MSA O/N November 2023 - "Letterbox/Letterboxes"

[Andrew O'Neill]

An old one from my Japan coal mining series... HP5 8x10. Xtol 1+1. I used the Nikkor 120 SW lens.

 

[Don_ih]

Mailbox - new - phone photo of rc print (Ilford MGIV) from HP5+ in Mytol. Leica III.

Photo taken on one of the endless number of long lonely roads that coat rural Ontario like graph paper lines.

(The paper isn't warmtone, but the upload of the photo looks like it is.)

 

[Mick Fagan]

Andrew O'Neill, quite amazing texture in the abandoned apartment in Japan.

So far, Red in Australia and Japan, Yellow in France, Blue in the USA, and thanks to Andrew, Red in Canada.

The list is growing.

 

[Mick Fagan]

Ian David, the Casabianca's letterbox is so intriguing, I would like to meet them. Although it looks like there are at least two locks, with possibly a third lock all in a row under the doorknocker.

 

[Mick Fagan]

Don_ih, that old looking letterbox looks as though it is on that angle to allow any water to drain out, age has probably made it easily able to take water onboard, so to speak.

 

[Mick Fagan]

Andrew O'Neill, I never knew there were coal mines in Japan.

That letterbox on the wall certainly looks as though it will outlast the rest of the building.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Andrew O'Neill, I never knew there were coal mines in Japan.

That letterbox on the wall certainly looks as though it will outlast the rest of the building.

There were. There was quite the industry. A town I taught in was built around it. I believe they have all closed. The town I taught in lost their last mine several decades ago.

 

[Don_ih]

New - today - phone photo of a print on 8x10 Ilford MGIV rc

Pig Mailbox. Maybe a bit more interesting than the weird drain-pipe mailbox earlier. I screwed up the developing on this film (I was experimenting) but managed to get a print out of it, nonetheless.

 

[Mick Fagan]

That pig mailbox, looks like it may have been a beer barrel in another life!

Interesting one there Don, it does look a bit grainy, do you wish to share the film and developing regime you did to get that look?

 

[Mick Fagan]

This is new, but it isn't in the competition; but I needed to have a go... especially as I needed to try out my new light meter in the wonderful late spring sunshine.

"On it's Last Legs"

Shen Hao 4x5" camera with an f/6.3 250mm Fujinon lens hanging off the front end.
Ilford FP4+ 1/60 at f22 with 4mm front rise.

 

[Don_ih]

it does look a bit grainy, do you wish to share the film and developing regime you did to get that look?

It was actually 50-years-expired Kodak Shellburst film that I am trying to find a good way to expose/develop (I have a bulk roll). The exposure was fine (~iso100) but my development was not. I have been experimenting with an acetone developer and apparently 15 minutes results wasn't enough. The film has a thin emulsion, like lith film, and I don't think that developer has enough oomph for it. Making a print from it was more or less to see if it was possible....

 

[Mick Fagan]

Shellburst film. I have never heard of that film before, so after a bit of a web search, I know a little more than before; interesting film it would seem.

45 seconds development at 45ºC, RAF Rapid Access Film.....

 

[dourbalistar]

Old category, but I'm not going outside of the box, just sticking to the letter of the law.

Nikon FM2n, Nikkor-S Auto 55mm f/1.2, ORWO N74+, developed in LegacyPro L110 at 1:31 for 6.5 minutes.


2019.07.21 Roll #214-03814-positive.jpg by dourbalistar, on Flickr

 

[Mick Fagan]

Dourbalistar, that is an intriguing letterbox.

I cannot see where the letters are inserted, is it the top where it is worded LETTERS, or is it in that recessed square part in the main body?

Or, could it be that letters are dropped down a chute which is enclosed by that rectangular shaped object attached to the wall?

Very intriguing indeed. If the last case is correct, then perhaps it could be called a Drop Box and be way ahead of it's time.

Love the hooks provided to hold the bag that the postal worker uses to feed the letters into.

 

[dourbalistar]

Dourbalistar, that is an intriguing letterbox.

