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The Letter Box Study Group

@lbsg.org
407 followers 9 following 241 posts

The UK's foremost authority on roadside letter boxes since 1976 📮🇬🇧

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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 03/10/2026
What's that on top of this Edward VII post box in London? A Post Office direction sign, often abbreviated to PODS, was once a common sight on our streets. Now, only a small number (like this one) survive. Have you seen one on a street near you? #postboxsaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 01/10/2026
Why are there Nigerian post boxes in Britain? So called because they were commissioned for use in Nigeria, these boxes were used in the UK because of their low cost, including these two anonymous versions in Devon. The giveaway is the rimless cap! #letterboxstudygroup
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 30/09/2026
Sometimes, anonymity is a political decision. When this post box appeared on the streets of Dundee, its cypher was already ground off. It orignally had the cypher of Elizabeth the second, not used in Scotland due to significant public backlash. #letterboxstudygroup
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 26/09/2026
Have you seen a post box of this shape? Have a look in a petrol station or TG Jones near you to find one. Originally, they all had a royal cypher on, but many have worn off. This one in Yorkshire used to have a Scottish Crown by mistake! #PostboxSaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 24/09/2026
You might have seen this cypherless post box when jetting off on your holidays this summer - it's in Heathrow Airport. The perfect place to post last-minute postcards before returning home! When was the last time you sent a postcard? #letterboxstudygroup
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 22/09/2026
You may be familiar with this kind of post box, most commonly found in supermarkets. However, have you ever seen one without any markings? Some were supplied this way, while others lost them from overzealous cleaning. #letterboxstudygroup
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 19/09/2026
Interestingly, some later post boxes have ended up looking 'anonymous' due to wear and tear. This wall box in Worcestershire had its door replaced at some point, but can you work out from the body which cipher should have been there? #postboxsaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 17/09/2026
What's that mysterious ring on the cap? A small number of early anonymous boxes have this raised ring, but we're not really sure what it's for. The best guess is that it was used to mount something on top of the box. What do you think it could be for?
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 15/09/2026
The same box, decades apart. The high aperture tells us it should have an anonymous door. Instead, the door was replaced - probably in the late 1880s or early 1890s. #postbox #letterboxstudygroup
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 12/09/2026
Anonymous boxes made it to Ireland as well! This example was produced after the aperture was lowered to reduce the number of letters getting stuck. It’s painted green, the standard colour for letter boxes in Ireland. Have you spotted a letter box in an unusual colour? #postboxsaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 10/09/2026
Fancy seeing some beautiful post boxes and other passionate people? Our Autumn Meeting is just one month away, in Warwickshire! New faces are always welcome. Join us at lbsg.org/join for details - we'd love to have you. #letterboxstudygroup
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 05/09/2026
On a tropical island far away... This anonymous high aperture pillar box is on Bermuda in the Atlantic ocean. It still bears the maker's name Handyside / Derby & London. It travelled a long way to get there! #PostboxSaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 01/09/2026
Did you know there was a time they forgot to put cyphers on post boxes? The first round pillar boxes in the UK, cast in the late 1870s through to 1887, had no cypher. Have you ever seen one like this?
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 29/08/2026
We round off our month-long celebration of Edward VIII's 90th anniversary year with this type B pillar from the North East. We hope you've enjoyed seeing a selection of these special boxes. What has been your favourite? And what would you like to see next? #PostboxSaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 25/08/2026
It's 90 years since Edward VIII's short reign. Only a handful of his postboxes survive, but that's more than we'd expect It's 50 years since the LBSG was founded. Why not join us at lbsg.org/join and help further the study and conservation of Britain postbox heritage?
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 22/08/2026
Looks like this rare Edward VIII post box hasn’t quite found its sea legs! Have you seen any cool post boxes so far on your summer holidays? 📸used with permission. #postboxsaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 18/08/2026
A small number of wall boxes with Edward VIII's cypher were made, including this one. The door was replaced by a George V one in 1937 - two kings after George's reign. Can you spot what gives away that it's a replacement door?
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 15/08/2026
Could YOUR local postbox be a rare type? It's not just the cypher like on this Edward VIII; so many things can make a postbox unique. Intrigued? Join us: lbsg.org/join #postboxsaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 12/08/2026
Two icons of the British street. #EdwardVIII #letterboxstudygroup
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 08/08/2026
This #PostboxSaturday brings another Edward VIII: a Ludlow from East Anglia. Edward VIII's Ludlow boxes can be distinguished from his grandfather's as the aperture plate is larger; there is a gap under the cypher. Part of this post box is not original; do you know which part and its age?
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 05/08/2026
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 29/07/2026
How many people have used this non-standard #postbox in the 100-odd years since it was installed? Interested in post boxes? Join the #letterboxstudygroup at lbsg.org/join or follow the link in our bio.
