Postal Museum – Philately and Communication
If you are interested in philately, then you will already probably know what the term means. For those of us who are less knowledgeable, philately is the in-depth study of postage stamps. It is different from stamp collecting, since it requires that a practitioner be interested in the design, production and use of stamps after their date of issue. Philatelists may not even own the stamps that they study, while stamp collectors are interested more specifically in owning and collecting stamps and often spare little thought to the same aspects of stamps that a philatelist may consider. Well, whether you are a philatelist or a stamp collector, you may well enjoy a visit to the Postal Museum in Rabat.
The Postal Museum in Morocco is about more than just stamps however; it is about communication. Since writing was the most common form of early long distance communication, quite a substantial part of the museum is dedicated to it. There are Moroccan stamps and envelopes that will be of particular interest to both philatelists and stamp collectors. Part of this impressive section of the collection is the first official stamp of Morocco, which bares the date 12 May 1912. It depicts the Aissaoua Mosque in Tangier and is quite interesting to see. From here the postal museum goes on to document the gradual advancements in long distance communication, including the use of telephones and telegraph machines. Of particular interest are the Baudot, which is a telegraph complete with a printer, and the belinographs which were used for sending photographs over a long distance. There is also a section of the museum dedicated to postal vans. In fact, virtually every role played by the postal service over the centuries is accurately documented at the Postal Museum for the pleasure of all interested parties.
The Postal Museum in Morocco was founded in 1970 and it has been fascinating visitors ever since. This is especially true of our modern day era when many of the items on display are often unheard of by younger generations. You’ll find the Postal Museum in Rabat at the Ministry of P&T. So give this great museum a try and discover the legacy that the postal services of Morocco have left to the world.
