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105-527: A letter box , letterbox , letter plate , letter hole , mail slot or mailbox is a receptacle for receiving incoming mail at a private residence or business. For outgoing mail, post boxes are often used for depositing the mail for collection, although some letter boxes are also capable of holding outgoing mail for a carrier to pick up. Letterboxes or mailboxes use the following primary designs: A "letter box", or "mail slot" in American and Canadian usage,

210-484: A Community Mail Box , or CMB ) instead of individual curbside mailboxes in an attempt to reduce health and safety complaints by Canada Post rural mail carriers. This change has been extended to some suburban areas of the country as well. In 2014, in an effort to cut costs, Canada Post announced its intent to phase out door-to-door delivery and adopt community mailboxes in 32% of urban centres. The plan faced criticism, especially due to accessibility concerns. The program

315-494: A legal monopoly . The worldwide postal system constituting the individual national postal systems of the world's self-governing states is coordinated by the Universal Postal Union , which among other things sets international postage rates, defines standards for postage stamps and operates the system of international reply coupons . In most countries a system of codes has been created (referred to as ZIP codes in

420-431: A semaphore or signal flag mounted on an attached arm to signal the postman to pickup outgoing mail. Originally, this flag was raised not only by the resident of the property to signal the postman of outgoing mail, but also by the postman to inform the recipient that incoming mail had been delivered - a convenience to all during periods of freezing or inclement weather. Since 1923, in order to promote uniformity, as well as

525-626: A block of dots as a two-dimensional barcode . The "block of dots" method allows for the encoding of proof of payment of postage, exact routing for delivery, and other features. The ordinary mail service was improved in the 20th century with the use of planes for a quicker delivery. The world's first scheduled airmail post service took place in the United Kingdom between the London suburbs of Hendon and Windsor, Berkshire , on 9 September 1911. Some methods of airmail proved ineffective, however, including

630-615: A form of meter label and thus do not need to be cancelled.) Documents should generally not be read by anyone other than the addressee; for example, in the United States of America it is a violation of federal law for anyone other than the addressee and the government to open mail. There are exceptions however: executives often assign secretaries or assistants the task of handling their mail; and postcards do not require opening and can be read by anyone. For mail contained within an envelope, there are legal provisions in some jurisdictions allowing

735-568: A high-traffic location or inside a gated community, the NDCBU is a tempting target for thieves attracted by the possibility of recovering checks, cash, identifying information, or other valuables from multiple victims. A 2008 RAND Corporation study, citing USPS statistics collected between 2004 and 2007, found that NDCBU thefts constituted 52.7% of all urban neighborhood mail thefts and 76.6% of all rural neighborhood mail thefts from locations with more than one mailbox, with higher-income ZIP code zones having

840-555: A large metal box mounted on a support designed primarily to receive large quantities of incoming mail, often with an attached flag to signal the presence of outgoing mail to the mail carrier. In the US and Canada, rural curbside mailboxes may be found grouped together at property boundaries or road/driveway intersections, depending upon conditions. Although the United States Postal Service (USPS) has general regulations stating

945-435: A manifestation of American functionalist industrial design . Constructed of light-gauge painted sheet steel , Joroleman designed his mailbox with an arched, tunnel-shape roof, which prevented excessive accumulation of rainwater or snow while resisting deformation . The tunnel top also simplified the process of mass production by eliminating the need for precise sheet metal bends. Stamped and formed metal straps riveted to

1050-564: A minimum interior dimensions of 45 cm in length by 17.5 cm in width by 17.5 cm in height for a rectangular mailbox, and 45 cm in length by 25 cm in diameter in the case of a cylindrical mailbox. The US Post Office has established guidelines for mail recipients, including mail slot or mailbox size, location, and identification requirements. While the Post Office permitted alternative designs for attached mailboxes and mail slots that met basic size and construction requirements,

1155-733: A postal system in the Empire, appointing Franz von Taxis to run it. This system, originally the Kaiserliche Reichspost , is often considered the first modern postal service in the world, which initiated a revolution in communication in Europe. The system combined contemporary technical and organization means to create a stable transcontinental service which was also the first to offer (fee-based) public access. The Thurn und Taxis family, then known as Tassis, had operated postal services between Italian city-states from 1290 onward. For 500 years

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1260-619: A private mail service. Notably, the Cistercians had one which connected more than 6,000 abbeys , monasteries , and churches. The best organization, however, was created by the Knights Templar . In 1716, Correos y Telégrafos was established in Spain as public mail service, available to all citizens. Delivery postmen were first employed in 1756 and post boxes were installed firstly in 1762. In 1505, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I established

1365-424: A rise in identity and mail theft. With these secure designs, the incoming mail is placed into a slot or hopper by the mail carrier, where it drops into a secure locked compartment for retrieval by only the homeowner (who retains a key or combination to the lock). Locking mailboxes are generally constructed of heavy-gauge steel or aluminum plate, though some models are made of roto-moulded polymer plastic. Because of