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 25/07/2026
All square in Herefordshire this #PostboxSaturday. This type of post box, cast in the 1970s by the Carron foundry, is known as the Type G. Early Gs, including this one, had no maker's name on the rear base, so If you see one, check to see if it says 'CARRON Co. FALKIRK' - it's rare not to do so!
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 22/07/2026
Not all post boxes in walls are wall boxes! Here is a lamp box in a wall in Oxfordshire - you can tell because of the rounded corners and the more squat shape. Also, it says 'Post Office' above the aperture, rather than on the hood. #letterboxstudygroup #postbox #history
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 18/07/2026
Happy #postboxsaturday to all who celebrate. This Penfold post box from London is around 150 years old. There are replicas in use made in the last 40 years; the easiest way to tell is to look at the maker's name on the base - Cochrane for an original vs Machan for a replica.
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 09/05/2026
What's behind the big blue door?
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 30/04/2026
New parcel postbox "glamour shots", Belfast, NI 📮600 to be installed across the UK 📮Up to medium size parcels can be posted 📮Coming soon to a city near you #postbox #belfast #design
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 29/04/2026
Another new postbox has entered the books! It was unveiled today by local dignitaries and school children outside Ulster University Birley Building in Belfast The box incorporates both parcel and letter posting facilities, with an integrated solar panel on top #postbox #belfast #breakingnews
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 29/04/2026
A peek under the covers
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 29/04/2026
What's going on in Belfast today??? #postbox #breakingnews #royalmail
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 21/03/2026
📮🍺PUBS AND POSTBOXES Have you seen a postbox outside a pub recently? They're not uncommon in the countryside, as pubs are a traditional community location. Sadly this Victorian postbox is now gone, replaced by a modern "tin Lizzie", and the pub is closed. A sign of the times? #postboxsaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 19/03/2026
Now coming through members' letter boxes! Newsletter 200 aligned perfectly with our 50th anniversary year. Have you got your's yet? #postbox
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 14/03/2026
📮🏆BRITAIN'S BEST POSTBOX IS... ❓❓ What's your favourite? PENFOLD - classic Victorian design HANDYSIDE - grandfather of modern pillar boxes TYPE G - the square postbox TYPE K - distinctive and modern Some photos from LBSG archives, others from LBSG members, used with permission. #postboxsaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 02/03/2026
Today we helped out a Daily Mail reader with a burning question about Victorian postboxes. If you have a burning postbox question, you don't need to go to the mail! Send us a message here and we'll do our best to get you an answer.
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 01/03/2026
Membership includes: 📰 Our quarterly "Newsletter" - 50+ full-colour pages 👥 LBSG meetings - 1 virtual, 2 in person 🛒 The LBSG shop - dive into the depths of postbox knowledge 📧 The LBSG mailing list - talk to LBSG members across the UK and the world Photo: LBSG AGM 2025, Shifnal
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 28/02/2026
⌛️ 📮FIXED AND CHANGING Our archive photo reveals features Royal Mail introduced to post boxes: ✉️Stamp Vending Machine 🗓Gold top for Sunday collections ➡Post Office Direction Sign This Edward VII postbox in London lost all these features but is still in use #postboxsaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 21/02/2026
🇮🇪 📮 Irish wall boxes (LBSG archives) 📷🕰️ SHARED HERITAGE - Ireland and the UK had the same postboxes until Irish independence CYPHERS - While some had the British royal cyphers removed, others remained BOTH NATIONS - this Edward VII wall box also carries the Irish Free State emblem #postboxsaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 14/02/2026
👑📮⏳30 YEARS AGO EDWARD VIII - reigned less than a year; few postboxes were made in his name ORIGINAL LOCATION - Installed in Liverpool in 1936 REPAIRED - the fix to the collection plate holder has been there nearly half the box's lifetime! Have you seen any Edward VIII postboxes? #postboxsaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 07/02/2026
📮✉️Exciting Post Today!💌🎉 The Handwritten Letter Appreciation Society @letterappsoc.bsky.social sent us a lovely card to celebrate our 50th Anniversary! Thank you to all letter writers everywhere for keeping our postboxes alive! #postboxsaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 07/02/2026
📮🕰️A glimpse into the LBSG archives: this George VI wall box once stood proudly outside Bratton Fleming Post Office. The office closed a year after this 2007 photo - and today, both box and building are gone. A little slice of postal history saved in a snapshot. #postboxsaturday
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 31/01/2026
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
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 17/01/2026
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
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 10/01/2026
"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
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 24/12/2025
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...
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 23/12/2025
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
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 22/12/2025
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
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 21/12/2025
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...
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 20/12/2025
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
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 19/12/2025
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
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The Letter Box Study Group @lbsg.org · 18/12/2025
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/
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