Special Regulations for the Evaluation of Cinderella Exhibits at APF National Exhibitions

Competitive exhibitions in Australia are unusual in that for many years they have included a Cinderella class. This Class has included the many labels which resemble postage stamps but which are not part of the official payment system for the carriage of mail. Societies, with prestigious reputations, exist which are devoted to Cinderella material. The best known of these is the UK-based The Cinderella Stamp Club whose Journal has long been edited by the Williams brothers and for which Robson Lowe was for many years the President. The Cinderella Society of Australasia is the southern hemisphere equivalent.

Until their recognition as a separate Class by the FIP in the early 1980s, the Cinderella Class included revenue (fiscal) stamps and associated material. Railway stamps have also sometimes been included in the Class in Australia but these are more properly part of the Traditional Class.

As the FIP does not recognise a separate Cinderellas class these regulations are restricted to Australian National and State exhibitions.

Article 1: Competitive Exhibitions

These Special Regulations have been developed to supplement those principles of the FIP General Regulations with regard to Cinderellas at APF Exhibitions.

Article 2: Competitive Exhibits

While it is difficult to provide a precise definition of material that should be included in a Cinderella class, Cinderellas include labels which resemble postage stamps but which are produced for purposes other than as a receipt for the payment of postage, stamp duty or other official charge.

Article 3:  Principles of Exhibit Composition

A Cinderella exhibit could include such items as private local issues, bogus and phantom issues, labels and other items associated with philatelic exhibitions, advertising labels and covers, Christmas and TB seals and perhaps forgeries of postage stamps and other official postal items. Such Cinderella material is not normally an integral part of the payment of charges for official postal delivery or stamp duty.

Material that should not be exhibited in this Class include all forms of revenue stamps (ie. Government issues used as receipts for a range of taxes and charges) which should be displayed in the FIP Revenue Class and railway stamps which should be displayed in Traditional. Exhibits which are dominantly composed of material such as registration labels and perfins may be included in Cinderella exhibits as they do not fit easily within other classes. Some displays of Cinderella material may be more appropriately displayed as Social Philately but this decision will depend on the treatment of the exhibit.

Cinderella exhibits would normally include individual items as well as material on cover. This is analogous to including postage stamps in Traditional displays and covers illustrating use and rates and routes in Postal History.

Article 4:  Judging of Exhibits

The following breakdown of points shall be used in judging Cinderellas:

Treatment and Importance of the exhibit    30
Knowledge and Research                         35
Condition and Rarity                                30
Presentation                                             5
Total                                                    100

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