Faux Penfold postbox, Prince Albert Road / Wells Rise, NW8

Image: © Mike Quinn Taken: 5 Jun 2018

Until three or four years ago, there was an original Victorian Penfold postbox on this corner Image - which had lost its acanthus bud finial Image Then a lorry demolished it. Another (modern) box was put in its place - see the Streetview image https://media.geograph.org.uk/files/496e05e1aea0a9c4655800e8a7b9ea28/Postbox_Wells_Rise_NW8_2_.png . Recently, another "Penfold" (above) was installed. Unfortunately, this one isn't even a proper replica, ie cast from moulds made of an original Penfold, such as Image Starting at the top, the "acanthus bud" is just an elongated acorn Image The posting slot is above the two bands, rather than between them, as on the original box here – although all the replica Penfolds have an “upper” slot. This slot is both wider than in the original, and narrower than in the replicas Image There is no royal coat of arms Image The keyhole does not have an escutcheon. The royal cipher is a crude approximation Image In addition, the quality of the casting is quite poor, with an “orange peel” appearance, particularly noticeable around the words “POST” Image and OFFICE” Image And the whole of the base should have been painted black, ie including the "moulding" between the lower part of the base and the body of the box - see Image If the makers aren’t ashamed of their shoddy work, they should be: perhaps this is why - unlike the replicas, which bear the maker’s name (Machan) - there is no maker’s name on this box. The location of this postbox is shown in Image, Image, Image and Image

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