I cannot see where the letters are inserted, is it the top where it is worded LETTERS, or is it in that recessed square part in the main body?

Or, could it be that letters are dropped down a chute which is enclosed by that rectangular shaped object attached to the wall?

Very intriguing indeed. If the last case is correct, then perhaps it could be called a Drop Box and be way ahead of it's time.

Love the hooks provided to hold the bag that the postal worker uses to feed the letters into.

@Mick Fagan, I'm actually not sure where letters are inserted... This is in the main entrance lobby area of a building on Market Street in San Francisco - the building was originally built in 1924, so it's very possible there's a letter chute system. And I hadn't even noticed the hooks for the mail carrier!

 

[warden]

Y'all have quite attractive mailboxes. I went out at lunch today looking for one and this is what I got.

Welcome to Philly.

Zeiss Ikon with a 25mm lens
Very expired TMax 3200
Expired and yellow Ilfosol 3. I'm surprised I got an image at all!

 

[Sirius Glass]

@Mick Fagan, I'm actually not sure where letters are inserted... This is in the main entrance lobby area of a building on Market Street in San Francisco - the building was originally built in 1924, so it's very possible there's a letter chute system. And I hadn't even noticed the hooks for the mail carrier!

Letters dropped though the clear glass faced chute from above. That form of mail box is common in high rise buildings.

 

[Truzi]

Dourbalistar, that is an intriguing letterbox.

I cannot see where the letters are inserted, is it the top where it is worded LETTERS, or is it in that recessed square part in the main body?

Or, could it be that letters are dropped down a chute which is enclosed by that rectangular shaped object attached to the wall?

Very intriguing indeed. If the last case is correct, then perhaps it could be called a Drop Box and be way ahead of it's time.

Love the hooks provided to hold the bag that the postal worker uses to feed the letters into.

Yes, these things were around long before Drop Box, lol. They are still in use in many buildings, though recently I have seen a few boxes replaced by locked bags - they were getting more mail than they were originally designed for.

 

[Mick Fagan]

So, Warden, a solid bluestone building, steel mesh on a steel framed support, with the base very securely seated using copious amounts of cement; all of that to simply hold a letter box.

And, your name is Warden; ooooh!!!!!


Brilliant find, and, coupled with the very coarse texture brought on by the film/developer combination, it's probably as tough as it looks.

 

[Mick Fagan]

Truzi and Sirius, thanks for that most interesting information.

I just had a thought, prior to the invention of aeroplanes and like machines, if one was using the top floor to deposit a letter through a chute delivery system to the letter box on the ground floor, wouldn't that be the first AIR MAIL system known?

 

[warden]

So, Warden, a solid bluestone building, steel mesh on a steel framed support, with the base very securely seated using copious amounts of cement; all of that to simply hold a letter box.

And, your name is Warden; ooooh!!!!!


Brilliant find, and, coupled with the very coarse texture brought on by the film/developer combination, it's probably as tough as it looks.

It's the first mail slot I've seen that dares the mail carrier to use it without first getting a tetanus shot.

 

[Don_ih]

So far, Red in Australia and Japan, Yellow in France, Blue in the USA, and thanks to Andrew, Red in Canada.

Well, now that I think about it, bank of post-boxes where I got my mail when I was a kid was green. And the bank of post-boxes where I get my mail now is brown - although the mail drop slot is in a red strip.

Old - Minolta Himatic G (I think) shot through my car window.When people send me postcards, this is where they go (the sides and back of this thing are brown).

 

[absalom1951]

Here is a new one. Nov.9. Beaver is a small town east of me.
Ilford FP4 Plus 120. PyrocatHD
Mamiya 645 . 80mm lens. Printed on Fomaspeed 311

 

[Mick Fagan]

Absalom, an intriguing post office, quite the rural setting I'm assuming?

Those square glass windows were the rage in the late 50's through to the early 70's in Australia.

 

[Mick Fagan]

Don_ih, very interesting combination of products, personal post boxes, plus it appears to have a posting letterbox on the top, in red as you pointed out. May be a bit hard to post a letter if you weren't tall enough, or am I misunderstanding things?