Musee de la poste Boites aux lettres anciennes

The Musée de La Poste (La Poste's Museum) is the

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

of the French postal operator La Poste. It specialises in the postal history and philately of France. Opened in 1946, the museum has been located on two sites in Paris. The museum was closed for redevelopment from 2014 to November 2019.

Genesis

The idea of a postal museum was first published by philatelist Arthur Maury after scale models of postal rail transportation were exhibited at the Exposition Universelle of 1889 in Paris. Projects were written at the beginning of the 20th century, but nothing concrete was done. In 1936, Eugène Vaillé, a civil servant at the French posts' library, convinced Minister of Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones

Georges Mandel Georges Mandel (5 June 1885 – 7 July 1944) was a French journalist, politician, and French Resistance leader. Early life Born Louis George Rothschild in Chatou, Yvelines, he was the son of a tailor and his wife. His family was Jewish, originally ...

to relaunch the project. By 1937, establishment in the Choiseul-Praslin hôtel was studied. Although the economic crisis of the 1930s and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

prevented any actual opening, a

semi-postal stamp A semi-postal stamp or semipostal stamp, also known as a charity stamp, is a postage stamp issued to raise money for a particular purpose (such as a charitable cause) and sold at a premium over the postal value. Typically the stamp shows two deno ...

was issued on 6 July 1939 and a ruling council was instituted in 1943 with Vaillé as president. After the war, finance and an inventory by Vaillé of the postal archives permitted the inauguration in 1946. The Musée postal de France (Postal Museum of France) opened on 4 June 1946 at the Choiseul-Praslin hôtel, in the

6th arrondissement of Paris The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''. The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in ...

. Its first collections were exhibited on 600 square metres and

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

s constituted the main part. To help in managing the museum, an association was founded in 1947: the ''Société des amis du musée de La Poste''. Not large enough, the Choiseul-Praslin hôtel was replaced by a new building of 1,500 square meters. It was built between 1969 and 1972 and was decorated with a front wall designed by André Chatelin. The front wall was depicted on the stamp issued for the reopening of the museum, in December 1973. A stamp engraved by Jean Pheulpin. The building is located near the Montparnasse station, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. The inauguration took place on 18 December 1973.

Collections and activities

Permanent exhibitions present objects connected with correspondence, transport of the mail, work of the postmen and

philatelic Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

and marcophilic items. In 1999, a room was created to exhibit the 3,500 postage stamps of France in chronological and topical order. Temporary exhibitions on the same topics take place regularly on the ground floor of the museum. In the upper offices, a philatelic library is available to the public, partly constituted by a loan from the Académie de philatélie. In the entrance, a philatelic counter plays the role of post office, with cancellations inspired by temporary exhibitions.

Sources and references

* Martin Hella (December 2006). "Du Musée postal de France au musée de La Poste » (From the Postal Museum of France to La Poste's Museum). ''

L'Écho de la timbrologie ''L'Écho de la timbrologie'' is a French monthly magazine about philately and stamp collecting. First published in 1887, it is the French oldest surviving philatelic publication. Its subtitle is "La tribune des philatélistes" (the philatelist ...

'' #1802, pp. 38–42.

External links

Official website

Société des amis du musée de La Poste
(Society of La Poste's Museum's Friends) {{DEFAULTSORT:Musee De La Poste Philatelic museums Museums in Paris Buildings and structures in the 15th arrondissement of Paris La Poste

Genesis

Collections and activities

See also

Sources and references

External links