Praga 2008

Exhibition Report from Ross Wood, Australian Commissioner

The world exhibition PRAGA 2008 was held in honour of the 90th anniversary of the issuing of the first Czechoslovak stamps in 1918, the 90th anniversary of the Postal Museum in Prague and the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Czech Republic. It was held over only 3 days from the 12th-14th September, 2008 at Prague Exhibition Grounds in a magnificent old building the Industrial Palace which was originally completed in 1891 during the Austrian Empire. It was built on the occasion of the Jubilee Exhibition in Prague. Unfortunately the left hand side ot the building was destroyed by fire on the 16th October in supicious circumstances during a Youth concert. Luckily they all escaped without injury though several firefighters were injured trying to contain the blaze to the left hand side of the building.

It was pleasing to see queues each morning to get into the exhibition at a cost of 80 Czech Krowns ($6.00 Australian). The unexpectedly great interest in both Hall of Fame exhibits and competition class exhibits was a surprise particularly to myself having attended other exhibitions in Europe. Michael Sefi, Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection had on display the "Post Office" issues of Mauritius, one mint ( the 2d Blue Mauritius)and one on cover (the 1d Red Mauritius) as well as other interesting items. I managed to visit the Hall of Fame immediately after the opening of the Exhibition prior to the exhibition being open to the public.

The official hotel was within easy walking distance of the Exhibition Centre which made travelling from the hotel to the exhibition a pleasant walk in the sunshine on most days. The Palmares was held in the centre of Prague and buses were provided for transport us to the venue at Narodni dum na Vinohradech. (National House - Vinohrady).

The exhibition was for only 3 days in the classes of Traditional, Postal History, One Frame and Literature. Australia was very well represented with 79 frames and one literature entry. I was ably assisted by Gary Brown in transporting the exhibits to and from the exhibition.

The results for the Australian entries were:
+SP  denotes Special Prize

Peter Troy British New Guinea 1895 - 1932  [Traditional - 8 frames] Large Gold [95]
Ben Palmer The Postal Rates of Victoria 1854 - 1912  [Postal History - 8 frames] Gold [92]
Geoffrey Lewis New Orleans Postal History - Stampless Mail  [Postal History - 5 frames] Gold [90]
John Pugsley Postal Markings of the Boer War 1899-1902  [Postal History - 8 frames] Large Vermeil [88]
Russell Boylan St Vincent - The De La Rue Period  [Traditional - 5 frames] Large Vermeil [86]
Gary Brown Tunisia  [Traditional - 5 frames] Large Vermeil [86]
Anthony Presgrave The Departmental Stamps of South Australia 1868-1874  [Traditional - 5 frames] Large Vermeil [86]
Bill McCredie The Specimen Stamps of Victoria 1861 - 1911 and the Protective Markings  [Traditional - 5 frames] Large Vermeil [85]
John Dibiase Afghanistan Pre UPU Period 1971 - 1928  [Traditional - 5 frames] Vermeil [84]
Ross Wood Postal History of Nyasaland During the Reign of KGVI  [Postal History - 5 frames] Vermeil [84]
Linda Lee Algeria - Pre Independence  [Traditional - 5 frames] Vermeil [83]
Penny Wells New Zealand The Penny Universal 1901 - 1908  [Traditional - 5 frames] Vermeil [83]
David Collyer Imperial Connections  [Postal History - 5 frames] Vermeil [83]
Jeff & Yvette Trinidad Latvia 1918-1922  [Traditional - 5 frames] Large Silver [78]
The Postal Stationery Society of Australia The Postal Stationery Collector  [Literature] Silver-Bronze [68]

[ Journal Coverage:  APF News, November 2008 ]