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Let’s check out the Musée de la Poste’s impressive collection of Siege of Paris artifacts!
Located near the busy Gare Montparnasse (Montparnasse train station), le Musée de la Poste (The (French) Postal Museum) contains one of the best collections of objects related to the 1870-1871 Siege of Paris anywhere. You may be wondering why. Out of necessity, the Siege of Paris was a part of the development of several mail-related phenomena: ~ The first regular airmail service. From late September 1870 to January 28, 1871, sixty-six hot air balloons left Paris, carrying correspondance (and carrier pigeons) from besieged Parisians. Although balloon flight was tricky and many of the balloons ended up way off course, most arrived safely, with only two fatal crashes and five balloons captured by the enemy. A letter sent by hot air balloon during the Siege, on display at the Musée de la Poste. ~ The popularization of the pigeon post. While there was a high rate of failure (more on this below), pigeons were the most reliable way for Parisians to receive correspondance from the outsi