Special Regulations for the Evaluation of Social Philately Exhibits at Exhibitions 

Clause 1:  Competitive Exhibitions

The basis of these Special Regulations is the General Regulations of the FIP for the Evaluation of Competitive Exhibits at FIP Exhibitions (GREV). These regulations supplement those principles with regard to Social Philately exhibits.

Clause 2:  Competitive Exhibits

A Social Philately collection, of which the exhibit is a part, develops a social theme using philatelic and non-philatelic but related material.

Social Philately represents a study of the development of social systems and products derived from the operation of postal systems.

The dynamic and imaginative application of such knowledge results in the best possible selection and arrangement of the material and accuracy of the relevant social text and the philatelic text.

Because of the nature of the material which falls within the scope of Social Philately it may be necessary to display an exhibit using a method other than display frames. In such cases the exhibitor must decide on the appropriate method of display and provide such display systems provided there is agreement on the method chose with the organising committee of the relevant exhibition. Should there be no agreement then the exhibit will not be accepted as an entry in the relevant exhibition.

Clause 3:  Principles of Exhibit Composition

3.1  A Social Philately exhibit consists of material which can be included in other classes of philately as well as non philatelic items which are directly related to the operations and products of a postal system either as post office equipment or as material developed by commerce to use or reflect post office services and products. This non-philatelic material must have an intimate connection with the operation or the objective of a postal system or the paraphernalia of postage stamps and philately or be part of the physical make-up of the subject being exhibited.

This material should be arranged so as to illustrate a balanced plan as a whole or to develop any aspect of Social Philately.

Examples of Social Philately include:

1.   Telegram Services.
2.   Greeting Cards including Valentines.
3.   Illustrated and Pictorial Envelopes (including Patriotic Covers).
4.   Post Office and Official office stationery (without imprinted stamp).
5.   Philatelic History other than literature (including albums hinges, perforation gauges etc, the impedimenta of philately).
6.   Philatelic Libraries.
7.   Officially issued documents bearing illustrations of postage stamps.
8.   PHQ Cards -objects associated with postage stamps and their use.
9.   Aspects of the affect of the postal system on commerce or industry.
10. Locality studies based on postal and social history using the materials of Social Philately.
11. Objects associated with postage stamps and their use (letter balances, stamp boxes, model post office impediments etc).
12.  Post Office equipment (mailbags, uniforms, postal tools etc).

And any other subject which fits the definition in 3.1.

The plan or concept of the exhibit shall be clearly explained in an introductory statement (see for example GREV Art 3.3).

3.2  The philatelic and social material

A Social Philately exhibit may contain a wide range of material linked to the postal system. Some material may be included which is not directly related to the postal system but which is an integral part of a social system (for example medals awarded to trade fair participants where the medal was often posted but where the connection is more with the social story).

3.3  The development

The development means the elaboration of the theme in depth, aiming to achieve a creative and/or original elaboration of the same in compliance with the introductory page.

Creativity, the personal development of new themes and originality, the introduction of new aspects or approaches are key elements of Social Philately exhibits.

Clause 4:  Criteria for Evaluating

5.1  Exhibits

These criteria are drawn from Article 4 of GREV and are applied according to the peculiarities of Social Philately.

Non-philatelic material can be included but should not comprise more than 50% of the exhibit. The material has to be directly linked to a postal system: non-philatelic material not linked to the postal system can be included provided it is directly linked (and of importance to the theme) to the social aspects of the exhibit but should not comprise more than 10% of the material.

Where the exhibit is concerned with the impedimenta of the post office, or of philately, or of the use of the postage stamp then the total exhibit may be of non-philatelic material, according to the definition of philatelic material in GREV.

5.2  For Social Philately the following relative terms are presented to lead the jury to a balanced evaluation.

Treatment (20) and Importance (5 for philatelic and 5 for social)                 30
Philatelic and related Social Knowledge, Personal Study and Research     35
Condition (10) and Rarity (20)                                                                 30
Presentation                                                                                          5
Total                                                                                                  100

Exhibits will be evaluated by allocating points for each of the above criteria. These will be entered on score sheets of an approved format.

