Follow One Man’s Midcentury-Mailbox Dream
An ill-fitting mailbox leads a determined dad on a quest — and possibly to a new business
When Greg Kelly and Laura Herring relocated their family of four, they did what some might call unconventional. They moved into a home in the same neighborhood that was half the size of their previous home. Working with architect Richard Hall, they transformed a 1,200-square-foot 1954 ranch into something a little more in line with their needs and midcentury modern tastes. Hall tore down walls, opened the indoors to the outdoors and sculpted a house that was just right.
Photos of the renovation were published in the New York Times in November 2012, and later that year, the home also was featured on the local Remodelers Home Tour. Afterward one of the architects told Kelly that his wife had remarked that the mailbox did not work with the impressive renovation. Kelly couldn’t shake that comment. “I’m a bit of a perfectionist,” he says. “I didn’t obsess on it, but it always kind of bothered me.”
Shown: Kelly’s remodeled house with the standard mailbox designed by U.S. postal engineer Roy Joroleman in 1915.
Around the same time, Kelly, a business appraiser, picked up an issue of Atomic Ranch, a popular magazine for midcentury enthusiasts. In that issue a reader asked the magazine’s editor if she knew of any sources for ’50s period mailboxes. The frustrated reader had searched the Internet for authentic pieces and reproductions to no avail. Seeing this plea, Kelly thought, “I’m not alone on this.” The editor responded with “The retro. market seems to be wide open.” If one midcentury homeowner was struggling with the mailbox, there must be more, Kelly thought. He calls this his “aha” moment.
The History of Midcentury Mailboxes
The atomic mailbox photo that accompanied the question intrigued Kelly. “I thought it might be patented,” he wrote on his blog documenting the quest. He scanned through decades of patents through the United States Patent and Trademark office, but none accompanied that mailbox design. Kelly then pored through catalogs and magazines from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s for clues to the design’s origin. He found some leads, but the trail went cold. Where had this mailbox come from?
Shown: Kelly’s remodeled house with the standard mailbox designed by U.S. postal engineer Roy Joroleman in 1915.
Around the same time, Kelly, a business appraiser, picked up an issue of Atomic Ranch, a popular magazine for midcentury enthusiasts. In that issue a reader asked the magazine’s editor if she knew of any sources for ’50s period mailboxes. The frustrated reader had searched the Internet for authentic pieces and reproductions to no avail. Seeing this plea, Kelly thought, “I’m not alone on this.” The editor responded with “The retro. market seems to be wide open.” If one midcentury homeowner was struggling with the mailbox, there must be more, Kelly thought. He calls this his “aha” moment.
The History of Midcentury Mailboxes
The atomic mailbox photo that accompanied the question intrigued Kelly. “I thought it might be patented,” he wrote on his blog documenting the quest. He scanned through decades of patents through the United States Patent and Trademark office, but none accompanied that mailbox design. Kelly then pored through catalogs and magazines from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s for clues to the design’s origin. He found some leads, but the trail went cold. Where had this mailbox come from?
Kelly pursued an alternative avenue. He assembled and contacted as many approved U.S. mailbox manufacturers from the 1950s and 1960s as possible. “Everywhere I went, everything had been acquired,” he says. Of the 22 independent companies producing mailboxes in the United States in the early 1970s, only one — Fulton Corporation — still made mailboxes.
Kelly mailed the mailbox photo he had seen in Atomic Ranch to Fulton and asked if they knew who made it. A Fulton representative responded quickly to his request, stating: “I believe we did, at least I see one very much like what you sent, in one of our old catalogs … we stopped making it in 1993.” The rep included the original catalog shot of the company’s Sleek Suburban mailbox (highlighted in the photo here). Unfortunately Fulton no longer had the original dies that Kelly could repurpose, the way Modernica had done with Charles and Ray Eames’ original case study molds.
Kelly mailed the mailbox photo he had seen in Atomic Ranch to Fulton and asked if they knew who made it. A Fulton representative responded quickly to his request, stating: “I believe we did, at least I see one very much like what you sent, in one of our old catalogs … we stopped making it in 1993.” The rep included the original catalog shot of the company’s Sleek Suburban mailbox (highlighted in the photo here). Unfortunately Fulton no longer had the original dies that Kelly could repurpose, the way Modernica had done with Charles and Ray Eames’ original case study molds.
Simultaneously, Kelly was searching on eBay for midcentury mailboxes (he still had the original 1915 tunnel-shaped mailbox slighting his house). Many times cost deters a person from buying vintage, but in this case “You couldn’t even find them,” he says. After about a month of constant online trolling, he purchased a banged-up version for $71 (and paid $21 more for shipping). He refurbished the mailbox and powder coated it green.
