talking points in postal history

Talking Points in Postal History

11th February 2012 Djurslands Filatelistiske Højskole

i Mørke


11th February 2012

Djurslands Filatelistiske

Højskole i Mørke


11th February 2012 Djurslands Filatelistiske Højskole i Mørke

Vælg et emne der er bredt og tilstrækkeligt betydningsfuldt

Vær sikker på at din titel beskriver eksponatet

Find det bedste materiale du kan

Vis aldrig duplikation af materiale

Lær alt hvad du kan om dit materiale

Vis dommerne at du ved alt hvad der er at vide om dit emne

Fortæl en god historie, med en begyndelse, en midte og en slutning

Der må ikke være huller, fysisk eller i historien

Skriv en klar plan og følg den

Vær sikker på at dommerne kan følge din plan gennem hele eksponatet

Vær sikker på at dit eksponat præsenterer sig bedst muligt

Læs reglerne (igen og igen) og snak med andre udstillere

Studer andre eksponater

Den Korte Udgave ...


11th February 2012

Djurslands Filatelistiske

Højskole i Mørke

.... just for a first slide?

When you exhibit, you are not at the exhibition to speak for your exhibit.

Because first impressions count.

So the way your exhibit looks and is constructed is very important. It has to speak for itself.

So why go to all of this trouble ....

If you have good material and

a poor result from an exhibition,

then it‟s your own fault.

If the judges don‟t understand you,

then you haven‟t explained

yourself properly.

The Judges don’t understand me ...

Agreeing to be bound by a set of rules

Agreeing to be judged by your peers

It is not the same as a club display

It is competitive

What is exhibiting?

Presentation 5 Points

Condition 10 Points

Rarity 20 Points

Philatelic Knowledge and Research 35 Points

Treatment 20 Points

Importance 10 Points

What is exhibiting?

Presentation 5 Points

An evaluation of the overall aesthetic appearance of the exhibit.

What do the GREVs say?

Does the exhibit look as good as possible, even at first glance?

Philatelic Knowledge and Research

35 Points


Knowledge: the degree of knowledge of the exhibitor as expressed by the items chosen for

display and their related description

Research (Personal Study): A proper analysis of the items chosen for display

Can the judge see that I know my material, and have analysed it correctly?

Treatment 20 Points

An evaluation of the completeness and correctness of the selected material

made by the exhibitor to illustrate the chosen subject.


How can the exhibit tell a coherent story?

How can I stop the judge wasting time working out how I have treated the subject?

Have I got the right material??

Treatment

• Title - does it match the material?

• Plan and introductory page

• Does it tell a story? Hvor er den Røde Tråd:

• Is there a common or connecting thread?

• Completeness and correctness of material

• Does the subject fit into the space available?

• Originality

• Balance

Condition

10 Points

An evaluation of the quality of the displayed material considering the standard of the

material that exists for the chosen subject


If I have poor material, can I explain why?

Condition

• Takes into account the standard of the material that exists for the chosen subject

• Condition will vary depending on Country or Period: e.g. Military mail from private soldiers

• Exceptionally fine material especially for scarcer items is rewarded

Philatelic Importance 10 Points

Requires an evaluation of philatelic significance of the subject chosen by the exhibitor, in terms of its scope, degree of difficulty of the subject, and the philatelic

interest of the exhibit.


How can I make my story important?

Is my subject one which can never be important?

Philatelic Importance ...

• is the significance of the subject chosen ...

• ... and the significance of the actual exhibit in relation to the subject

What subject should I choose? Some subjects will do better than others.

The importance of an exhibit will be gauged in relation to the general postal history of the country, area or subject shown, and to philately in general ..... It will usually be easier to adequately treat and provide completeness to unimportant subjects than to important ones in the space available. ... the postal history of a capital city may generally be more important than that of a provincial town or a rural area. A postal rate study of postal agreements between two or more states would generally be more important than the domestic internal rates of an individual state over the same period.

Read the SREVs and choose carefully. There are many excellent hjemstavn udstillinger in Denmark who will be disappointed in an international exhibition.

Rarity

20 Points

Requires an evaluation of the rarity and the relative difficulty of acquisition of

the selected material.


How do I point out and explain my rare items?

Rarity

• Rarity has to be assessed relative to the class of material

• In terms of numbers available, postal stationery items would be extremely rare compared to adhesive stamps

• Rarity is not synonymous with value

• However, are the accepted rarities in the chosen subject present?

