“Cradle” of the Stamp Museum

The names of graphic artists involved in the design of banknotes often appear on postage stamps as well, since both stamps and banknotes have been used hand in hand in Hungarian and international circulation for almost two centuries. This exhibition aims to shed light on the world that unfolded along these parallels. Like a banknote, a postage stamp is also an item that carries value and is produced in compliance with strict standards, by incorporating different security components, and the fact that the Banknote Printing Company, which produces banknotes, has been involved in the production of stamps since 1949 is no coincidence.
When the Stamp Museum, which preserves numerous outstanding philatelic memorabilia from around the world was founded in 1930, the Hungarian Royal Post designated the Buda Postal Palace located in Krisztina körút as its home, which building now houses the Money Museum. As a result, the museum operated on the eighth floor of the building designed by Gyula Sándy during its first decade of existence, and moved to its present exhibition venue, Pest Postal Palace located in Dob utca in 1940.
The grand opening ceremony of the museum was held in the Buda Postal Palace on 28 April 1930, something stamp collectors had been waiting for through decades. The design of the installation was inspired by the vault system of the Nuremberg Postal Museum, which was analysed by experts on site. The 20x8 metre room accommodated eight large display cabinets placed alongside the walls, two containing 80 panels and six containing 40 panels. Two large vaults with 12 compartments each were placed in the middle of the room. The museum provided four stereoscopes for visitors to study watermarks and watermark positioning. According to documents, the collection already contained several world rarities at that time.