berlin.de/homepage/

Dec 15 - Milestones Museum This living museum recreates the Victorian past of Hampshire, but unlike earlier museums in this calendar it's all indoors, no raincoat needed! Their postboxes include this lovely replica Penfold from 1988 outside the fire station. Website: www.milestonesmuseum.org.uk

Breaking postbox news! A Charles III lamp box has been installed in Antarctica! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Dec 14 - St Fagan's This museum explores the history of Wales through the lives of its people. Amongst the outdoor attractions is the Blaen-waun Post Office, originally constructed in 1936 and now with a George V 'hovis' lamp box carefully installed in the wall. Website: museum.wales/stfagans/

Dec 13: Colne Valley Postal History Museum Once a year, this very special private museum run by LBSG member Steve Knight opens to the general public. His collection covers almost the entire span of British postbox history. Watch his website closely for the 2026 open day! Website: www.cvphm.org.uk

Dec 12: Avoncroft Museum As well as rescuing over 30 buildings from across the West Midlands for future generations, Avoncroft has also preserved a collection of National Telephone Kiosks, including this fabulous K4 with its integrated postbox and stamp vending machine. Website: avoncroft.org.uk

Dec 11: National Museum of Scotland In the permanent communications exhibit, on loan from the Postal Museum, is this absolute beauty - a Suttie postbox manufactured by Greenock blacksmith Thomas Suttie in 1856. The only ones in use today are in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh Website: www.nms.ac.uk

Dec 10: Museum of Making Derby was once a powerhouse of industry. Iron foundry Andrew Handyside & Co, whose creations included several notable bridges, was based here. They were the sole manufacturer of pillar boxes from 1879-1905, including this example. Website: derbymuseums.org/museum-of-ma...

Dec 9: Crich Tramway Village Fans of vintage transport will adore this open-air museum keeping Britain's tram heritage alive. It's also home to these lovely historic postboxes - an original Penfold that's still in use, and a Victorian wall box from the late 19th Century Website: www.tramway.co.uk

Dec 8: Bath Postal Museum Not all museums are destined to be with us forever. Bath Postal Museum was a fantastic home for lovers of postal paraphernalia, and was situated in the building where the first recorded Penny Black was posted in 1840. It had to close its doors in September 2023

Dec 7 - Smithsonian National Postal Museum Guests of this museum will learn how the US Postal Service transformed the country. The star of their postbox collection is this British Hong Kong pillar box, still painted its original red colour Website: postalmuseum.si.edu

Dec 6 - The Postal Museum Our close friends in the world of postboxes, their London museum is the perfect place to learn the history of the postal service. The Mail Rail is well worth a ride, and they have many well-cared-for historic postboxes. Website: www.postalmuseum.org

Dec 5 - Black Country Museum This living museum transports its visitors back to the West Midlands' heyday as a bastion of industry. The careful work of its curators has led to period-appropriate postboxes, including an original Penfold and this more-recent pillar box. Website: bclm.com

Dec 4 - National Railway Museum Home to the great locomotives of British and international history, this fantastic museum includes a travelling post office. Trains transformed communication, allowing letters to be delivered across the UK in record time. Website: www.railwaymuseum.org.uk

Dec 3 - Ulster American Folk Park Ireland was a major country of departure for many emigrants to the US. Mountjoy Post Office in Omagh, Ulster, was a communication lifeline for their families. Many of them may have used the Victorian wall box pictured here. Website: www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org

Dec 2 - Shetland Museum This Lerwick museum explores the history of the Shetlands from the first settlers to the present day. One of their many exhibits is this excellent Edward VII semi-circular top ('Hovis') lamp box. Website: www.shetlandmuseumandarchives.org.uk #adventcalendar

Dec 1 - Bletchley Park Museum During World War II this manor hosted a top secret part of Britain's defence against the Axis. British codebreakers cracked the Enigma and Lorenz ciphers. This wall box would have been a much-needed connection point with loved ones. Website: www.bletchleypark.org.uk

Tomorrow is December 1, which means it's time for our annual advent calendar! This year's theme will be "Museums", and we'll be showing off some interesting museums and postboxes over the next 24 days. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season

The 'Bantam' pedestal box - more properly the 'Type N' - was the last of the type lettered pillar boxes. Introduced in 1999, it featured an updated collection system. Welsh language versions were also produced - the first time this had been seen on a postbox #postboxsaturday