Cheap and Expensive Points Thanks to Lars Engelbrecht

£££££ Expensive

Rarity 20

Importance 10

£££ Condition 10

Treatment 20

Research 15

Knowledge 20

Presentation 5

£ Cheap

Rarity is helped by Knowledge

Importance is helped by Research

Condition you can‟t do much about

Attractive

Complete

Organised

Balanced

Coherent

Attraktiv

Komplet

Organiseret

Afbalanceret

Sammenhængende

So an exhibit has to look:

Exhibiting is a hard discipline since it is both an art and a science.

While the points are divided into categories, a truly successful exhibit is a cohesive whole.

An analysis of 1767 results of Postal History exhibits at FIP and FEPA levels between 1998 and 2009 shows a range of points between 63 and 98.

Removing the top and bottom 5% gives a difference of only 20 points

The 20 Point Battleground

Points Count 63 1 Bronze 64 1 65 3 Silver Bronze 66 1 67 2 68 1 70 12 Silver 71 9 72 12 73 16 74 6 75 39 Large Silver 76 20 77 39 78 58 79 7 80 110 Vermeil

81 58 82 56 83 99 84 21 85 194 Large Vermeil 86 136 87 104 88 150 89 19 90 199 Gold 91 78 92 69 93 81 94 17 95 81 Large Gold 96 40 97 27 98 1

Postal History 1998 - 2009

Points Count

Remove bottom 66

75 39 Large Silver 76 20 77 39 78 58 79 7 80 110 Vermeil

81 58 82 56 83 99 84 21 85 194 Large Vermeil 86 136 87 104 88 150 89 19 90 199 Gold 91 78 92 69 93 81 94 17 95 81 Large Gold

Remove top 68


Points Count 75 39 Large Silver 76 20 77 39 78 58 79 7 80 110 Vermeil 81 58 82 56 83 99 84 21

85 194 Large Vermeil 86 136 87 104 88 150 89 19 90 199 Gold 91 78 92 69 93 81 94 17 95 81 Large Gold


Over 90% of points awarded

are between 75 and 95

Every point has to be fought for The gradations are very fine Small improvements can make a real difference

Presentation, Treatment, Knowledge and Research in

exhibiting: How to persuade the judges that you really know what you are doing, and that it couldn’t possibly be done any better. How to achieve as many points as possible - mostly without considering Condition and Rarity.

Because if your exhibit is not attractive, organised, coherent,

balanced and complete ...

This is an exaggeration, but you ignore it at your peril.

... the judge will probably start with the idea that the exhibit is not likely to be very good.

And why begin with presentation?

If you don‟t have a coherent and structured

approach to Presentation and layout ....

.... your Treatment

won‟t be coherent and structured.

The Fundamental Principle of Exhibit Construction

Thinking about Presentation


• Write up should be clear, concise and relevant

• The method of presentation should show the material to the best effect

• The whole entry should show balance

• Some say that is important to avoid unduly uniform arrangements

• No advantage or disadvantage to handwritten, typed or printed texts

• Page frames, running headers and flags or Coats of Arms etc.

• Mounts and shapes

• Fonts and use of bold, or italic lettering

• Pages and protectors

• Use of colours

• Illustrations and maps


• Amount of write up

• Page visual effect

• Exhibition frame visual effect

• Location of key items in the frame

• Story chapters beginning and ending location

• White spaces

• Drawing attention to key items


Presentation and Treatment

Are absolutely tied together

Knowledge and Research

Are demonstrated in your Presentation and Treatment of your subject

Condition and Rarity

Are helped by your presentation of the facts

Exhibit Structure

A plan of an eight frame exhibit

The heading in the plan

is the same as the heading

on the page



on the page

The colour of the text is the same

as the colour of the cancel



on the page



The typeface in the text is the

same as the typeface in the date

stamp



on the page





stamp

The date is in bold, the date

structure is always the same

dd mm yyyy



on the page





stamp



dd mm yyyy

This is an important piece



on the page





stamp



dd mm yyyy

This is an important piece

Manuscript in the text means

manuscript on the item

A page from another exhibit

The same conventions

are used throughout

Why?

