Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

In 1995, the city of Baud created the Regional Postal Card Conservatory in its municipal library, thanks to the acquisition of a collection of 12,000 Breton postcards and 5,500 drawings by Charles Homualk, an iconic illustrator. This pioneering project, supported by Europe, the State, the Brittany region and the Morbihan department, aims to preserve an unknown iconographic heritage: the old postcard, which was not considered by museums despite its documentary interest. The Cartopole opened its doors in 1996, marking a first in France with its approach dedicated to this popular media, ancestor of social networks.

From its inception, the fund quickly expanded to reach more than 75,000 maps on Brittany and 35,000 on other regions, supplemented by 7,500 sketches by Homualk. The collections, conditioned according to strict conservation standards, become accessible to a varied audience: researchers, genealogists, publishers or simple curious. An active acquisition policy, coupled with donations and deposits, allows Baud to form one of the most important French public collections of postcards. The gradual digitisation of the funds led in 2003 to the creation of Cartolis, an online database with more than 85,000 records in 2023.

In 2012, the Cartopole began a major transformation to modernize its offer and obtain the label Musée de France, awarded in 2017. The move in 2016 to the Quatro — a contemporary cultural pole designed as a jet of postcards — marks its transformation into the Museum of postcards. This new 1,600 m2 space, integrated with bold matricated white concrete architecture, symbolizes Baud's sustainable commitment to this heritage. The collections, centered on the golden age (1900-1920), illustrate the daily life of Brittany (trades, festivals, landscapes) and the evolution of the territories, making this museum a valuable tool for historians and the general public.

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