Our Postal Heritage: The National Postal Museum
The Honourable André Ouellet,
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International trade, writing
a message of support to Canadian peacekeepers stationed
overseas, during the opening of Peace Mail, the
National Postal Museum's salute to the 50th
Anniversary of the United Nations. The Minister was the
keynote speaker at the official launch of Peace Mail.
Photo: J. Vincent.
The National Postal Museum (NPM) has a mandate to preserve and interpret the history of postal communications, focusing primarily --though not exclusively -- on Canada. The NPM will open a permanent space at the CMC in June 1997. Until that time, it will continue its programme of temporary activities.
The NPM's main public event this year was Peace Mail, an activity highlighting the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations (UN), and designed to encourage communication among Canadians. Created in conjunction with the Department of National Defence and the UN 50th Anniversary Committee, Peace Mail gave 18,000 summer visitors an opportunity to send a special message to Canadian peacekeepers around the world.
Other Achievements
- The travelling exhibition, History in a Box, took to the road, attracting much interest and publicity.
- Development of the exhibition (co-production) France-Canada: Three Centuries of Letters and Correspondence -- to run at the CMC and in Toronto and Paris.
- Creation of content on the NPM for the Corporation's World Wide Web site. The NPM also participated in the interactive fund raising auction, Sponsor a Treasure.
- Four educational programmes offered to schools in Canada's Capital Region. Presented by an NPM animator, the programmes made students aware of Canadian postal history and the work of museologists.
- Participation in an international history conference in Montreal. The NPM ran a booth/exhibition entitled The Post: a Story of . . . at the conference site.
Major Acquisitions
- A 400-item collection of mail art by Canadian artist Anna Banana. This well documented collection spans the mail-art movement from the 1950s to the present.
- A collection of 156 toys on the theme of mail trans-portation. Various forms of transportation and a number of countries are represented.
Temporary Exhibitions
Peace Mail (NPM), May 26 to September 10, 1995 -- 16,986 visitors.Peace Mail/Stamp Month (NPM), October 1 to 29, 1995 (Sundays only) -- 1,753 visitors.
Travelling Exhibitions
Yours Sincerely, L.M. Montgomery at the Green Gables Post Office, Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, from May 22 to September 30, 1995.History in a Box, at the Aitken Bicentennial Exhibition Centre, Saint John, New Brunswick, October 20, 1995 to January 20, 1996.
Collecting Passions: Explore the World of Postage Stamps, at the London Regional Art & Historical Museums, London, Ontario, April 17 to August 26, 1995; and at the Musée régional de Rimouski, Rimouski, Quebec, February 4 to May 19, 1996.
Your Post Office Not So Long Ago was presented in Edmonton, Alberta, at the event Klondike Days, July 20 to 29, 1995, and in Montreal on October 14, 1995, at the Stamp Month organized by Canada Post Corporation.
Outreach Programmes
- Production of a Stamp, at the National Capital Commission, Ottawa, Ontario, October 1995.
- Presentation of four programmes to over 7,000 students in Canada's Capital Region.
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