The reason may have something to do with the classy design elements or America’s long reliance on mail as a means of communications for both personal and business purposes. While America’s reliance on mail is unquestionable, and the origins of such a dependency are beyond the scope of this article, the elegant design features of a Victorian mailbox are far easier to discuss.
Generally speaking, the quintessential Victorian mailbox is freestanding, typically with a cubical box sitting atop an ornate base. The actual mailbox portion of most Victorian mailboxes are comprised primarily of metal, and are often covered in intricate designs. The designs that grace most Victorian mailboxes tend to be a combination of whimsical patterns and motifs that are period-specific, such as a horse rider that many consumers tend to refer to as a generic version of Paul Revere. Whether or not the famous patriot is the basis for the very common horse and rider is debatable, but the overall look is still one that can be accurately described as classy without being showy and reminiscent of a time gone by.
While the actual mailbox portion of any style of Victorian mailbox might be the center of attention, an incredible amount of attention is typically paid to the base and roof. The roof is often a sloped affair, but it is rarely perfectly square. Instead, each corner tends to be shaved and blunted to a degree that varies from one model to the next, but when combined with the graceful overall slope, the look is almost oriental. Picture a traditional Chinese building with a gracefully sloped shingle roof and blunt the edges, and the look is not dissimilar. While it is unlikely that Chinese design themes had any significant influence in Victorian architecture, the similarities are certainly present.
Additionally, the very peak of the roof tends to be missing, as if truncated. In its place is often an ornate cap that resembles a mushroom with a pegged top, or a cross between the upper segments of a middle-eastern and Russian tower. Combined with the Chinese-style roof and decidedly rustic yet classy Americana design elements, a Victorian style mailbox would have a very worldly appearance. This worldly appearance is neither augmented nor taken away from by the decorative base on which the actual mailbox housing itself sits.The wide base tapers and expands several times before elongating and stretching to hold the functional mailbox housing. The intricate and elegant designs often alternate between rounded and angular, creating an attractive interlay that is almost an exercise in the exploration of duality. Some have written that this is a byproduct of the duality of colonialism, and that other architectural features are similar in their harmonization if innately divergent design elements. It is worth noting, however, that many multi-level curb-front houses of relatively recent vintage simply offer wall-mounted designs that lack any formal base. Larger houses and businesses all over the country, but particularly in New England, have used Victorian mailboxes for dozens of generations.
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