1470-525: A separate compartment for outgoing mail are usually built into the station. The mail carrier will have a key to a large door on one side that reaches all the compartments, and the residents or tenants will each have a key to the door into their individual compartment on the other side. The location of the NDCBU in a community or business center is extremely important, since neighborhood cluster box installations located in remote or poorly lighted areas invite large-scale mail theft or vandalism. Even when located in

1575-575: A small Telephone Boutique next to a historic Postal mansion his ancestors used to go to centuries earlier. Several European Post Carriers like Deutsche Post or Österreichische Post continue to use the Thurn & Taxis Post Horn in their company logo just like the global Phone Book of the World based in the old Postal mansion of King Louis XIV in Paris. In the United Kingdom, prior to 1840 letters were paid for by

1680-456: A substantial increase in distances walked by the mail carrier, slowing mail delivery while increasing labor costs. In order to reduce delivery times and increase efficiency, the Post Office began requiring all new suburban developments to install curbside mailboxes in place of door-to-door delivery, allowing mail carriers to remain in the vehicle while delivering the mail. In 1978, the USPS (successor to

1785-422: A substantially higher number of thefts than low-income ZIP code zones. In Canada, community mailboxes (or Supermailboxes ) appeared in the late 1980s in newer suburban areas. Newer developments usually are temporarily supplied with green rural community mail boxes and replaced later with permanent supermailboxes. Since 2004, many rural Canadian residents have been required to use community mail stations (known as

1890-560: A suspected criminal conspiracy, although black chambers (largely in the past, though there is apparently some continuance of their use today) opened extralegally. The mail service may be allowed to open the mail if neither addressee nor sender can be located, in order to attempt to locate either. Mail service may also open the mail to inspect if it contains materials that are hazardous to transport or violate local laws. DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V. ( DIN ; in English ,

1995-410: Is a centralized community mail station with compartments for the centralized delivery of mail to multiple recipients at multiple addresses within a single neighborhood development or community. In new housing developments, the NDCBU location is fixed by the developer, not the USPS, and may be located hundreds of yards away from the addressee's actual residence. A parcel locker for receipt of packages and

2100-561: Is a nonprofit organization by German law. The nonprofit owns DIN Solutions GmbH , which produces the DIN contents and DIN Media (formerly Beuth Verlag ), which sells the DIN-standard manuals. DIN is shareholder of DIN Bauportal GmbH and DQS Holding GmbH . The designation of a DIN standard shows its origin (# denotes a number): Some of the DIN standards date back to the time of Nazi Germany . For example, standard DIN 5009 , which describes

2205-505: Is a slot, usually horizontal but sometimes vertical, about 30 cm by 5 cm (12 inches by 2 inches), cut through the middle or lower half of a front door . This style is almost universal in British homes and offices, but in the US is limited primarily to urban areas. Most are covered by a flap or seal on the outside for weatherproofing . The flap may be closed by gravity, or sprung to prevent it opening and closing noisily in

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2310-589: Is derived from Old French poste , which ultimately stems from the past participle of the Latin verb ponere 'to lay down or place'. So in the U.K., the Royal Mail delivers the post , while in North America both the U.S. Postal Service and Canada Post deliver the mail . The term email , short for "electronic mail", first appeared in the 1970s. The term snail mail is a retronym to distinguish it from

2415-910: Is in Egypt , where Pharaohs used couriers to send out decrees throughout the territory of the state (2400 BCE). The earliest surviving piece of mail is also Egyptian, dating to 255 BCE. The first credible claim for the development of a real postal system comes from Ancient Persia . The best-documented claim ( Xenophon ) attributes the invention to the Persian King Cyrus the Great (550 BCE), who mandated that every province in his kingdom would organize reception and delivery of post to each of its citizens. Other writers credit his successor Darius I of Persia (521 BCE). Other sources claim much earlier dates for an Assyrian postal system, with credit given to Hammurabi (1700 BCE) and Sargon II (722 BCE). Mail may not have been

2520-614: Is not transparent. The majority of the standardization committees consist of representatives of the companies that are affected by the standards. DIN does not publish the names of committee members. In 2023, the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building launched an initiative to question DIN standards because they are considered a cost driver. “A central goal is to speed up planning and construction and reduce construction costs in order to create more affordable housing. “The building standards are now being reviewed,” said

2625-580: Is possible in the UK, but Royal Mail usually charge an extra per-item fee for this service. Wall-mounted or attached mailboxes may also be used in place of mail slots, usually located close to the front door of the residence. They are known as "full-service" mailboxes when they have provisions for securing outgoing as well as incoming mail. Attached wall-mounted mailboxes are still used in older urban and suburban neighbourhoods in North America. They are especially common in urban and suburban areas of Canada , where

