Special collections

The Antell and Granberg collections of postal stationery

The Antell collection was purchased by the National Museum of Finland with money donated by Herman Frithiof Antell, and it was moved to storage in the Postal Museum in 1932. To cover the cost of acquiring Richard Granberg’s collection of postal stationery, money was raised by, for example, issuing a stamp with a surcharge. The collections include a research collection consisting of 14 albums as well as the exhibition collections Postal Stationery Issues 1845–1865 (160 pages) and Suomalainen ehiöpostikortti 125 vuotta (‘125 years of the Finnish stationery postcard’, 224 pages). 150 years of Finnish stationery postcards -collection (32 pages) includes first stationery postcards from 1871–1875.

150 years of Finnish stationery postcards

Austria was the first country to issue stationery postcards in the autumn of 1869. The Postal Director of Finland, Achates Gripenberg, became acquainted with these stationery postcards during his trip abroad, and took the initiative to introduce similar ones in the Grand Duchy of Finland.

8-penni stationery postcards were introduced in Finland on October 9th 1871, and the first known cancellations are from the next day. Initially, the cards were only in domestic use. When introduced, the stationery postcards were inexpensive compared to letters. The approved postage fee for stationery postcards was 8 pennies, including the card and regardless of the distance.

125 years of the Finnish stationery postcard -exhibition collection, compiled by Kaj Hellman in 1996 from the extensive collection of the Postal Museum contains 224 pages. The first part of stationery postcards was separated from this collection for the Savofila 2021 exhibition. The exhibition collection entitled Suomalainen ehiöpostikortti 150 vuotta (Finnish stationery postcard 150 years) includes stationery postcards model 1860 Coat of arms from 1871–1875.

Hans Lagerlöf, Finland

Part of the donation from Hans Lagerlöf in 1938. The collection covers the years 1856–1937 and includes stamps, full sheets, covers, postal stationery, cut squares as well as Helsinki local post issues, revenue stamps, ship stamps, etc. The collection has been used as the basis of exhibition collections. It originally consisted of 12 albums.

Hans Lagerlöf, Collection of revenue stamps and railway stamps

Part of the donation from Hans Lagerlöf in 1938. One album.

Hans Lagerlöf, Collection of newspaper revenue stamp reprints

Reprints of Swedish newspaper revenue stamps from 1824–1872. Part of the donation from Hans Lagerlöf in 1938.

Hans Lagerlöf, Collection of US postal stationery and cut squares

Part of the donation from Hans Lagerlöf in 1938. The collection covers the years 1853–1932 and consists of seven albums.

Rosenlew’s sheet collection

The collection consists of sheets from 1881–1929. The collection was acquired in barter from the heirs of Carl Wilhelm Rosenlew in 1944. It originally included six albums, more than 300 sheets. Most of them date from before Finnish independence. About a third of the collection consists of post-1917 Saarinen issues that were missing from the museum’s previous collections.

The Rosenlew/Wennberg reprint collection

Reprints and reissues of stamp designs from 1856–1866, 45 pages. The museum acquired the collection in barter in 1948, with the Swedish stamp dealer Wennberg acting as intermediary.

The Excise Office Collection

The excise office, revenue stamp office and later Bank of Finland printing works issues and their essays. Includes revenue stamps, postal stamps, postcards, Post Office Savings Bank receipt stamps, Finnish State Railway insurance stamps and tax stamps. Consists of three albums from 1916–1948.

E. A. Hellman, The figure cancellations of Finland

Consists of 10 albums with more than 4,000 items. Purchased for Finnish Postal Museum in 1953.

E. A. Hellman, Finnish sea mail cancellations

Finnish sea mail cancellations on Finnish and Swedish stamps, and Swedish post office and  sea mail cancellations on Finnish stamps. Consists of four albums with more than 1,400 items. Purchased in 1953.

P. Grosfils-Berger, Finland collection

The collection was purchased for the Postal Museum in 1954, after it had won several gold medals in international exhibitions. The museum’s exhibition collection of 1856 stamps is mainly based on this collection. It includes several rarities and unique items. The original collection also included issues from 1860 and 1866, which have also been used to form the exhibition collections of these models. At the time of the purchase, Grosfils-Berger also donated other items with related topics to the museum.

Pehr-Edwin af Enehielm, Helsinki city mail

Helsinki city mail, an internal mail transport network founded by pharmacists operated from 1866 to 1891 and had its own stamps, letterboxes and staff. The collection Helsingin kaupunginposti (Helsinki city mail) was purchased for the Postal Museum in 1956 from Irene af Enehielm, widow of Pehr-Edwin af Enehielm. 

E. J. Nyström, The whole world postal stationery collection

A total of 61 archive boxes, organised by country. The collection was bequeathed to the museum in 1960.

Pellervo Savolainen, Zemstvo Post 1865-1917

Collection of Russian local stamps. The collection consists of approx. 1,500 stamps and pieces of postal stationery, a total of 250 exhibition sheets. The collection was donated to the museum in 1964.

W. Terichoff, Karelia 1922

The collection includes a sheet of each issue. Purchased for the museum in 1966.

Harry W. Walli, North Ingria

The collection consists of 73 exhibition sheets. A bequest from 1971.

Matti Poutvaara, Collection of plate blocks of six

The collection consists of number blocks of six issued in 1917–1970. The collection was acquired for the museum in barter in 1971.

Aarre Salmenkivi, What do the stamps tell us about the mail from Russia that travelled through the Hämeenlinna customs in 1913–1917

The collection is a study of cancellations based mainly on the stamps and cancellations on items sent to the Russian garrison in Hämeenlinna. The collection consists of 75 exhibition sheets and was bequeathed to the museum in 1977.

