Red letter day as postal history goes up for sale

Fifteen postboxes and stamp machines, up to 100 years old, will go on sale today.

Many date from the reign of King George V and survived the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.

The 10 cast-iron postboxes are wall-mounted and pillar-box models with either EIIR, KGV or the Crown symbols on them.

The symbols also appear on the five stamp machines, which were only replaced by electronic models in recent years.

Post Office controller of posts, Ellen Siu Wong Wei-ling, said the office had decided to auction the items because many members of the public had asked if they could buy one.

'We have been receiving a lot of local and overseas inquiries about these items as they are no longer being produced,' Mrs Siu said.