Because when you have taught

the judge what the conventions

are, you don‟t have to do it again,

and again, and again

The judges might view

your exhibit 15 minutes in the

frames, although they will have

used the Introductory Page for

Advance preparation

Clear, simple, visible

statements of rarity

This is a word document

Clarendon pages

288mm x 218mm

Margins

Top 2cm

Left 1.5 cm

Right 1.5cm

Bottom 1.5cm

Fonts

Gill Sans 12 point

Times New Roman

Arial

Bible Script Fraktur

Footer

Denmark, Slesvig and Holstein, Invasion,

Occupation and Postal Change: Page 5

Top Left Text Box

No line

Left to margin

1cm below the top of the page

Is always the Chapter Heading

Never begin a chapter in the

middle of a row

Top Right Text Box

No line

Right to margin

1.3 cm below the top of the page

Describes, in one line, the

item(s) on the page

And tells if they are

especially important

Bottom Text Box

No line

Width is margin to margin

Bottom to Margin

Top Bounding Box

No line

Height and Width is 0.5cm wider

than the Item being shown

Centred 2.5cm below Page

Centre Text Box

No line

Width is margin to margin

i.e. 288mm – 30mm = 258mm

Next Bounding Box

No line

Height and Width is 0.5cm wider

than the Item being shown

All four boxes are justified

vertically

1

2

4

3

And centred horizontally

Knowledge: the degree of

knowledge of the exhibitor as

expressed by the items

chosen for display and their

related description

Research (Personal Study):

A proper analysis of the items

chosen for display

One font for the description

Another for the research

10th July 1852, Second weight class letter sent from Rendsburg to Friedrichstadt in Slesvig

prepaid with two single 4RBS Ferslew stamps, cancelled with mute cancellers (Earliest recorded date),

and datestamped cds Ant 1a-1 B.P.A. RENDSBURG.

Circular 12/1852 provided for single letters to and from the Kingdom and Slesvig to Rendsburg to be

paid at 4RBS, effectively transferring Rendsburg to the Duchy of Slesvig for postal purposes from 1st

July 1852.

Stamps were not valid for use in the Duchy of Holstein until 1st July 1853.

The Chapter Headings tell The story

You can include sub-headings if they help to carry the story forward

They lead the Judge through Your exhibit. They exemplify Your treatment

The Information Boxes are the detail of the story

They are short one-liners to Show the judge the material

They can demonstrate Importance

Or draw attention to Variety

The chapter headings tell the story Sub-headings help to carry the story forward

The information boxes are the Basic detail of The story They are short one-liners to show the judge the material They can demonstrate Importance The text boxes show your knowledge and research

It should be possible to follow your treatment using the headers alone

Balance You have to make compromises because of the material Left and right Maps in balance Maps are a similar format Top and bottom Central in the frame Use the text boxes to store research information

Balance The material must be in balance.

In an exhibit covering 1798 to 1914 you cannot have just one 18th century item

To create balance, you must have the ability to choose material.

This is why a good five frame exhibit can do badly in 8 frames

Don’t s t r e t c h the material too thinly

You have to make compromises because of the material

Paper and Print

Why is this important? It demonstrates your knowledge of conservation. It shows your concern for, and pride in the material. It shows respect for your audience.

Paper and Print Paper

1. Size: A4 or A3

A3 gives more flexibility, particular for large items and ephemera –

acid free: this means alkaline buffered paper, free of lignin and

ground wood.

2. Colour

White, off white, cream – NO dark colours.

3. Weight

The best your printer can take: Consider the mounter.

4. Protectors

Good quality, chemically inert polyester, e.g. Melinex®, Mylar™

without surface coatings or plasticisers.

Layout

Frames around your items - colour and thickness - experiment - or Card of contrasting colour for matting (backing). Not too wide and not black.

Typeface must be clear and easy to read

Do not mix too many different typefaces.

It is better to use the same typefaces throughout.

Vary the point size for headings, sub-headings, text, explanation.

Use bold or italics for variations. Use colour .

Print Colour: Black, or a very dark colour.

For example brown on cream paper in Traditional Classes.

Paper and Print

Headers and Footers

Header on the introductory page with exhibit title to the left.

Header on following pages with sub-heading beneath to the left and

Information Boxes to the right and/or an illustrative symbol.

Footer with exhibit title and page number at the bottom right.

Point Size:

Headers – large and/or capital letters.

Footers – small and lighter colour, for example a grey tone.

