South Africa's oldest official letterbox can be found on St Andrews College corner in Grahamstown. Painted in traditional post office red, the box was manufactured between 1857 and 1859. The fluted letterbox, was one of the earliest of nineteen very distinct styles of letterbox supplied to the British Post Office between 1852 and 1859.The first national standard type replaced the fluted variety from 1859 to 1866, and displayed the leters" V.R", denoting the monarch, Queen Victoria. Unfortunately the Imperial post office insignia was removed by vandals a while ago.

The exact arrival and erection of the pillar box in Grahamstown is uncertain, though evidence suggests that it was one of five boxes of the same type, which bought to Cape town between 1859 and 1860. Four of the boxes were installed in Cape Town, and the fifth was taken to Grahamstown. Though Grahamstown's old letterbox might not be the oldest letterbox in known existence, it may rank in the top twenty of the world's traditional "red box" survivors. The title of oldest Letterbox in the world is currently held by a hand-fashioned British model of 1809.