Guidelines for Judging a Social Philately Exhibit

1.  Introduction

1.1  These guidelines give practical advice on how to apply the draft experimental SREV taking into account the GREV (Articles 1.1-1.4)

1.2  The draft experimental SREV for Social Philately exhibits is the main framework for the general principles determining what a Social Philately exhibit should contain, what it can encompass and how it should be developed and presented.

These guidelines provide general guidance for the judging of such exhibits, and are also intended to guide collectors exhibiting in the Social Philately class.

2.  Scope of a Social Philately Exhibit

2 1  A Social Philately exhibit, by analysis of the philatelic and social objects within it, should show and explain the development, or operation, of a social need dependent on the postal system or deriving from it; the practical application of postal systems to a social need and the study and classification of the use of such social and postal (including all aspects of philatelic material) to illustrate the main subject of the exhibit.

2.2  The draft experimental SREV gives a list of possible subjects for a Social Philately exhibit; these are, however, not a limitation on the permissible subjects.

It is possible to show the interaction between the postal service and the social environment in which it operated, to show the operation of the postal service a bureaucracy and its impedimenta and to show products developed by commercial or private interests as a direct result of the operation of a postal service and its products and services.

2.3  Exhibits may be planned chronologically, geographically, by type of artifact, or by social custom, or by any other way that the exhibitor may employ.

2.4  Exhibitors should avoid large scale duplication of similar items, large chronological gaps where possible and the inclusion of expensive items not directly relevant to the subject shown.

2.5  A general rule should be that a Social Philately exhibit should show philatelically and socially related interesting material to the best advantage, and not appear to be a manuscript for a monograph or a loose collection of social interesting items.

3.  Introductory Plan and Development

3.1  The Plan

All Social Philately exhibits must contain an introductory plan, showing the scope and development of the exhibit. The title of the exhibit should correspond to the introductory plan.

The plan should be used to give general information on the subject and to indicate areas of personal investigation. It should also contain a short list of the important documentary sources (social and philatelic) used. The judges will use this information to evaluate the material shown in relation to the aims set forth by the exhibitor. A well thought out Plan may avoid otherwise lengthy descriptions later in the exhibit.

3.2  Development of the Theme

The plan or introductory page and the development represent the two aspects of an interlinked process, based on the personal study and research by the collector on both the social theme and the material. A deeper knowledge of theme enables one to increase the number of facts and details and to look for additional items to illustrate them; a deeper knowledge of the material allows one to identify new pieces which often must be justified through further study of the theme.

The depth of development of the theme is demonstrated by the representation of connections, cross-references, ramifications and effects within the framework of the selected theme, as well as through the display of unusual or totally unknown material related to the theme .

The social aspects of the theme and appropriateness of the material must be clearly demonstrated.

Originality refers to the successful elaboration of new themes (or indeed new concepts) or new aspects or new approaches to known themes.

A thorough knowledge of both the theme and the appropriate material is a prerequisite for the best possible social philatelic development.

3.3  The Social Information

The development uses the social information directly represented by the appearance or purpose of the production of the items.

The social information should provide the main thread of the story. Philatelic information should be included where appropriate so that philatelic knowledge and personal study can be demonstrated. It is advisable to keep the social and philatelic information separated or at least easily distinguishable one from another.

4.  Judging Criteria

4.1  Treatment and Importance

4.1.1  A total of 30 points can be given for treatment and importance. Up to 10 points should be related to importance of which 5 points can be considered for philatelic importance and 5 points for social importance. Up to 20 points can be given for the development, completeness and correctness of the material shown.

4.1.2  When evaluating the treatment and importance of the exhibits, judges will look at the general development of the subject, the completeness of the material shown in relation to the scope of the exhibit and the relative social and philatelic significance of the subject shown, as well as the degree of difficulty in duplicating the exhibit.

