• Where do you acquire a postbox?

Royal Mail do not normally sell them to the public. Most of my collection has been removed due to damage or vandalism and donated to the collection. They would still be in use if they were in perfect order. Occasionally I still get offered a damaged item. If anyone is looking for something specific, I can always add you to my list!

• How do you move them around?

With great difficulty! The large oval pillars can weigh in at close to 1 ton in weight. These sort of things can only be moved with great care and a large digger. The smaller wallboxes can be moved carefully by a couple of strong chaps. Most of my brothers and brothers-in-law have bad backs now apparently!!

• How do you repair and restore them?

I have them shot blasted to remove all the old paint, and then I give them a good couple of coats of paint both inside and out. Any breaks can be repaired by specialist cast iron welding methods, but it isn't cheap!

• What sort of paints do you use?

I use Cherry Red or Pillarbox Red as supplied by Leyland or Johnstones' Paints manufacturers. These tend to be better than Dulux etc. I use Red Oxide primer/undercoat first. I also paint the insides of all my boxes with a contrasting gloss colour. In use, they would have letters continually dropping inside. These would absorb any condensation. Without all the letters, the cast iron rusts very quickly so I always paint the insides.

• How many post boxes are there in the collection?

There are currently nearly 200 boxes in the collection - April 2008.

• Which is the oldest box?

The oldest box is ... The first standard wall box is the oldest postbox in my collection. It was made about 1857.  The oldest pillar box is the First Standard, it dates from 1861.
These boxes were the first attempt at standardising the pillarboxes around the country as prior to 1859, the regional Royal Mail areas all had their own designs. There are only 3 of this smaller type left on the street now and one of them is a preserved example. The box is painted green as all postboxes were in fact dark green until 1875/6.

• Which is the rarest?

There are several ‘one-off’s’ in the collection. But the rarest is EVIIIR Ludlow box. It is one of only 2 in existence

• Which is the most valuable?

This is a matter of personal choice and varies depending on my mood!

• Which is the most unusual?

An ex-Hong Kong Post Office pillar box.  These were removed from the Colony prior to the handing back of the area to China.

• Why collect postboxes?

If I had the answer to that one I would tell you. Why does anyone collect anything? It is habitual.

I guess I found the idea of something like a Victorian postbox sort of romantic. What else can you see on the street in everyday use that has survived 2 World Wars and could even survive another?

My great-grandfather could have posted his letters in the same box in North West London that I posted my letters in 120 years later. That is the romance of it for me. 

Nearly everywhere you go in the world that has had a British presence in the last 150+ years, you will find a British designed postbox. Go on, have a look! !!