The SA Post Office Museum

History

The museum was started in 1974 when the South African Post Office and Telkom were still one company. The company was divided into the South African Post Office and Telkom in 1991 and the museum was affected as well. The museum currently consists of the display at Church Square and the collection kept at the South African Post Office Depot in Silverton.

Collection

The museum has a collection of unique objects that forms the core of the activities for exhibitions, public programmes and research. The collections that constitute the museum are philately, art and object collections. The object collection portrays the postal history of South Africa and the philately collection represents the total philatelic history of South Africa.

Preservation

To preserve means to protect an object or a group of objects from different hazards such as destruction, deterioration, separation or even theft; this protection is ensured by accruing the collection, inventorising it, sheltering it, securing it and repairing it. Preservation also includes all actions taken to stop or slow down deterioration of, or prevent damage to, cultural and natural material. Preservation involves controlling the environment and conditions of use, and may include treatment in order to, as nearly as possible; maintain an object in an unchanging state.

Exhibitions

Exhibitions are a fundamental feature of museums, in so far as these prove themselves to be excellent places for sensory perception, by presenting objects to view (that is, visualization), monstration (the act of demonstrating proof), ostention (initially the holding up of sacred objects for adoration).