2730-475: Is the No. 3, which measures 22.81 inches long, 11 inches wide, and 15 inches in height (58 cm x 28 cm x 38 cm) at the peak. Locking mailbox designs that provide security for the recipient's incoming mail have fewer restrictions on shape and size, though designs with a slot for incoming mail must be at least 1.75 inches high by 10 inches wide. Residential locking mailboxes cannot require

2835-466: Is voluntary. It was developed by a German mail boxes manufacturer Burg Wächter and it reflects this manufacturer's technical capability and commercial interests with a number of the specifications unfounded, for example, aperture dimensions or internal volume, while the vital issues of security, energy saving, and environmental issues of a property and the occupants are not addressed in the Standard. Although

2940-642: The German Institute for Standardisation ) is a German non-profit organization and acting as national organization for standardization . DIN is the German ISO member body. DIN is headquartered in Berlin . There are around thirty thousand DIN Standards , covering nearly every field of technology. Founded in 1917 as the Normenausschuß der deutschen Industrie (NADI, "Standardisation Committee of German Industry"),

3045-519: The German Phonetic spelling code , is based on the postal spelling table, that was heavily edited by the Nazis. Until 1934 it specified "D" for David, "S" for Samuel, "Z" for Zacharias and "N" for Nathan. However, this went against the Nazis' ethnic-racial ideology and they decided to revise the letter board. The postal spelling table was partially revised in 1950 and formed the basis for the first version of

3150-568: The Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), who had relay stations every 30 li (about 15km) along major routes. The Tang dynasty (618 to 907 AD) operated a recorded 1,639 posthouses, including maritime offices, employing around 20,000 people. The system was administered by the Ministry of War and private correspondence was forbidden from the network. The Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644) sought a postal system to deliver mail quickly, securely, and cheaply. Adequate speed

3255-470: The U.S. Postal Service authorised the first tests of a secure system of sending digital franks via the Internet to be printed out on a PC printer, obviating the necessity to license a dedicated franking machine and allowing companies with smaller mail programs to make use of the option; this was later expanded to test the use of personalized postage. The service provided by the U.S. Postal Service in 2003 allows

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3360-568: The US Post Office Department began delivering mail to home addresses. Until 1916, mail carriers knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. Efficiency experts estimated that each mailman lost over 1.5 hours each day just waiting for patrons to come to the door. To correct this problem, the Post Office Department ordered that every household must have a mail box or letter slot in order to receive mail. This requirement

3465-464: The USFDA found that the temperature in a steel mailbox painted black could reach 136 °F (58 °C) in full sun while the ambient air temperature was 101 °F (38 °C). There is a recommendation to have a lock on the letter box, if it is not built into a lockable door. Unlocked letter boxes are often used for identity theft , including the ordering of something valuable which is then stolen from

3570-628: The Wodeyar dynasty (1399–1947) of the Kingdom of Mysore used mail service for espionage purposes thereby acquiring knowledge related to matters that took place at great distances. By the end of the 18th century, a postal system in India was in operation. Later this system underwent complete modernization when the British Raj established its control over most of India. The Post Office Act XVII of 1837 provided that

3675-436: The 17th century, the word mail began to appear as a reference for a bag that contained letters: "bag full of letter" (1654). Over the next hundred years the word mail began to be applied strictly to the letters themselves and the sack as the mailbag . In the 19th century, the British typically used mail to refer to letters being sent abroad (i.e. on a ship) and post to refer to letters for domestic delivery. The word Post

3780-553: The August Revolution, the Post and Wireless Office was renamed the Post Office under the Ministry of Transportation. In 1955, the Post Office was upgraded to the Ministry of Post. Some Chinese sources claim mail or postal systems dating back to the Xia or Shang dynasties , which would be the oldest mailing service in the world. The earliest credible system of couriers was initiated by

3885-655: The Governor-General of India in Council had the exclusive right of conveying letters by post for hire within the territories of the East India Company. The mails were available to certain officials without charge, which became a controversial privilege as the years passed. On this basis the Indian Post Office was established on October 1, 1837. The first well-documented postal service was that of Rome . Organized at

3990-522: The NADI was renamed Deutscher Normenausschuß (DNA, "German Standardisation Committee") in 1926 to reflect that the organization now dealt with standardization issues in many fields; viz., not just for industrial products. In 1975 it was renamed again to Deutsches Institut für Normung , or 'DIN' and is recognised by the German government as the official national-standards body, representing German interests at

4095-490: The Post Office in 1896, and in Canada in 1908, many rural residents had no access to the mail unless they collected it at a post office located many miles from their homes or hired a private express company to deliver it to them. For this reason, mailboxes did not become popular in rural North America until curbside RFD mail delivery by the Post Office was an established service. Even then, farmers and rural homeowners at first resisted

