Arthur Reeder, a 70-year-old retired electrician from Newport on the Isle of Wight, says he has assembled what he believes to be the world’s largest collection of post boxes — 260 items gathered over 30 years — and declines to name a favourite.
Reeder displays the boxes throughout his house, garden and shed and operates the space as an informal museum, giving tours to visiting enthusiasts. He said the collection includes domestic and international examples, some dating back to the 19th century, and that valuations range from a few pounds to several thousand.
Among Reeder’s oldest pieces is a wall-mounted Victorian box from 1857. In 2008 he acquired a Penfold box — the hexagonal design created by John Wornham Penfold in 1866 — which he described as the “holy grail” of postboxes. He also highlights a one-off 1880s model made by the Cheshire Lines Committee, a steam-train company, and items from outside Britain, including a box on loan from an international postbox appreciation society in Hong Kong and an example from the United States.
Reeder said he could not single out a favourite. "Picking a favourite is like picking a favourite child," he said, adding that one box carries particular memories because it was given to him by the wife of a deceased friend. "I just see myself as its custodian rather than its owner," he said.
The collection draws visitors from across Britain and overseas. Reeder said two women from Canada visited recently and sent him a postcard afterwards. He said he is happy to give tours now that he is retired and that he dreams of the Prince of Wales visiting the collection.
Transporting the collection has presented logistical challenges. When Reeder moved to the Isle of Wight in 2002, he said he could not find a conventional removal company able to carry the items and enlisted a circus firm experienced in moving elephants. Reeder said the most significant costs of the hobby have been the travel required to acquire boxes across the British Isles rather than the purchase price of individual pieces.
Reeder traced his interest to a trip in 1994 to North Wales, where he found a redundant wooden station box in a skip and restored it. A visitor later told him about another pillar box, and the collecting expanded from there. His father collected stamps, Reeder said, which he called an easier but also costly pastime.
He described the boxes as symbols of national heritage and urged their continued use. "It's a use it or lose it thing," Reeder said, pointing to other countries like Denmark removing roadside postboxes. He noted the role of mail in wartime and other periods when postal services were the only way to receive news about family.
Postal boxes have a long history: examples were used in Paris in the 17th century, and the oldest surviving British example is recorded in the wall of a Wakefield post office dating to 1809. Artist Richard Redgrave helped design early pillar boxes in the 1850s; they were originally painted green before the Penfold style and the red colouring became standard. Today there are well over 100,000 post boxes in the UK and roughly 200 different types still in use, according to the Letter Box Study Group.
Reeder said he has kept in touch with other collectors and sometimes swaps pieces. He acknowledged that selling the collection would likely raise enough money to buy a small house but said he could not imagine giving it up. "I could probably buy a small house if I sold my collection but what would I do with my time then?" he asked.
Neighbours’ opinions have shifted, Reeder said, recalling that a neighbour once complained to the council that the displays were an "eyesore." He said that after he challenged the neighbour by asking whether Royal Mail post boxes were an eyesore, the complaint subsided.
Reeder said his collection continues to attract interest from enthusiasts worldwide and that he remains committed to conserving the pieces and sharing them with visitors who want to learn about the history of postal services.