When Heinrich von Stephan proposed the introduction of the “Postblatt”, the predecessor of the postcard, as a cheaper alternative to the letter in 1865, his idea was rejected. There were privacy concerns – because of the messengers. It was only five years later that Stephan was convincing with his project: the “correspondence card” was used en masse during the Franco-Prussian War.
The postcard is just one of the many achievements of the visionary Heinrich von Stephan. He was the initiator of the Universal Postal Union, which still determines the rules for worldwide postal traffic today, and founded the Museum for Communication Berlin in 1872, which celebrates its 150th anniversary on August 24th.
Originally, the exhibition served to train postal workers – but only a few years later the house made its exhibits accessible to the public. Today, the facility is considered the first postal museum in the world and, with 2,000 objects, offers visitors a comprehensive insight into around 40,000 years of communication history.
To mark the anniversary, the museum is showing a special exhibition with furniture and models of historic vehicles from the time it was created, starting this Thursday. In addition, a QR code tour provides information on 27 selected objects from the permanent exhibition – including Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephone and the world’s most famous postage stamp, the “Blue Mauritius”.
Using a so-called “Google Arts
Particularly exciting for visitors with an affinity for social media: the project
