Early pillar-box, Eton High Street
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Early pillar-box, Eton High Street by Stefan Czapski as part of the Geograph project.
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Early pillar-box, Eton High Street
Image: © Stefan Czapski Taken: 14 Jul 2013
It could well be that it was this design that first gave rise to the term 'pillar-box', as the design seems to have been modelled on a Doric column. How many there are still in use, I don't know - but I suspect it's no more than three or four. I believe there is one in Warwick, and perhaps in Malvern. Update: Five more fluted pillar boxes can be found on Geograph. Of those, a pair in Warwick are the closest match to the Eton box, having a vertical letter slot: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/257390. There are no less than three in Malvern, similar in style, but with the slot placed horizontally: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/100153 The Eton box, by the way, is still in use. The slot might appear to have been blanked off, but is simply protected by a hinged flap - a refinement omitted from most later designs.
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Image Location
Latitude
51.487384
Longitude
-0.608814