Some of the lesser-spotted #postboxes of Elizabeth II's reign are the Jana pillar box, made of fibreglass, and the Postbox TV, which was intended for advertising. This Jana is notable as it briefly featured in The Full Monty. It is pictured here with yellow stripes to indicate a Sunday collection

The other pillar box design to get an upgrade in the 1990s was the Type A, but this was mainly cosmetic. Both Machan and Hillsyde foundries made them; Machans have no gap between the collection plate and aperture, while Hillsydes have a large gap #postboxsaturday

From 1991, new Type C pillar boxes were installed. They featured doors on the front rather than the end, an updated crown and cipher, and the new words "ROYAL MAIL". With this, Machan Engineering made one of the more extreme updates a pillar box design has had since 1905 #postboxsaturday

Not all #postboxes produced in Elizabeth II's reign were made of metal. Broadwater Mouldings produced these fibreglass boxes, installed in supermarkets and transport hubs across the UK. A few, installed in airports, have clear backs for security reasons.

Postboxes received a major rebrand in the 1990s, swapping the 150-year-old words 'POST OFFICE' for "ROYAL MAIL". Soon, the Post Office would be split out into its own company, only responsible for the offices. The iconic red boxes are still under the care of Royal Mail. #postboxsaturday

While most #postbox manufacturers merely produced the postbox designs requested, Machan Engineering were different. They approached Royal Mail with some ideas of their own, including the Types L and M pedestal boxes - here's a Type L with the Scottish Crown, and a Type M with Elizabeth II's cipher

British industry declined from the 1980s. Long term postbox manufacturer Carron Company went insolvent in 1982. Their successors were Carronade (pictured) and Machan Engineering, the latter bringing several new postbox designs to our streets before closing their doors in 2016 #postboxsaturday

We've seen plenty of autumn-themed box toppers this year. Here's one we found on a 1990s Type C pillar box while attending the LBSG AGM in Shifnal. What a lovely job the crafter did, even including a postbox and postie! #postboxsaturday

This magnificent Type A pillar box in Belfast enjoys a great view over the majestic buildings of Queens University. The trees were showing the yellows of early autumn when this photo was taken; by now the ground is surely scattered with their leaves. #postboxsaturday

As promised, a few photos from the LBSG AGM yesterday. We had a wonderful day with friends old and new, including special guest Chris Taft from @thepostalmuseum.bsky.social who gave a talk about the museum and their plans for 2026 and beyond 🤫

How many autumns have come and gone since this Victorian wall box was installed? It stands as testament to the endurance of postboxes and letters, of cast iron and a lick of red paint. This weekend is the Letter Box Study Group AGM, in Shifnal. Look out tomorrow for photos! #postboxsaturday

Autumn has crept in; the leaves crunch underfoot and there's a chill in the air. What better inspiration for a postbox topper? This lovely pair of Type Ks outside the Post Office in Warwick have been seasonally decorated with animals, scarecrows and leaves #postboxsaturday #postbox #autumn

Now arriving in LBSG members' letter boxes, it's newsletter 198! lbsg.org/membership

Steel Type F (1968) and later cast iron Type G (1974) pillar boxes were a failed experiment in square postboxes. Their shape was rejected by the British public who petitioned for a return to tradition. Type Fs were also highly susceptible to corrosion and none remain on our streets #postboxsaturday

Another radio appearance today discussing the new solar panel postboxes - BBC Radio Scotland www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... (10 minutes before end of show)

Did you hear our interview with Evan Davies on BBC Radio 4 about the new solar panel postboxes? www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

📮Attention Postbox Lovers 📮 Royal Mail is upgrading postboxes to accept parcels. They'll gain a new slot (which still accepts letters) and a solar panel on top. To identify boxes being upgraded look for: - slimmer pillar boxes - jutting out apertures - EIIR/Scottish Crown cipher #PostboxSaturday

During the early decades of Elizabeth's reign, Type C (oval) pillar boxes saw no real design changes. Unlike the later Type Cs, these have doors on either end. They ceased production in the 1980s #postboxsaturday

www.theoldhamtimes.co.uk/news/2537416... Has your local postbox mysteriously had its door removed and been wrapped in black film? Solar powered postboxes are on the way #postbox

After McDowall Steven folded in 1957, Carron Company took up manufacture of Type A pillar boxes alongside the Type Bs they already made. That same year they altered the design of the aperture; the new wide, protruding slot made it easier to accept larger mail items. #postboxsaturday