Description of the attraction
In 1971, the National Postal Museum was founded in Canada in order to collect, study and preserve various artifacts and information related to the postal heritage of Canada, as well as to popularize this knowledge among the younger generation. Already in 1974, the museum first opened its doors to visitors, soon becoming one of the largest and most visited postal museums in the world.
In 1988, the National Postal Museum officially became part of the Canadian Museum of Civilization (since 2013 - the Canadian Museum of History), and in 1996 it was renamed the Canadian Postal Museum. In 1997, the impressive collection of the museum moved to the spacious building of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, located at 100 Laurier Street in the city of Gatineau, Quebec.
Among the most interesting and valuable exhibits in the museum collection are the writing desk that belonged to the designer of the first Canadian postage stamps, Sandford Fleming, and a unique stamp collection, including the complete collection of stamps ever issued in Canada. However, no less interesting are sorting equipment, Canadian and foreign mailboxes, mail uniforms and many other entertaining exhibits that perfectly illustrate the history of mail.
In 2012, during the reform of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Canadian Postal Museum was actually closed, and most of the unique artifacts ended up in storage. Only the famous Canadian stamp collection, located in one of the galleries of the Canadian Museum of History, is available to the public. The "preserved" exhibits are likely to be presented in the new historical gallery, which is scheduled to open in 2017.
You can get acquainted with the treasures of the museum and the chronology of Canada's postal history today on the official website of the Canadian Museum of History in the "online exhibitions" section.