4200-611: The Post Office) declared that every new development must have either curbside delivery or centralized mail delivery. In 1915, the Joroleman mailbox , named after its designer, Post Office employee Roy J. Joroleman, was approved by the U.S. Post Office. Joroleman, who held a degree in mechanical engineering, designed his mailbox with an unusual dome-rectangular shape, incorporating a curved, tunnel-shaped roof, latching door, and rotating semaphore flag. The Joroleman mailbox has been praised as

4305-460: The Standard was due for a review after 5 years in 2007, this did not happen. In April 2013 the amended Standard BS EN 13724:2013 was finally published, however, again it was drafted by the same company and is nearly word-for-word copy of the old EN 13724:2002 Standard. The essential amendments (especially important for the UK) were not included again and the interests of security, energy saving and wellbeing of

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4410-514: The UK government agreed to ban low-level letter boxes after a campaign from the Royal Mail. However, as of 2023, the UK government has not taken action to ban low-level letter boxes. Numerous designs of mailboxes with improved construction and security have been patented in recent years, particularly in the United States. In 2001, the USPS first approved designs for locking curbside mailboxes to stem

4515-403: The US, wall-mounted or curbside mailboxes that are only designed for receiving incoming mail are known as "limited-service" mailboxes, while mailboxes equipped with a mechanism for notifying the postman to collect outgoing mail from the mailbox are known as "full service" mailboxes. A number of designs of letterboxes and mailboxes have been patented , particularly in the United States. One design

4620-557: The USPS is reluctant to establish direct to door delivery to new addresses, and now requires special approvals to initiate this service (Postal Operations Manual, Section 631.2) Instead, the USPS has insisted upon centralized mail delivery in virtually all newly constructed residential housing developments, condominiums, and gated communities by requiring or incentivizing the builder or developer to install larger NDCBU ( Neighborhood Delivery Collection Box Unit ) stations. CBUs and NDCBUs are both commonly known as cluster mailboxes . The NDCBU

4725-414: The USPS to insist on either curbside or centralized mail delivery for new suburban neighborhoods and developments. A 1995 cost delivery study published in a USPS Operations handbook listed per-address annual delivery costs as: Door-to-door, $ 243; Curbside, $ 154; Cluster/flock Box (centralized mail delivery), $ 106. Large apartment buildings usually have a cluster/flock of mailboxes for all units, located in

4830-477: The United States Postal Service's experiment with rocket mail . Receipt services were made available in order to grant the sender a confirmation of effective delivery. Before about the mid-nineteenth century, in regions where postal systems existed, the payment models varied, but most mail was sent unpaid requiring the recipient to pay the postage fee. In some regions a partial payment was made by

4935-485: The United States, postcodes in the United Kingdom and Australia, eircodes in Ireland and postal codes in most other countries) in order to facilitate the automation of operations. This also includes placing additional marks on the address portion of the letter or mailed object, called "bar coding". Bar coding of mail for delivery is usually expressed either by a series of vertical bars, usually called POSTNET coding or

5040-408: The agent usually indicates by means of a cancellation that it is no longer valid for pre-payment of postage. The exceptions are when the agent forgets or neglects to cancel the mailpiece, for stamps that are pre-cancelled and thus do not require cancellation and for, in most cases, metered mail. (The "personalized stamps" authorized by the USPS and manufactured by Zazzle and other companies are in fact

5145-558: The arched opening and the mailbox door served as a door latching mechanism, while a rotating red semaphore flag mounted on a shaft attached to the side of the mailbox served to signal the approaching mailman if there was outgoing mail inside. Fitted with a crimped or braze-on rear steel panel and a false floor to keep its contents dry in inclement or humid weather, the Joroleman mailbox required only two rivets, three axle bolts , and four screws and nuts for completion. Durable and inexpensive,

5250-512: The conditions for physical mail. Email (and in recent years social networking sites) became a fierce competitor to physical mail systems, but online auctions and Internet shopping opened new business opportunities as people often get items bought online through the mail. Modern mail is organized by national and privatized services, which are reciprocally connected by international regulations, organizations and international agreements. Paper letters and parcels can be sent to almost any country in

5355-529: The convenient and rapid delivery of the mail, the United States Post Office Department (later the USPS) has continued to retain authority to approve the size and other characteristics of all mail receptacles, whether mailboxes or mail slots, for use in delivery of the mails. The USPS continues to issue specifications for curbside mailbox construction for use by manufacturers. Approved mailboxes from

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5460-476: The curbside mailbox is rarely seen except in rural areas. Attached mailboxes are less common in newer urban and suburban developments and in rural areas of the United States, where curbside delivery or delivery to a community mail station ( cluster mailbox , known as a bank of post boxes in the UK) is generally used. Rural and some suburban areas of North America may utilize curbside mailboxes , also known as rural mailboxes . These receptacles generally consist of

