Archive collections

The Postal Museum’s archive collection provides diverse, fascinating source material for philatelic and postal history research. Rare documents include the King’s letters from the 16th and 17th centuries, containing orders to start the regular delivery of post. From these early years, the Postal Museum’s collection also includes other instructions and regulations governing postal services. Also important were circulars from the Postal Administration, of which the museum has an entire set all the way until modern times, 1989.

The archive also features an extensive collection of seal and stamper materials, which includes the stamp imprints of the Postal Administration and post offices as well as wax seals. The collection covers the various postmarks used at offices: town, village, number and special postmarks. Postmarks used for army post and by UN troops and stagecoaches also constitute interesting research material. The Postal Museum’s collection includes not only stamp imprints but also the actual artefacts – seals and stampers.

A good overview of the various development stages of postal services is provided by an extensive collection of newspaper and magazine clippings, recording a century of postal history. A collection of 500 general and postal maps offers a nice visualisation of the development of Finnish cities and road traffic. In addition, the archive contains a large number of brochures and advertisements from different decades, illustrating the various postal services offered at each time, and an extensive collection of official postal forms from the late 19th century onwards. Post offices have also donated lots of material covering local and personal history.