• Introduction
  • Welcome
  • About BNAPS Education
• Novices
  • Youth
    • Introduction
    • Canada’s Art and Artists on Canadian Stamps
    • My Favourite ... Cartier, 1534-1934
    • Collect Canada’s 1953–57 Wildlife Stamps
    • A Ship from History
    • First Day Covers
  • Adult
    • Introduction
    • A Small Start Can Build a Grand Collection
    • Canada's prime Ministers series of 1951-1955
    • The Admiral Stamps of Canada
    • An Introduction to Canadian Machined Slogan Cancels
• Experienced Collectors
  • Stamp Collectors
    • Introduction
    • Grenfell on Stamps of Newfoundland and Canada
    • Bluenose is Still Considered Canada’s Finest Stamp
    • The Open (or Shut) Case for Booklet Collecting
    • 1946 Stamps Show Canada’s Return to Peace
    • Issues of WWII: King, Country, and Conflict
    • The 1932 Medallions are Modern Classics
    • Canadian Stamps Marked Montreal Olympics
  • Postal Historians
    • Introduction
    • Canada’s ½¢ Small Queen had Multiple Uses
    • Covers Commemorated the Royal Visit of 1939
    • Some 19^th Century Mail That Took it on the Chin
    • Markings on Canadian Naval Mail of WWII
    • Crashes, Fires, and War Interrupted the Mail
    • Paquebot Covers: Mailed on the High Seas
• Exhibitors
  • Introduction
  • Aid to Exhibitors and Judges
  • Getting Started in Philatelic Exhibiting
  • Use resources to help solve puzzling covers
• The Press
  • Commercial publications
    • Introduction
    • Stamp Society Supports Youth Philately
  • Society publications
    • Introduction
    • Stamp Society Supports Youth Philately
• EDUCATION SECTION MAP

Getting Started in Philatelic Exhibiting, Part 2
by John Hotchner^* (EEX3B)
Originally published by the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors

Getting Started: The Exhibit Subject

The ideal is to pick some part of your collecting areas about which you feel special interest and curiosity. This should be something that is broad enough that you have a good accumulation of stamps and/or covers to pick from to put on your exhibit pages. If you collect it, you have probably already concluded that you can afford most of the material in the area. If not, think about that aspect, because telling a complete story may mean that expensive material will be needed as you rise in medal levels and at last attempt to win that Gold medal.

Critically important is the title you pick for your exhibit. The Air Mail Issues of the United States; The First 50 Years sounds simple enough, but that would lead the judges to expect that the pricey Zeppelin set will be included, not to mention the 24c 1918 inverted Jenny. So in selecting a subject and title, you need to strike a balance between setting a challenge that you can afford to meet, and a challenge that is worthy of a Gold if you meet it. Happily there are large areas of the hobby in which money is much less a factor than the effort of studying philatelic material and finding the elusive material to illustrate your knowledge about it.

And Then?

Next you need to get together al the material that fits within your proposed exhibit title, and start to organize it so that you know what you have. Then you should begin to get some ideas as to how it can be shown in an effective sequence. Putting your material in stock cards in the order your story seems likely to take is the first step. This will also help you to begin to determine what you still need to tell the story.

This Sounds Like Work - And indeed it is. Exhibiting is not easy. But what worthy challenge is? Instead it is exciting; even fun, once you get hooked on the challenge. It gives you a goal to work toward - whether it's the exhibit itself, or the medal levels it can earn.

Preparing The Exhibit

Gone are the days when we had to spend hours preparing an exhibit page using a typewriter or by hand lettering. The computer has worked a revolution. It takes only moderate computer knowledge and a printer to do basic pages. And making corrections or revising a page takes five minutes instead of having to start from square one. You will need heavier-than-normal paper because the pages, in page protectors, will have to stand up in exhibit frames. Other than that, you don't need special materials to get started. You may, as you get deeper into the craft, want to experiment with capabilities of your computer to do fancier pages, but leave that for later, when you are more comfortable. To begin, keep it simple.

Exhibit Judging

At the local and regional levels, exhibits are often judged by experienced collectors, and sometimes there are only 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place certificates or medals. More often American Philatelic Society-accredited judges also form part or all of the jury team, and each exhibit receives the level of medal it earns. The APS, the national philatelic organization in the U.S., accredits national level philatelic exhibitions and those who judge them. Judges, who are themselves successful exhibitors, must successfully complete a training program, which includes developing the skill of providing feedback to exhibitors. This assures that exhibiting criteria will be uniform, and consistently applied at all of the 30+ national World Series of Philately (WSP) shows held across the United States each year. The Grand Award winner - the best exhibit - at each WSP show ultimately meets all the other Grands head-to-head in the annual Champion of Champions competition.

In evaluating exhibits the judges use specific criteria which is laid out in the APS Manual of Philatelic Judging, and you should obtain and read this carefully even if you are not interested in medals. Why? It also explains the different classes and divisions in which exhibits can be entered. You will need to know what is expected of, for instance, a one frame postal history exhibit, as compared to a multi-frame traditional exhibit. It also explains Display Division (in which you can use non-philatelic material), Illustrated Mail, the Cinderella Division, Revenue and several other types of exhibits.

*John Hotchner is the co-founder with Randy Neil of the AAPE, and is editor of its quarterly magazine. He is a national grand award level exhibitor and is a national and international judge.