5565-541: The delivery of mail. Before then, letterboxes of a similar design had been installed in the doors and walls of post offices for people to drop off outgoing mail. An example of such a wall box (originally installed in the wall of the Wakefield Post Office) is dated 1809 and believed to be the oldest example in Britain. It is now on display at the new Wakefield Museum . In 1863, with the creation of Free City Delivery,

5670-399: The design requirements of the mail recipient. Mailboxes can also be manufactured using materials including cast iron and plastic, but these are less commonly seen in the United Kingdom. The reclamation and reuse of original Royal Mail post boxes in private homes, many stocked and sold by salvage yards, led to questions from the public about the legal position regarding their reuse, which is

5775-399: The distance a letter box may be from the road surface, these requirements may be changed by the local postmaster according to local environment and road conditions. At one time, nearly 843,000 rural Canadian residents used rural (curbside) mailboxes for private mail delivery, though Canada Post has since required the installation of community mailbox stations for many rural residents. In

5880-496: The enormous funding necessary to rapidly industrialize Japan in the late 19th century. The postal service was one of Korea's first attempts at modernization. The Joseon Post Office was established in 1884. Another important postal service was created in the Islamic world by the caliph Mu'awiyya; the service was called barid , for the name of the towers built to protect the roads by which couriers travelled. By 3000 BC, Egypt

5985-426: The entire unit to be opened for efficient filling of individual mailboxes. In the US, a property with a single mailing address but with multiple mail recipients may utilize a community mail station designated CBU , or Cluster Box Unit . CBUs are typically stand-alone units that have locked individual compartments for each tenant in an apartment building, a trailer or mobile home park, or an office center. By policy,

6090-399: The entry lobby or in a nearby dedicated mailroom. There often is a special lock box (also called a "key keeper" or "Knox box") located at the outside entrance, which either gives access to a front door key or directly activates the front door electric strike , to allow the mail delivery person to enter the building. A similar "Arrow lock" is usually located on the centralized mailbox, to allow

6195-405: The franks to be printed out on special adhesive-backed labels. In 2004 the Royal Mail in the United Kingdom introduced its SmartStamp Internet-based system, allowing printing on ordinary adhesive labels or envelopes. Similar systems are being considered by postal administrations around the world. When the pre-paid envelope or package is accepted into the mail by an agent of the postal service,

6300-529: The height of a standing man, attached mailboxes did not require the mail carrier to lean over to deposit the mail. They also allowed the homeowner to keep outgoing mail dry while awaiting pickup by the mail carrier. To reduce the time required for the mail carrier to complete delivery when the front door of a home was located some distance from the street, it was proposed that individual mail boxes for residential or business customers be mounted curbside on fence -posts, lamp -posts, or other supports. While this idea

6405-411: The increased risk of vandalism to curbside mailboxes, numerous vandal-resistant boxes made of composite plastic or heavy-gauge steel or aluminum plate have also entered the market. Some composite mailboxes made of resilient polymer plastics and mounted on ground spikes can resist severe impacts from baseball bats or even being run over by a vehicle. In 1978, steady increases in postal service costs caused

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6510-457: The international and European levels. The acronym , 'DIN' is often incorrectly expanded as Deutsche Industrienorm ("German Industry Standard"). This is largely due to the historic origin of the DIN as "NADI". The NADI indeed published their standards as DI-Norm ( Deutsche Industrienorm ). For example, the first published standard was ' DI-Norm 1 ' (about tapered pins ) in 1918. Many people still mistakenly associate DIN with

6615-400: The last postmaster, Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince of Thurn and Taxis , into real estate, most of it continuing to exist today. The Phone Book of the World has its roots in the long history of the avant-garde telecommunications family Thurn & Taxis. The directory is the result of Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn & Taxis transmitting PTT culture to a student and helping with the opening of

6720-603: The latter are always stamped "U.S. Mail" and "Approved by the Postmaster General". These standards have resulted in limitations on product diversity and design, though new materials, shapes, and features have appeared in recent years. After World War II, postwar suburban home construction expanded dramatically in the United States, along with mail volume. By the 1960s, many new suburban homes were considerably larger and located on larger lots, yet most still used mail slots or attached wall-mounted mailboxes. This development caused

6825-428: The mail and packages often surveyed and their contents sometimes edited out (or even in). There have been cases over the millennia of governments opening and copying or photographing the contents of private mail. Subject to the laws in the relevant jurisdiction, correspondence may be openly or covertly opened, or the contents determined via some other method, by the police or other authorities in some cases relating to

6930-470: The mail service. Foreign observers, such as Marco Polo , have attested to the efficiency of this early postal system. Each station was maintained by up to twenty five families. Work for postal service counted as military service. The system was still operational in 18th century when 64 stations were required for a message to cross Mongolia from the Altai Mountains to China. The modern Japanese system

