The Forgotten Museum Pos dan Giro in Bandung
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What makes a museum so exceptional?. A museum as described by the Encyclopedia Americana is an institution, “serving the three main functions of collections, preservation, and presentations of objects. Such objects may be specimens of nature, related to geology, astronomy or biology, or they may illustrate the creations of man in history, art or science. The changing emphasis in museum on one or another of these three functions reflects changes in philosophies and way of living. Like other institutions, a museum bears witness to the interests, ambitions, and attitudes of their communities”.
What is the most famous and monumental building in Bandung? Gedung Sate. Ask the same question and most of people of Indonesia will directly know the answer. The saying goes that going to Bandung without seeing Gedung Sate is like visiting Paris and failing to witness the amazing Eifel Tower. But surprisingly, not many of them are aware that in the right wing basement of the building, slightly concealed is a museum, Museum Pos dan Giro. Not many people of Bandung, or those who come to visit the flower city, are aware of this most interesting visual tourism object where a whole collection of miniature historical records are displayed. Have a look at the forgotten museum Pos dan Giro in Bandung.
The wisest way to reach the place is to ask for directions. Don’t look for signs or wait for anyone to guide you, simply because there will be nothing of the kind. The entrance to the museum can be approached from two directions, either from the park behind Kantor Pusat Perum Pos dan Giro, the main office of the Public Corporation of Post and National Giro, or from the main gate near Tugu Pahlawan Postel. Complicated?, perhaps. But it’s certainly worth the adventure considering the fact that there are only two museums of this kind in Indonesia. The other, known as Museum Perangko or the Stamp Museum, is at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, Jakarta.
Atmospheres of diverse civilizations are recorded at Museum Pos dan Giro. And tracing the course of history can be very absorbing. Apart from presenting written accounts of the history of postal service, it also exhibits the development and progress of various nations. This is clear not only from the display of a whole range of equipments utilized by “Dinas Pos Indonesia” in performing its mission since the Dutch Colonial era, but also from the prime collection of hundreds of thousands of stamps from all faces of the world.
Many of us are probably aware that the Indonesian word for stamp, “Perangko”, was adapted from the Latin word franco, which means a proof of payment for the carrying of letters. Based on Sir Rowland Hill’s idea, the first stamp was printed in Britain in the year 1840. And it has come into use in Indonesia since 1864. An array of national and international historical treasures, nature’s divine beauty, and intriguing cultural and traditional heritage are preserved through the strokes of stamp artists on the impressive tiny printed paper, in the effort to express their nation’s dynamic historical course. “Stamps write history” is the well-known phrase among philatelists.
Once you’re in the museum, notice that the stamps have been systematically arranged according to the period of publication and theme. Some stamps are strikingly unique, such as the stamp-on-stamp stamp, the face-to-face stamp, and the back-to-back stamp. And if you feel like going beyond the pretty pictures, just examine the 1952 Brussels Universal Postal Union Congress Documents or other important documents. These reminders of how important the postal and national giro services are in international relations emanated almost all nations to the membership of the Universal Postal Union, established in the 1874 Bern Conference. This should invite enough interest and curiosity as each UPU member is obliged to submit every new stamp specimen to UPU headquarter in Bern. The latest specimens are then distributed to all member countries to be added to their museum’s collection or printed in their catalog. This means the museum will never run short of specimens.
Most unfortunate for “Museum Pos dan Giro” is that the space occupied is much insufficient for the display of its entire wealth. A comparison to other great museums would be mostly unfair. One of the major problems faced by Museum Pos dan Giro is that it is not directly affiliated to the Department of Education and Culture. Being the smallest unit in the Public Corporation of Post and National Giro, it’s hardly conceivable that the Government would provide museum administrators with the opportunity to become experts, let alone a larger and better space.
To allow private sectors to participate in the development of this museum would be a fine idea. A museum displaying articles as tiny as stamps should naturally be equipped with all the modern comforts in the world. Moreover, much creativity is demanded in order to increase the public’s appreciation of museums. Meanwhile until the dream can finally be realized, a meager charge of entrance-fee would psychologically be better than being free of charge as the condition shows now. For the time being, people of Indonesia will always show their appreciation of museums by remembering to visit “Museum Pos dan Giro” in Bandung.