Stamp vending machines were first introduced in the UK in 1907 (during the reign of Edward VII), so it must have been a later addition to this particular box, but I've no idea when. However, my best guess is sometime pre-WWII as the wording suggests a single stamp was issued for a single coin (probably a pre-decimal penny coin).
I noticed this curious little ghost sign on a VR post box on Crow Road in the Broomhill area of Glasgow a few months back, but only got round to photographing it today. It's made of enamel and its message (Await Delivery of Stamp Before Inserting Further Coin) seems rather odd, until you realise it's all that's left of a stamp vending machine which used to be attached to the post box.
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Such weigh stations were once an important part of commerce across Glasgow and allowed good to be measured without having to first be unload. As far as I know, only three remain. The others are at the former Fairfield Shipyard and near the Finnieston Crane.
This one was made by A. and W. Smith, which was founded in Paisley on 1836, and later operated out of the Eglinton Engine Works in Tradeston, meaning it may well have been made relatively locally.
I love the fact this weigh station has been left in place in the new park at the Govan Graving Docks in Glasgow. Installed in 1889, it was originally at the entrance to the Harbour Workshop. It even still has the stone tramways on either side of it to make it easier for horse-drawn vehicles to travel over the surrounding setts.
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#glasgow #streethistorian #govan #govangravingdocks #glasgowhistory
It's always worth stopping to investigate anything that seems out of place. In this case, it was a red sandstone block integrated into a grey stone wall which I passed in Drymen on my way up to Loch Lomond yesterday. It turned out to be an old mile stone, with 22 carved on one side and 12 on the the other. These are the distances to Stirling and Dumbarton, respectively, as shown on the mid-19th century map on the left (where it is marked as M.S.).
This Is My Glasgow