Volume 41#09

For years, one of the best-kept secrets of Canadian postal history was the Canadian Postal Museum. Tucked away in a back corner of the top floor of the Museum of Civilization, in Gatineau, across the river from Ottawa, the museum contained a collection of one of every Canadian stamp, and galleries covering the history of postal service in Canada. It didn’t get a lot of attention. I received a guided tour of the museum in 2010. When we got to the postal section, my official guide said he didn’t know much about the stamps and left me to my own resources. Compared with the main exhibits, there were few tourists taking in the stamps. In 2012, the museum was closed. At that time, the Museum of Civilization announced it would move the stamp collection into a new gallery, incorporate philately into other exhibits, and build on virtual exhibits on the museum’s website. The collection reopened in 2014 with more than 3,000 stamp exhibits in a gallery on the first level. Continue reading →