Einar Palmunen, Finnish war censor stamps

The collection is organised by location and comprises 175 collection sheets. Purchased for the museum in 1978.

Jorma Leinonen, Philatelic forgeries and counterfeits

The collection includes items from prephilately to the 1950s, including Fournier and Brandstake forgeries, Zeppelin misprints, counterfeits and printers’ waste as well as forged and false cancellations. Consists of 324 pages.

E. Nikula, Finnish stamps for postal bus parcels

The collection of the 1949–1963 stamps comprises 91 exhibition sheets. Purchased for the museum in 1980.

Vilho Railo, Flower-themed collection

A thematic collection comprising 346 exhibition sheets. The collection was bequeathed to the Postal Museum in 1980.

Vilho Railo, Zeppelinpost

A thematic collection that includes stamps, covers and photographs, a total of 78 exhibition sheets. A bequest from 1980.

Collection of revenue stamps

The collection is based on the one compiled by Erkki A. Hellman, which won a gold medal in 1928 and was sold to the United States in the 1960s. The new owner expanded the collection, and in 1983 it was purchased for the Postal Museum. Includes issues from 1865–1935, a total of 19 albums.

Matti Poutvaara, Finnish post-1917 military mail

The collection covers the years since Finland became independent: there are items from the 1918 civil war, the Kinship Wars (Estonia, Aunus-Porajärvi, Ingria and Petsamo), the UN peacekeeping forces, and the 1928, 1937, 1939 and 1963 military exercises. A total of 92 pages. The collection was purchased in 1983.

Matti Poutvaara, The model Saarinen

The collection of model Saarinen features issues and colour varieties in blocks of four, and covers. It consists of 117 collection sheets. Purchased for the museum in 1986.

Mauri Fellman, The 1930 issue plate error collection

The collection comprises 144 exhibition sheets. It was received as a donation in 1987.

Jussi Itkonen, Postal wagons on the Finnish railways 1870–1918

The collection of early railway post consists of 142 exhibition sheets. Purchased for the museum in 1987.

Torsten Sandelin, Railway engines

This thematic collection consists of eight albums of exhibition sheets as well as two of other collection sheets. The collection items are arranged by engine type and comprises a total of 572 pages. The collection was bequeathed to the museum in 1989.

Collection of President Urho Kekkonen

The collection was moved from the National Museum of Finland to storage in the Postal Museum in 1989. It consists of 51 albums and folders obtained during state visits or anniversaries, and it features stamps from various countries. The collection also includes a small number of covers and stamps collected by President Kekkonen himself.

Pär Rundqvist, Franking machine label collection

Extensive collection of franking machine labels from Finland and overseas, a total of more than 17,000. Received as a donation in 1993.

Harri Sihtola’s postal stationery collection

Finland – Postal stationery from 1845–1880. The exhibition collection features 112 sheets, and it was donated to the museum in 1995.

Juhani Laipio, Collection of Estonian postal stationery

The collection has 43 pages and was donated to the museum in 2000.

Eero Helkiö, Cancellation reference collection

The material is organised by location and includes the following types of cancellations: Russian cancellations with the Russian text removed (8 albums), bridge cancellations with two post horns (5 albums), bridge cancellations with one post horn (8 albums) and bilingual bridge cancellations (5 albums). The collection was purchased in 2000.

Nikolaos Koroneos, Space collection

A thematic collection of all space-related stamps issued between 1957 and 1977 and those issued in Europe up to 1987. A total of 11 albums organised by country. Received as a donation in 2003.

Heikki Aulanko, Palaeontology

A palaeontology-themed collection that features stamps, cancellations and covers, a total of 145 collection sheets. A donation from Heikki Aulanko’s estate in 2004.

Heikki Aulanko, The wrinkled, grooved face of our planet

A geology-themed collection of 172 pages, includes stamps, cancellations and covers. A donation from Heikki Aulanko’s estate in 2004.

Collection of President Martti Ahtisaari

The collection includes President Martti Ahtisaari’s exhibition collection of UN first-day covers and other material on UN stamps. There are also albums and folders that President Ahtisaari has received as gifts on overseas visits. The collection was donated to the museum in 2004.

Paul Tiililä’s mail art collection

The collection covers more than 2,000 mail art works that Paul Tiililä collected as a hobby. There are also publications and compilations of exhibitions in which Tiililä participated. The collection includes works by more than 1,000 artists from some 50 countries. The oldest works in the collection are from the 1990s. The museum received the collection as two donations in 2004 and 2014.

Collection of President Tarja Halonen

The six albums gifted to President Tarja Halonen at the ASEM Summit and the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A donation made in 2009.

Lauri Siivonen, The earliest history of Christmas seals

A special collection that focuses on early Christmas seals, 50 collection sheets. A donation from Lauri Siivonen’s estate in 2016.

Finnish poetry through the centuries

A working group set up by the Finlandia 2017 exhibition organisation compiled a thematic collection for Mrs Jenni Haukio, the wife of the President of Finland. The collection covers 16 sheets, and it was moved to storage in the Postal Museum in 2017.

Tapani Hirvenoja’s bird-themed collections

Tapani Hirvenoja’s bird-themed philatelic collection includes three broad categories: Aves Fennicae – Finnish birds, Aves – Birds and Birds in poetry. The latter collection combines lyricism with philately. There are a total of 34 albums of material, several thousands of pages. The collection was bequeathed to the museum in 2020.