7035-562: The mailbox through an entry hole in the mailbox, where it drops into a secured compartment. The deposited items can only be retrieved an individual using a coded key (designed to work only with that particular coded lock), or by entering a number sequence via a combination lock. Electronic locks can also be used with mailboxes, but they must be used in an internal location due to their vulnerability to inclement weather. Mailboxes are commonly manufactured using zintec steel, aluminium, stainless steel or galvanised steel, and then powder-coated to meet

7140-603: The message carrier (called Chapar ) would ride to the next post, whereupon he would swap his horse with a fresh one for maximum performance and delivery speed. Herodotus described the system in this way: "It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day's journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed". The verse prominently features on New York's James Farley Post Office , although it uses

7245-633: The old DI-Norm naming convention. One of the earliest, and probably the best known, is DIN 476 — the standard that introduced the A-series paper sizes in 1922 — adopted in 1975 as International Standard ISO 216 . Common examples in modern technology include DIN and mini-DIN connectors for electronics, and the DIN rail . DIN SPEC 3105 , published in 2020, is "the first German standard to be published under an open license ( CC-BY-SA 4.0 ) [...] to implement an open standardisation process". DIN

7350-442: The popularity of the Joroleman mailbox was further enhanced by a decision not to patent the design, but to make its specifications known to all potential manufacturers for competitive sale. Adopted across the United States, it has remained the top-selling mailbox since its introduction, and was also widely used in Canada prior to that country's decision to eliminate individual curbside delivery to rural residents. The Joroleman mailbox

7455-692: The postal business based in Brussels and in Frankfurt was passed from one generation to another. Following the abolition of the Empire in 1806, the Thurn-und-Taxis Post system continued as a private organization into the postage stamp era before being absorbed into the postal system of the new German Empire after 1871. 1867 July 1 the State of Prussia had to make a compensation payment of 3.000.000 Thalers reinvested by Helene von Thurn & Taxis , daughter-in-law of

7560-406: The postal carrier to have a key, by USPS Specifications. Therefore, no USPS approved residential locking mailbox has secure outgoing mail. Installation requirements vary from standard unlocked mailboxes: with locking mailboxes, the incoming mail slot must be 41"-45" above the roadside surface, and the front of the mailbox must be 6"-8" back from the curb. USPS specifications for all mailboxes mandate

7665-454: The primary mission of this postal service, however. The role of the system as an intelligence gathering apparatus is well documented, and the service was (later) called angariae , a term that in time came to indicate a tax system. The Old Testament ( Esther , VIII) makes mention of this system: Ahasuerus , king of Medes , used couriers for communicating his decisions. The Persian system worked using stations (called Chapar-Khaneh ), whence

7770-436: The public were not addressed. For those neighbourhoods where mail delivery is to a mail slot, the mail slot must have an opening not less than 17.5 cm by 4 cm, and must be located in a front door or adjacent panel not more than 125 cm and not less than 60 cm from the finished floor line. Wall-mounted mailboxes equipped with a slot must have a slot opening measurement not less than 13.5 cm by 4 cm and

7875-411: The public. Common chariots called Dagana were sometimes used as mail chariots in ancient India. Couriers were used militarily by kings and local rulers to deliver information through runners and other carriers. The postmaster, the head of the intelligence service, was responsible for ensuring the maintenance of the courier system. Couriers were also used to deliver personal letters. In South India ,

7980-409: The purchase of dedicated mailboxes, preferring to leave empty bushel baskets, tin boxes , or wooden crates at the roadside for the postman to deposit their mail. Not until 1923 did the Post Office finally mandate that every household install a mailbox or mail slot in order to receive home delivery of mail. Originally designed only for incoming mail delivery, curbside mailboxes were soon fitted with

8085-428: The quicker email. Various dates have been given for its first use. The practice of communication by written documents carried by an intermediary from one person or place to another almost certainly dates back nearly to the invention of writing . However, the development of formal postal systems occurred much later. The first documented use of an organized courier service for the dissemination of written documents

8190-417: The recipient and the cost was determined by the distance from sender to recipient and the number of sheets of paper rather than by a countrywide flat rate with weight restrictions. Sir Rowland Hill reformed the postal system based on the concepts of penny postage and prepayment. In his proposal, Hill also called for official pre-printed envelopes and adhesive postage stamps as alternative ways of getting

8295-623: The recording of identities of sender and recipient. The privacy of correspondence is guaranteed by the constitutions of Mexico , Colombia , Brazil and Venezuela , and is alluded to in the European Convention on Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . The control of the contents inside private citizens' mail is censorship and concerns social, political, and legal aspects of civil rights . International mail and packages are subject to customs control, with

8400-566: The rules for international mail exchanges as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations . The word mail comes from the Middle English word male , referring to a travelling bag or pack. It was spelled in that manner until the 17th century and is distinct from the word male . The French have a similar word, malle , for a trunk or large box, and mála is the Irish term for a bag. In

