Special Regulations for Postal History Exhibits at F.I.P. Exhibitions

Special Regulations for Postal History Exhibits at F.I.P. Exhibitions

Article 1 Competitive Exhibitions

In accordance with Article 1.4 of the General Regulations of the F.I.P. for the Evaluation of Competitive Exhibits at F.I.P. Exhibitions (GREV), these Special Regulations were developed to supplement those principles with regard to Postal History. The FIP Guidelines for evaluating Postal History exhibits give additional information on how to ideally develop and judge Postal History Exhibits.

Article 2 Competitive Exhibits (ref GREV Article 2)

Postal history exhibits contain material carried by, and related to, official, local or private mails, and they are generally classified under three types:

Type 2A Postal History exhibits: These generally emphasize routes, rates, markings, postal regulations, usages and other postal aspects, services, functions and activities related to the history of the development of Postal Services.

Type 2B Postal History exhibits: Marcophily (Postmarks) exhibits principally deal with and show classifications and/or studies of postal markings related to official, local or private mails on covers, used adhesive stamps and other postal items.

Type 2C Postal History exhibits: Historical, Social and Special Study exhibits show the interac on of the postal system with history, society, events, commerce or the historical geography of an area and the effects that the postal system has on humanity, and/or humanity on the postal system (refer to other examples in Article 3.2).

• 3. Principles of Exhibit Composition (ref GREV

Article 3 )

3.1 Postal History exhibits Types 2A and 2B consist of used covers and letters, used postal stationery, used postage stamps, and other postal documents so arranged as to illustrate a balanced plan as a whole or to develop any aspect of postal history. With rare excep ons, essays and proofs, unused stamps, and unused postal sta onery are irrelevant. If they are shown, their inclusion must be jus fied.

3.2 Examples of Type 2A postal history subjects include (but are not limited to):

• 1. The development or opera on of one or more postal services and systems within a

country, district or region or between countries and con nents

• 2. The prac cal applica on of postal acts, rules and regula ons and/or specific postal

services

• 3. Pre-adhesive postal services
• 4. Postal rates
• 5. Routes for transportation of mails
• 6. Military mail, field post, siege mail, POW, civil and military internee camp mail
• 7. Maritime mail, railway mail, and/or inland waterway mail
• 8. All kinds of Travelling Post Offices
• 9. Disaster mail
• 10. Disinfected mail
• 11. Censorship mail
• 12. Postage due mail
• 13. Automation of the mails
• 14. Forwarding agent markings
• 15. Official mail, Free Frank mail

3.3 A Marcophily exhibit (Type 2B) is primarily organized according to postmarks and/or other postal markings. Such an exhibit may cover any period of Postal History from the pre-stamp period to the present day.

3.3.1 A Marcophily exhibit may include all types of cancellations and obliterations, including manuscript markings, applied by official and private postal services. The study may cover the function, the period of use, place of use, colour, state or other changes over the course of time, or other aspects of postal markings. The subjects can include marks of office or of services such as registration, maritime, traveling post offices, disinfection and instructional marks.

3.3.2 Markings should be as clear as possible with all essential wording complete. Where Marcophily exhibits are based on obliterating marks, they should be complete and preferably on cover. Generally partial strikes should be avoided; as should unnecessary duplication of the same marking other than early and late dates to demonstrate the period of use.

3.4 In addition to the material appropriate for Types 2A and 2B (see Article 3.1), Historical, Social and Special Study exhibits (Type 2C) can include material developed by commerce and society for use in the postal system and may include non-philatelic material where relevant to the subject of the exhibit. The non-philatelic material should be incorporated into the exhibit in a balanced and appropriate manner in such a way that it does not overwhelm the philatelic material. Examples of Historical, Social and Special studies include:

1. Telegram services; 2. Greeting cards (including Valentines); 3. Illustrated, Pictorial commercial envelopes used in a postal system;

• 4. Studies of the effect of the postal system on commerce, society and industry and the

adapta on by commerce and industry of materials for use in the postal system;

• 5. Historical studies; or
• 6. Studies related to an event or historical landmark

3.5 All postal history exhibits must be capable of being exhibited in standard exhibition frames. Any type of postal history exhibit may contain maps, prints, decrees, illustrations, e.g. on the picture side of a postcard, and similar associated materials. Such items should be used sparingly and should have a direct and significant relation to the chosen subject and to the postal services described in the exhibit.

3.6 The plan or concept and structure of all sub-classes of postal history exhibits shall be clearly explained (ref. GREV, Article 3.3). Any type of postal history exhibit must have an Introductory Sheet which contains a title consistent with the concept of the exhibit. Postal history exhibits should preferably be guided by a clear “thread”, i.e. they should tell a comprehensive and logically structured story centered on a postal history aspect. Titles and treatments which focus on or are structured based on stamps should be avoided (e.g. “the use of issue xyz on covers” organized according to the stamps, e.g. by denomination). Such exhibits might be transferred to the appropriate class, typically the traditional class.

3.7 All text must be concise and clear. However, to best understand a postal history exhibit, more text might be included because a postal history exhibitor is expected to demonstrate knowledge of all relevant aspects of the shown items. Non-postal history or non-philatelic material may be included as supporting documentation if such material significantly improves the understanding of the postal history subject.

