Postnl.nl

The history of PostNL

We have been delivering special moments for 225 years

Can you imagine the delivery person delivering your next letter or package on a horse? A crazy thought in this day and age. This was very normal in the early 1800s. Electric vans and bicycles are now driving through the streets. What did the road there look like? We take you back in time.

About the history of mail

Number of letters and parcels per year

18751900192519502023
Number of letters45 million100 million250 million423 million1,7 billion
Number of parcels1 million2,5 million7,5 million13 million343 million

Back in time: our clothes, mailboxes and means of transport

We take big leaps in time and reflect on a number of years. Discover what our deliverers looked like. In which mailboxes they collected the letters and with which they transported the mail and packages. We go back to 1850.

Now-2011

The postman today

Recognizable orange clothing.

More than 11,000 mailboxes

Give the street extra colour.

Electric vans for our parcel deliverers

Recognizable and appropriate for these times.

2011-1960

The postman in 1964

The uniform consists of a jacket, trousers, cap, shirt, tie, scarf and gloves.

The mailbox in 1962

For the first time with 2 compartments. To sort better.

Do you remember it?

The Red Runner from 2001. Predecessor of the electric cargo bike.

1960-1850

The uniform in 1878

Very stately. Appropriate for that time.

Back to 1850

For 110 years the mailboxes looked like this.

The postal car in 1928

With closed box and bars.

From PTT Post to PostNL

For a long time we were the only postal company in the Netherlands. In 1928 we got our first official name: PTT Post. A well-known concept for decades. In 1998 we ran our last rounds as PTT Post and continued as TPG Post until 2006. Between 2006 and 2011 you knew us as TNT Post, from 2011 to where we are now: PostNL.