Reader Question: Locking Mailboxes

I'm wondering if you've done any research on mailboxes. I'm looking for something large enough to hold a few days mail, but that's also attractive and not a custom order. So many of the ones I've seen are ugly. Now to push it a little further, I'd love to find a box that works on a fence or a gate so that the public/street side is a mail slot and the private side has a secure box to hold the mail with the ability to take the mail out on the private side of the fence.

This message arrived a couple days after I read about the issue of "protecting mail from identity thieves." [Thanks to Naomi Seldin] So let's look at mailboxes that are secure and at least somewhat attractive - including some that might work for the reader.

The Bobi mailbox shown above can be wall-mounted or curbside mounted. It comes in six colors - a bunch of neutrals, and red. But two models (the Classic-B and the Grande-B) have rear doors, and they are shown mounted to a gate. They are made of "stainless steel or zincplated steel which is covered with a polyester coating." The mailboxes are made in Finland, but they're available in at least 15 countries: much of Europe, as well as the U.S., Canada and Japan.




Another option is the Janzer thru-fence mailbox - but unfortunately, this is the only picture on the Janzer web site. The mailbox is made of aluminum.




If you're looking for a curbside product rather than one on a gate, there are a few options with front slots and rear doors. You could consider the CurbVault. It looks a bit odd to me, but it has lots of useful features. This one is made of steel, and it comes in four colors. [photo from Gardecor, one of many sites selling this product.]




And then there's House Box, from Ready Steady Co., made of stainless steel. [via Apartment Therapy; see the comments there about getting postmaster approval]




The MailCase is a more traditional post-mounted option - and doesn't have a rear door.




And for those of us who need a simple wall-mounted option, the Peninsula locking mailbox from Architectural Mailboxes is quite nice; it's stainless steel. The company also makes other locking mailboxes, including post-mounted ones.




And if you have a sheltered location for your mailbox (and a lot of money to spend), you could get this teak mailbox from Semigood Design, handcrafted in Seattle. Both locking and non-locking versions are available.




Finally, this cow mailbox is not a locking one - but I just had to share it. [via Stacked Books]