Royal Mail

In England, outgoing letters do not get collected from your home, as they do here in the States. You have to drop them in the mail, so these pillar boxes are a very familiar sight on street corners throughout the UK. The cast iron post box depicted here is one of the earliest around - dating from the reign of Queen Victoria, as designated by the VR monogram.
The Royal Mail began in the 16th century with letters being carried by stagecoach, but the world's first postage stamp, the Penny Black, wasn't invented till 1840.
I have been saving stamps from personal letters and postcards for decades. My attraction is partly connected to travel, and the countries and cultures they represent, but they are also beautiful miniature pieces of art in their own right. If you look closely this painting, there are stamps, British maps and other treasures hidden into the collage.
Who doesn't love to receive a handwritten card or letter complete with a real stamp or two to seal the deal?

©Carolyn Wilson 'Royal Mail'. Mixed aqua media and collage on canvas, 12 x 6 x .75 inches.$325