Paper and Print

The Introductory Page

• Exhibitors should do what works for them, but the exhibit must be clear and structured.

• The key is to capture the interest of the viewer or juror.

• A clear simple front page and presentation goes a long way to achieving this.

• What viewers (and jurors) start with.

• Jurors get these in advance to do their homework.


Title: Choose a “working title”. This might end up being your final title, but as you work with your material, you might want to redefine your title to fit your exhibit more precisely. Aim of exhibit: Just a few lines stating what you want to achieve with your exhibit.


Structure: Explain how your exhibit is organised: How have you told the story? Background: A short historical context. Conventions: Standard abbreviations, use of text, graphics etc. An Image: such as a map, or a key item: attracts attention to the exhibit.


Plan: A graphical representation of the exhibit which corresponds exactly to its treatment. Bibliography: A short bibliography. If you don’t tell the judge where to find the information, then don’t be surprised if they don’t understand you. (Reference yourself if you can).


Title

The title should precisely encapsulate your exhibit. Not like these ...

Österreichische Internationale Korrespondenz in Europa

Wien

The old letters of Belarus

Postal History of Bosnia-Herzegovina

Postal History of Brno

Cancellations from the Danzig area

Dutch Colonies : Postal Routes and Rates

Aim

What am I trying to achieve?

Structure

How have I put the exhibit together? What is my beginning and end?

Background

What is the historical context of my exhibit?

An opportunity to deal with issues such as rarity.

Conventions

These are important pieces of shorthand.

They help the judge to follow the exhibit: Ant = Antiqua

Lap = Lapidar

Manuscript cds = circular date stamp

The Plan An exact guide to the exhibit. Go to an exhibition and watch the judges looking at an exhibit where the introductory page is inadequate.

The Bibliography

Not every book on the subject. Helps to demonstrate knowledge and research and helps the judge to plan for the exhibition.

“The Prussian field mail on its way to the front” - Illustrated London News February 20th 1864,

From a copy of the periodical owned by the exhibitor.

Increase interest with relevant images

„Efter Feltpostens Ankomst‟, After the field post arrives

Illustreret Tidende 7th February 1864

From a copy of the periodical owned by the exhibitor

Increase interest with relevant images

23rd April 1864, Entire letter sent to Odense from

Fredericia in Jutland. Franked with 1863 4 Skilling cancelled with target numeral canceller 17 and

datestamped Ant III FREDERICIA.

The Fredericia post office had returned to the city on

April 20th, where this letter was cancelled, only to

abandon it again and return to Strib across the Little

Belt on the island of Fyn on 29th April, where it

remained until the start of the first armistice which

began on 12th May.

Increase interest with relevant maps

Summary

• An exhibit must be a cohesive entity

• There must be a story line or ‘red thread’

• The viewer’s interest must be led from from page to page

• The exhibit must be interesting both visually and textually

Summary

• Each page must be balanced

• Each frame should be balanced with double sheets, if necessary, and key items in appropriate positions

• The material should be balanced within the exhibit

• There should be no large chronological gaps - or large white spaces

Summary

• An exhibit is composed of many disparate things.

• The exhibitor’s job is to create a single artefact.

• A successful treatment is a successful synthesis of the material in the chosen subject respecting all of the judging criteria.

But to get a gold medal, you still have to have gold medal material.

Summary

• Discipline - Rules based

• Organisation

• Research - Library, Periodicals, Internet

• Understanding

• Scrutiny - Judgement by Peers

• Discussion and Debate

Will exhibiting help my collection?

Dialogue with the Judge

• Always see the judge at the frames

• Ask for the points breakdown

• Don’t say why your exhibit is wonderful

• Listen to what the judge says

• If you don’t understand, then say so

• Ask how to improve your exhibit

• Ask how to get extra points in each criterion

• Don’t complain - you didn’t have to exhibit!

One last thing

9th July 1944 Field envelope with contents sent from Field Post Office 39687

Rovaniemi in Northern Finland (66°30′N 025°44′E) to Vienna.

This unit was an army building company (Technische Kompanie Hb123).

If it’s not fun ...

9th July 1944 Contents showing letter number 930

The writer was in this location long enough to write almost 1200 letters

Don’t do it

A man lucky enough to have a very boring war

Djurslands Filatelistiske Højskole

Mørke

11 februar 2012

It’s only a hobby Det er bare en hobby

talking points in postal history

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