8505-663: The same was not true for curbside mailboxes, which postal regulations required be in the form of the traditional dome-rectangular or 'tunnel-top' design first established in 1915. In 1978, seven years after the establishment of the restructured US Postal Service, postal authorities at last approved a "contemporary" mailbox specification for alternative designs. Currently, US curbside mailboxes are classified as (T) Traditional, (C) Contemporary, or (L) Locking. Traditional or Contemporary non-locking curbside mailboxes are approved in three sizes - No. 1, No. 2, or No. 3, measured by minimum interior dimensions. The largest acceptable curbside mailbox

8610-440: The same, except the placement of the 'incoming mail area' varies with a locking mailbox. External or curbside letter boxes are not temperature-controlled, and this can sometimes be a concern for temperature-sensitive products such as pharmaceuticals , live plants or other organisms, or chocolate candies. Conditions can include high or low temperatures outside of the recommended storage conditions for certain products. For example,

8715-532: The sender to pay for the postage, at a time when prepayment was optional, which led to the invention of the postage stamp, the Penny Black . The postal system was important in the development of modern transportation. Railways carried railway post offices . During the 20th century, air mail became the transport of choice for inter-continental mail. Postmen started to use mail trucks . The handling of mail became increasingly automated. The Internet came to change

8820-435: The sender. Today, worldwide, the most common method of prepaying postage is by buying an adhesive postage stamp to be applied to the envelope before mailing; a much less common method is to use a postage-prepaid envelope . Franking is a method of creating postage-prepaid envelopes under licence using a special machine. They are used by companies with large mail programs, such as banks and direct mail companies. In 1998,

8925-506: The slot located on or near the top of the box. Curbside mailboxes, known in Canada as rural mailboxes, must be weatherproof, have space for the name of the mailbox owner, and possess a signal device on the right-hand side (when facing the front of the mailbox) for pickup of outgoing mail. The signal device must rise above the mailbox and be visible at a distance, and must not obscure the mailbox owner's name or impede vehicular or pedestrian traffic. Canada Post requires all rural mailboxes to have

9030-706: The standard in 1983. The standard was revised again in 2022, using city names instead of person names. DIN standards are not freely accessible to the public. DIN sells subscriptions with the descriptions of the DIN-standards via DIN Solutions GmbH and DIN Media . For four EN standards, which are available as DIN-EN standards for a fee from DIN Media GmbH (formerly Beuth Verlag), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided on March 5, 2024, that these must be made available free of charge because these standards are part of European Union law. How DIN creates standards

9135-726: The still-larger No. 3, could accept larger parcels and packages sent via Parcel Post ; these large boxes proved particularly popular with rural mail recipients, who could order manufactured goods by mail for delivery to the farm or ranch. KopparStaden AB, a housing cooperative in Falun, Sweden, has begun to install centralized mail stations with individual letterboxes using electronically operated doors in its buildings. Many designs of mailboxes have been created during recent years, with products suitable for both multi-occupancy residences (typically tower block private accommodation properties) and individual homes. Deliveries of mail are typically made into

9240-591: The subject of expert opinion in a SalvoNEWS story from 2012: Private use of antique Royal Mail pillar boxes or post boxes . Mailboxes have slots, leading to possible vandalism or theft of deposited mail, but additional features are available to help reduce this, such as aperture restrictors, which allow the recipient to adjust the opening on their mailboxes. In multi-occupancy buildings, especially new buildings, individual mailboxes are commonly grouped together in one location, allowing delivery people to deposit items without having to visit each individual door. In 2019

9345-433: The time of Augustus Caesar (62 BCE – 14 CE), the service was called cursus publicus and was provided with light carriages ( rhedæ ) pulled by fast horses. By the time of Diocletian , a parallel service was established with two-wheeled carts ( birotæ ) pulled by oxen . This service was reserved for government correspondence. Yet another service for citizens was later added. In 1802, the first Vietnamese postal service

9450-473: The translation "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds". The economic growth and political stability under the Mauryan Empire (322–185 BCE) stimulated sustained development of civil infrastructure in ancient India . The Mauryans developed early Indian mail service as well as public wells, rest houses, and other facilities for

9555-483: The transport of foreign and domestic tribute specifically and the conduct of trade in general. By the end of Kublai Khan's rule, there were more than 1400 postal stations in China alone, which in turn had at their disposal about 50,000 horses, 1,400 oxen, 6,700 mules, 400 carts, 6,000 boats, more than 200 dogs, and 1,150 sheep. The stations were 25 to 65 km (16 to 40 mi) apart and had reliable attendants working for

9660-493: The unlocked box. In the United States for example, by policy, the USPS will not deliver mail to an unlocked or unsecured box which is located at a centralized mailbox installation. Private letterboxes or mail slots did not become popular in most of Europe until the mid to late 19th century, although they were used in Paris from the late 18th century. In 1849, the Royal Mail first encouraged people to install letterboxes to facilitate