Exhibitors should ensure that their exhibit is cohesive and avoid combining largely unrelated subjects; such exhibits are likely to lose marks under the treatment and importance criterion.

4.1.3  The importance of an exhibit will be gauged in relation to the general social philately of the subject and to philately (and its social consequences) in general. It will usually be easier to adequately treat and provide completeness to unimportant subjects than to important ones in the space available.

4.1.4  For example the social philatelic history of a region or country will be more important than a similar exhibit for a small town or village. In respect of social philatelic exhibits which concentrate on materials, products and services which develop as a consequence of postal systems, ones which spread world-wide or last for a considerable time are more important than those which are localised and ephemeral.

4.1.5  The judges should also assess whether the material exhibited is relevant to the social interaction with postal services either through the use of philatelic materials demonstrating social needs, philatelic and non philatelic material which is the direct consequence of the operations of a postal system, or non-philatelic material produced as a direct result of the operation of a postal service or based on social needs which are the direct consequence of the operations of a postal service or its products.

4.2  Philatelic and Related Knowledge, Personal Study and Research

4.2.1  A total of 35 points can be given for philatelic and related knowledge, personal study and research.

4.2.2  Philatelic and related knowledge is demonstrated by the items chosen for display and their related comments. Personal study is demonstrated by the proper analysis of the items chosen for display. For exhibits where obviously great deal of research (presentation of new facts related to the chosen subject) has been done, a large proportion of the total points may be given for this research. In cases where a subject has been significantly researched previously (unlikely in the case of most Social Philately exhibits), an exhibit should not be penalised for lack of opportunity for personal research .

4.2.3  The proper evaluation of philatelic and related social knowledge, personal study and research will be based on the relevant description of each philatelic and social object shown.

Judges and exhibitors should bear in mind that the information given should not overwhelm the material shown. A well thought out plan (see above) may avoid otherwise lengthy descriptions later in the exhibit.

4.3  Condition and Rarity

4.3.1  A total of 30 points can be given for condition and rarity. Up to 20 points should be allocated to rarity and significance of the items shown and 10 points for the condition of items shown.

4.3.2  Rarity is directly related to the items shown and to the relative scarcity of material of the type shown. The assessment should be made in respect of the totality of the items, including both philatelic and non-philatelic material. Judges and exhibitors should bear in mind that rarity and value are different things and there may be little or no direct relationship between the two.

4.3.3  As condition may vary considerably for social philately material, judges should bear in mind the quality obtainable. On the whole, good condition, clean, legible markings as well as the general appearance of the objects, should be rewarded, while poor quality should be penalised. When possible, covers and other objects, should show all aspects (for example; stamps or fragile appendages) in good condition.

During the development stage of Social Philately the skills, judgements and knowledge of condition in respect of philatelic material should be used to evaluate the rarity and condition of the non-philatelic material in an exhibit. However, where knowledge of such non-philatelic material is manifest then judges will use such base line information in their evaluation.

4.4  Presentation

Presentation may be given up to 5 points. It should complement the treatment of the exhibit by its general layout and clarity.

Judges should evaluate the work put into the presentation from the point of view of how it facilitates the understanding and attraction of the exhibit to judges and viewers alike.

In the case of Social Philately, an exhibit may be presented without using frames, because of the nature of the items and material necessary to illustrate the subject chosen. In such cases, judges should include in their evaluation of presentation judgement as to the applicability of the chosen display method and the success or otherwise of such a method.

5.  Conclusion

5.1  These draft experimental guidelines are just that: draft and experimental. They will not answer every question that a judge or exhibitor may raise. Each exhibit will have to be evaluated on its own merits.

More Information

     The APF Coordinator appointed to promote and assist persons interested in exhibiting Social Philately is Bernard Doherty, P.O Box 18, Waratah, NSW, 2298.