Noteworthy sources of joy – an exhibition of personalised stamps

15/11/2021

The Postal Museum organised a collection in spring 2021 and asked the public to submit pictures and background stories about their personalised stamps to be exhibited. The request was distributed through the museum’s channels in Postinen and the Filatelisti magazine. More than 250 personalised stamps with great stories were sent in. The exhibition themes feature the most popular motifs of personalised stamps.

Noteworthy sources of joy – an exhibition of personalised stamps on display in Vapriikki in Postal Museums Messengers -exhibition from 10.2.2022.

Noteworthy sources of joy – an exhibition of personalised stamps

Personalised stamps from idea to implementation

The story of personalised stamps started in 2000 when Posti offered its private customers the chance to have a sticker with their own image made to affix next to the stamp on the envelope. Similar combinations of stamps and personal images were already on the market in the UK, Australia and Canada. In Finland, the service was offered at the stamp fair in 2000 and at Santa Claus’ Main Post Office in Rovaniemi. Customers could use the services of a photographer and stamp printers at the events. The first experiments with personalised stamps in Finland were only available to a small number of people.

Photograph Postal Museum

Important moments in life

Personalised stamps feature the life course from birth to special days in childhood and adolescence, and important milestones such as wedding anniversaries, big birthdays and retirement. There are many important moments in life – when something just feels so special that it is worth immortalising on a stamp.

Photograph Hilja Mustonen

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History and family sagas

What better way to record family history and bring it to the present day than through images and texts. Black-and-white photographs depict past life, and the related stories enhance knowledge of one’s own history and life in the past. Coats of arms and important buildings pass on great stories and personal histories for future generations.

Photograph Mirkka Törnwall / Photographer: unknown press photographer.

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Pets! Furry family members

Pets are important members of many families and people’s best friends. A variety of pets have been printed on personalised stamps, though cats and dogs have been the most popular pet motifs from the start. The cat and dog stamps that were submitted to the collection tell warm-hearted stories that convey how close pets and their owners are.

Photograph Postal Museum

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Nature and the environment as a source of inspiration

We often encounter breathtakingly beautiful views in nature. There may be man-made structures in the landscape, but nature itself is usually the most masterful artist. Plants, animals and landscapes make us marvel at the world’s beauty. Nature is also often the theme of personalised stamps. Nature and ideas inspired by it have been immortalised on stamps through photos, and people have also ordered beautiful stamps that feature their nature-themed works of art.

Photograph Jouko Saikkonen

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Work and hobbies

We spend a lot of time at work, and hobbies fill our free time. Both aspects of life relate to our identity and show what we consider important in life. Personalised stamps are a nice way to surprise customers, and they can be used for marketing purposes and to highlight a company and the person behind it.
They can feature a hobby or advertise a hometown and be used to raise funds. Philatelic societies, for example, commission personalised stamps to delight their members, as a symbol of the society or as a collectible.

Photograph Terttu Ala-Heikkilä

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