9765-551: The whole territory of his empire the system used by Franks in northern Gaul and connected this service with that of missi dominici . In the mid-11th century, flax traders known as the Cairo Geniza Merchants from Fustat , Egypt wrote about using a postal service known as the kutubi. The kutubi system managed routes between the cities of Jerusalem, Ramla, Tyre, Ascalon, Damascus, Aleppo, and Fustat with year-round, regular mail delivery. Many religious orders had

9870-405: The wind. Some letterboxes also have a second flap on the inside to provide further protection from the elements. There may also be a small cage or box mounted on the inside of the door to receive the delivered mail. Mail slots are limited to receiving incoming mail, as most have no provision for securing and protecting outgoing mail for pickup by the mail carrier. Sending mail from private addresses

9975-489: The world relatively easily and cheaply. The Internet has made the process of sending letter-like messages nearly instantaneous, and in many cases and situations correspondents use email where they previously would have used letters. The volume of paper mail sent through the U.S. Postal Service has declined by more than 15% since its peak at 213 billion pieces per annum in 2006. Some countries have organized their mail services as public limited liability corporations without

10080-450: Was always a problem, because of the slow overland transportation system, and underfunding. Its network had 1,936 posthouses every 60 li along major routes, with fresh horses available every 10 li between them. The Qing operated 1,785 posthouses throughout their lands. More efficient, however, was the system linking the international settlements, centered around Shanghai and the Treaty ports. It

10185-473: Was developed in the mid-19th century, closely copying European models. Japan was highly innovative in developing the world's largest and most successful postal savings system and later a postal life insurance system as well. Postmasters play a key role in linking the Japanese political system to local politics. The postmasters are high prestige, and are often hereditary. To a large extent, the postal system generated

10290-497: Was established under the Nguyen dynasty , under the Ministry of Rites. During the Nguyen dynasty, official documents were transported by horse and other primitive means to stations built about 25-30 kilometers apart. In 1904, three wireless communication offices were established, and in early 1906 they were merged with the postal service to form the Post and Wireless Office. In 1945, after

10395-430: Was originally approved for manufacture in one size, the No. 1, which could accommodate letter mail, periodicals, newspapers, catalogs, and small parcels. After July 1, 1916, the Joroleman mailbox would be the only design approved by the Post Office for new curbside mailbox installations. In July 1929, the Post Office approved specifications for a larger Joroleman mailbox known as the No. 2. The No. 2 mailbox, soon followed by

10500-446: Was phased in, starting with new delivery locations, around 1912. Slowly, homeowners and businesses began to install mail slots or attached mailboxes to receive mail when they were either not at home or unable to answer the door. The requirement was made mandatory in 1923. As early as the 1880s, the Post Office had begun to encourage homeowners to attach wall-mounted mailboxes to the outside of their houses in lieu of mail slots. Mounted at

10605-449: Was rejected for city mail delivery, it was adopted for rural areas. Curbside mailboxes located on a rural route or road and sited at the intersection of the road with each recipient's carriageway or private drive allowed limited numbers of mail carriers to deliver mail to many widely scattered farms and ranches in a single day using horse-drawn wagons or later on, motor vehicles. Before the introduction of rural free delivery (RFD) by

10710-648: Was suspended immediately after the election of Justin Trudeau 's Liberal Party government in 2015 —which had promised to cease further cutbacks to Canada Post. Mail Postal authorities often have functions aside from transporting letters. In some countries, a postal, telegraph and telephone (PTT) service oversees the postal system, in addition to telephone and telegraph systems. Some countries' postal systems allow for savings accounts and handle applications for passports . The Universal Postal Union (UPU), established in 1874, includes 192 member countries and sets

10815-676: Was the visible mailbox (because it was made of transparent glass ) with a flip-up aluminium lid produced during the first part of the 20th century by George F. Collins of the Barlet-Collins Glass Company in Sapulpa, Oklahoma . The European standard for letter boxes, EN 13724:2002 "Postal services – Apertures of private letter boxes and letter plates – Requirements and test methods", replaces earlier national standards such as BS 2911:1974 "Specification for letter plates" or DIN 32617. It specifies among other things: This Standard

10920-600: Was the main communication system for China's international trade. Genghis Khan installed an empire-wide messenger and postal station system named Örtöö within the Mongol Empire . During the Yuan dynasty under Kublai Khan , this system also covered the territory of China. Postal stations were used not only for the transmission and delivery of official mail but were also available for travelling officials, military men, and foreign dignitaries. These stations aided and facilitated

11025-438: Was using homing pigeons for pigeon post , taking advantage of a singular quality of this bird, which when taken far from its nest is able to find its way home due to a particularly developed sense of orientation. Messages were then tied around the legs of the pigeon, which was freed and could reach its original nest. By the 19th century, homing pigeons were used extensively for military communications. Charlemagne extended to

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