Article 4 Criteria for Judging Exhibits (ref. GREV, Article

4.1 Postal History exhibits will be judged by approved specialists in their respective fields and in accordance with Section V. (Article 31-47) of GREX (ref. GREV, Article 5.1). Significant and important topics and exhibits of postal history exist, and thus high scores can be achieved, in all periods.

4.2 All postal history exhibits must include an introductory sheet (see Article 3.3 above). As a minimum, the introductory sheet should include all of the following:

• The title of the exhibit;
• A description of the purpose of the exhibit (What is included in the exhibit and, in some cases, what is omitted);
• A description of the scope of the exhibit (The beginning and end and why those limits were chosen); and
• A plan of the structure of the exhibit in the form of chapters or sections.

If space permits, the introductory sheet could also include:

• A list of personal research by the exhibitor within the subject (with references to articles or literature);
• A list of the most important - and preferably reasonably accessible - literature references;
• Short, precise, and relevant general postal history information on the subject;
• If the exhibitor uses a hierarchy of text and/or paragraph styles to indicate different levels of information presented, then this structure should be explained in the introductory page; and
• Anything else that the exhibitor might feel would help the judges prepare for judging the exhibit.

4.3 For Types 2A and 2B Postal History and Marcophily exhibits, the following scoring criteria are used by the jury to reach a balanced evaluation (ref. GREV, Article 5.2):

• 1. Treatment (20) and Philatelic Importance (10) · 30
• 2. Philatelic and related Knowledge, Personal Study showing new results · 35
• 3. Condition (10) and Rarity (20) · 30
• 4. Presentation · 5
• Total · 100

4.4 For Historical, Social and Special Studies exhibits (Type 2C), both the philatelic and historical importance, knowledge and personal study will be considered using the following relative terms in order to lead the jury to a balanced evaluation (ref. GREV, Article 5.2)

• 1. Treatment (20) and Importance (Philatelic 5 & Historical & Social aspects 5) 30
• 2. Philatelic, Historical & Social Knowledge, Personal Study and Research
• (20 for the philatelic and 15 for the historical aspects) · 35
• 3. Condition (10) and Rarity (20) · 30
• 4. Presentation · 5
• Total · 100

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

4.6 Judging of the “treatment” in an exhibit will consider the degree to which the exhibitor is able to (a) create a balanced exhibit characteris c of the chosen tle and plan, (b) create a structure of the exhibit that is logical and easy to follow, and (c) avoid unnecessary duplica on. (ref. GREV 4.5)

4.7 The “importance” of an exhibit is determined by both the overall significance of the exhibit subject (5 points) and the significance of the actual exhibit in rela on to the subject chosen (5 points). (ref. GREV 4.6)

4.8 Philatelic, Historical & Social Knowledge, Personal Study and Research is demonstrated by the items chosen for display and their explanatory comments. Personal Study is demonstrated by the proper analysis of the items chosen for display. Personal Research is presenta on of new facts related to the chosen subject. Only the Philatelic and Related knowledge, Personal Study, and Research documented by the items in the exhibit and their relevant descrip ons can be judged. (ref. GREV 4.7)

4.9 “Condi on” requires an evalua on of the quality of the displayed material considering the standard of the material that exists for the chosen subject. Good condi on, clean, legible postmarks and other postal markings as well as the general appearance of the objects should be rewarded, while poor quality will a ract a lower assessment. Condi on needs to be judged rela ve to the standard collec ble quality of the subject (standard quality = ca. 70% of the score). To get the highest scores, challenging material must also be in excellent condi on. If no challenging material is present, a maximum of 80% of the score can be achieved. However, as condi on may vary considerably for postal history material depending on country, period, and transporta on condi ons, judges should always evaluate condi on rela ve to the best quality obtainable. (ref. GREV 4.8)

4.10 Rarity is directly related to the philatelic items shown and to the rela ve scarcity of this material. Thus, rarity is primarily related to how many examples exist and from how broad a perspec ve the items are rare, but not directly to the price of the item. At a detailed level, almost every postal history item becomes unique, so the rela ve level of rarity will be considered. Rarity statements, if included, should specify exactly which aspects of the cover makes it “One of X recorded”. Without such specifica on, “One of X recorded” is not helpful to the postal history judges or viewers (ref. GREV 4.8). Rarity in Postal History exhibits should primarily be considered from the Postal History aspect of the item. Thus, a rare rate, route, or postal marking is usually more important when considering rarity in Postal History exhibits than a common Postal History item franked with a rare stamp.

4.11 Presenta on should assist the treatment of the exhibit by virtue of its general layout and clarity. The method of presenta on should show the material to the best effect and in a

balanced way both on the individual sheet, in a row, in the frame, and throughout the whole exhibit (ref. GREV 4.9).

Article 5 Concluding Provisions

5.1 In the event of any discrepancies in the text arising from translation, the English text shall prevail.

5.2 These Special Regulations for the Evaluation of Postal History Exhibits at F.I.P. Exhibitions were approved by the 78th F.I.P. Congress in Macao on 1 st July 2026. They come into force on 1st July 2026 and apply to those exhibitions granted F.I.P. Patronage, auspices or support, which will take place after **1st January 2027**.