This is a fine old telephone box dating back to the 1920s, I believe. The first official street box was the K1 kiosk, that appeared in 1921. The design wasn’t very popular as it was deemed old-fashioned and it went through two further variations within just a few years. Its life was short: a more recognisable booth, with a domed roof, came along in 1926.
The rooftop sign and fancy metal scroll on this green example suggest that it is one of the variants of the K1. Its windows don’t match any official variant, however, so I suspect they have been replaced at some point.
These old boxes came mainly in red and white, or in cream, but other colours were used in some areas (hard to tell what colours as the photos are in black and white). This forest green variant is at Boulters Lock in Maidenhead and perhaps the colour was chosen to match its rural, waterside position. Some places made even stronger adaptations, with Eastbourne stretching to two of these K1 kiosks with thatched roofs.
A colourful note: the use of forest green as an English colour term dates back as far as 1810 and Wikipedia tells me that is a representation of the average colour of the leaves of the trees of a temperate zone deciduous forest.
As a crayon it is older than me! It became a Crayola colour in 1957.
Copyright Debbie Smyth, 5 February 2016
Travel with Intent 
Really great post – both the images and content. I love this telephone box, especially the colour. Thanks for sharing!
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Adore this post!
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You have packed a lot of valuable and interesting info in this post. I had no idea the first box was called K1. I have now found the link to it and am most appreciative. These captures are lovely, and mind you the box is in my favourite colour. (I really appreciate your recently introduced info about the origin of some names for shades). Hope you are doing well, dear. xx
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This colour challenge seems to have brought out the librarian in me: I’m really enjoying the research into the colours! I seem to be back to my normal concentration levels now. This phone box just happened to be outside a restaurant that I had a business lunch at this week – lucky eh?
On Sat, Feb 6, 2016 at 9:42 AM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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Very lucky and I am so very glad to hear you are your old self now.
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Very interesting about the phone booths back in the day. This one in the picture is still in use?
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Oooh, now that’s an interesting question. i think not – it contained an old telephone, and I think that would have been updated if in use
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A great photo. Things were so pretty back in the old times. Wonder what colors it went through.
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Probably not many, in fact maybe only green, but I couldn’t find much information on this one.
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Makes me think of this poem by Laura Elizabeth Richards that we enjoyed as children:
Eletelephony
Once there was an elephant,
Who tried to use the telephant—
No! no! I mean an elephone
Who tried to use the telephone—
(Dear me! I am not certain quite
That even now I’ve got it right.)
Howe’er it was, he got his trunk
Entangled in the telephunk;
The more he tried to get it free,
The louder buzzed the telephee—
(I fear I’d better drop the song
Of elephop and telephong!)
It was the title that got me thinking of it. 🙂
janet
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Thank you for introducing that to me/ What a delightful poem 😁
On Sat, Feb 6, 2016 at 12:24 AM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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Isn’t it? Glad you enjoyed it.
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I love that poem! I memorized it many years ago, and recite it to myself quite often! 🙂
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Some things were so much more beautiful back in the old days.
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Me too 😉
On Fri, Feb 5, 2016 at 10:19 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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