At this point Kelly had a midcentury mailbox to match his house. But he wasn’t satisfied. “The one I got didn’t have everything I wanted,” he says. Kelly also hadn’t forgotten about that homeowner in Atomic Ranch. “I wanted to create something,” he says.
On Retro Renovation, another midcentury site Kelly visited, a homeowner had posted a photo of his 1950s atomic mailbox from Sears Roebuck. Seeing this, Kelly directed his research to vintage Sears catalogs. The homeowner on Retro Renovation also sent Kelly measurements of his mailbox.
Shown: The mailbox Kelly bought on eBay and refurbished
At this point Kelly had a midcentury mailbox to match his house. But he wasn’t satisfied. “The one I got didn’t have everything I wanted,” he says. Kelly also hadn’t forgotten about that homeowner in Atomic Ranch. “I wanted to create something,” he says.
On Retro Renovation, another midcentury site Kelly visited, a homeowner had posted a photo of his 1950s atomic mailbox from Sears Roebuck. Seeing this, Kelly directed his research to vintage Sears catalogs. The homeowner on Retro Renovation also sent Kelly measurements of his mailbox.
Shown: The mailbox Kelly bought on eBay and refurbished
Then while paging through a 1961 Sears 75th-anniversary-jubilee catalog at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s library, Kelly turned to a page that changed everything. “I opened the catalog, and there was their mailbox for the 1961 jubilee,” he says. “I was almost in tears.”
The design (shown here in a 1961 ad) combined all the elements Kelly had seen and liked in one box. It was also the oldest rendering of the mailbox he had seen. Kelly immediately found and purchased the catalog on eBay.
The design (shown here in a 1961 ad) combined all the elements Kelly had seen and liked in one box. It was also the oldest rendering of the mailbox he had seen. Kelly immediately found and purchased the catalog on eBay.
The New Design
Realizing that he would be the one to carry the midcentury mailbox torch forward, Kelly started working with Andy McCloud of Vector Product Development on 3D models. They pulled from various midcentury designs, with the Sears jubilee design at the core. Using measurements from the homeowner on Retro Renovation and those he had taken on his own in the field, they crafted Kelly’s interpretation of the perfect midcentury-style mailbox — called Modbox.
Realizing that he would be the one to carry the midcentury mailbox torch forward, Kelly started working with Andy McCloud of Vector Product Development on 3D models. They pulled from various midcentury designs, with the Sears jubilee design at the core. Using measurements from the homeowner on Retro Renovation and those he had taken on his own in the field, they crafted Kelly’s interpretation of the perfect midcentury-style mailbox — called Modbox.
The shell is a heavy-gauge steel, authentic to the time. A small hood keeps rain out. When the aluminum flag is up, its angle matches the mailbox’s leading edge as well as its post’s angle. Kelly matched powder-coat colors to a palette researched by the Eichler Network, so homeowners could customize their mailbox’s colors.
In some instances Kelly improved on the original design: the pull angles down to hide its rivets, while the original faced up. He designed these pieces with the intent that no one will need to replace them or want to throw them away.“Good design lasts forever,” he says.
If all goes well, Modbox production will start rolling out in North Carolina this summer. “It’s still very grassroots,” Kelly says. But with his wife as his design consultant and his teenage sons as his social media strategists, word about Modbox is getting out. “It would be so neat to walk through our neighborhood and see the mailboxes,” he says.
To learn more about Modbox, visit the Modbox Kickstarter page and Kelly’s Modbox blog.
In some instances Kelly improved on the original design: the pull angles down to hide its rivets, while the original faced up. He designed these pieces with the intent that no one will need to replace them or want to throw them away.“Good design lasts forever,” he says.
If all goes well, Modbox production will start rolling out in North Carolina this summer. “It’s still very grassroots,” Kelly says. But with his wife as his design consultant and his teenage sons as his social media strategists, word about Modbox is getting out. “It would be so neat to walk through our neighborhood and see the mailboxes,” he says.
To learn more about Modbox, visit the Modbox Kickstarter page and Kelly’s Modbox blog.
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fixeditup
6 years ago
PROAztec Artistic Productions
3 years ago
I own one of 4 Quincy Jones homes in Oregon - NE Portland to be specific. There were supposed to be 40 of them built by Hallberg Homes but people were skeptical of the flat roofs in our climate so they didn't build any more. Pictures when completed are included in this article - https://www.eichlernetwork.com/article/roots-eichler-gable?page=0,0 . I designed and fabricated my own stainless steel mailbox as a locking, outgoing only unit. It's not exactly a mid-century design but I've had positive comments from neighbors and dog walkers!
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