Page 68 - Bulletin 9 2005

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letter boxes first appeared in 1852. Letter boxes were of three types: pillar, wall, and lamp.

The first pillar boxes were octagonal in form but in 1859 the shape was standardized to the
cylindrical form that remained familiar for over 100 years. The main change in appearance

that occurred during this time was the change in the royal cipher, embossed on the door,

associated with the six sovereigns from Victoria to Elizabeth II. This type of box was
installed in 1895 at Muizenberg, St. James, Kalk Bay and Simon’s Town and would have

had the royal cipher VR on the door. Despite the closure of the local post offices in the
1990s the pillar boxes have been retained through popular request. The one at Kalk Bay

has no royal cipher on its door and is of a type known as the ‘anonymous’ letter box,
whereas the one at St. James is embossed with E II R.

Wall letter boxes first appeared in Britain in 1857 and attained a form by late Victorian
Times that has remained fairly constant to the present day. They could be produced at a

quarter of the cost of the pillar box and were therefore installed in large numbers. In 1884

such a box was installed in the boundary wall of Sir John Molteno's home, at his request,
near the corner of Kimberley and Main Road Kalk Bay. It is still there, though no longer in

use.

Lamp letterboxes were the smallest of the three types and were typically attached to the
gas lamp posts which increasingly made their appearance in Victorian Britain. The first

one was installed in London in 1896. Locally there used to be one on a pole near False Bay

station.

Stamps and Rates

The introduction of adhesive postage stamps took place on 1 September 1853. Until then

postage was paid in cash. This now applied only to overseas postage. The stamps, designed
by the Surveyor-General, Mr. Charles Bell, were the famous Cape triangular series - the 4d

blue for letters and the 1d brown/red for newspapers.