28 August, 2002
THE FIP COMMISSION FOR TRADITIONAL PHILATELY
RULES FOR JUDGING EXHIBITS
An extract of the relevant sections of the FIP GREV, SREV
and Guidelines
that apply to the Traditional Class
Article 1:
Competitive Exhibitions
GREV
1.1 F.I.P.
considers international stamp exhibitions as a key element in the promotion
and development of philately. These
are promoted in accordance with its
Statutes and the General Regulations of the F.I.P. for Exhibitions (GREX). The F.I.P. may extend its patronage to world
exhibitions, its auspices to international exhibitions and its support to other
exhibitions.
1.2 The
principles defined in the following General Regulations of the F.I.P. for the
Evaluation of Exhibits at F.I.P. Exhibitions (GREV) are applicable to all
competitive exhibitions. They are
intended to serve the Jury as regulations and as a guide to the collector for
the development of the exhibits.
1.3 The GREV
apply to all competitive classes at F.I.P. exhibitions.
1.4 The Special Regulations
of the F.I.P. for the Evaluation of Competitive Exhibits at F.I.P. Exhibitions
(SREVS) for each competitive class are based upon the GREV.
1.5 The
Commissions and Sections of FIP provide guidelines on the interpretation of the
SREV.
SREV
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 have been developed to supplement those
principles with regard to Traditional Philately.
Also refer to “Guidelines
for judging Traditional Philately exhibits.”
GUIDELINES
These guidelines have been developed to assist judges in the
evaluation and exhibitors in the preparation of traditional philately exhibits.
In the event of any discrepancies in the application of
these Guidelines with the GREV and the SREV; the GREV take precedence over the
SREV and the SREV take precedence over the Guidelines.
Article 2:
Competitive Exhibits
GREV
2.1 The limit of the
frame space allocated at exhibitions as per Article 6 of the GREX does not
normally allow the collector to display
the entire collection.
Therefore, the collector must select suitable material, which will
ensure continuity and understanding of the subject and explain relevant aspects
of knowledge and condition.
2.2 The
evaluation of exhibits will only take into consideration the material and
information displayed.
2.3 The scope of an exhibit in the respective
classes is defined in the SREV.
SREV
2.1. Traditional
philately embraces all aspects of philately.
An exhibit will be considered to be traditional philately unless it is
otherwise entered as an exhibit in one of the specialised F.I.P. classes. It is based on the collecting of all postal
items, including items related to the production of postage stamps in as
specialised or as generalised a nature as the exhibitor desires. (Ref. GREV Art. 2.3). However, exhibitors who
detour from the principals of Traditional exhibiting by including inappropriate
material are liable to be penalised by the Jury. (Ref. Art. 3 below).
GUIDELINES
At one time, all competitive exhibits were considered to be
"traditional", and no other classes existed. With the development of the philatelic
classes and their respective F.I.P. commissions and rules for judging, those
exhibits that met the criteria established by them are now judged in accordance
with their rules and guidelines.
Exhibits that do not follow the
special rules of other philatelic classes shall be judged as traditional
philately exhibits. Such exhibits
must be judged by traditional criteria.
Article 3:
Principles of Exhibit Composition
GREV
3.1 The exhibit
shall consist solely of relevant philatelic material, supporting documention and
text, other than in the open class.
3.2 Relevant
philatelic material is defined for each class in the SREV for that class.
3.3 The exhibit
shall show a clear concept of the subject treated, developed according to the characteristics
of the respective competitive class, as defined by the SREV for that class. The
title must describe the contents of the exhibit. The title must agree with the contents of the exhibit. The concept shall be laid out in an
introductory statement, which must be written in one of the F.I.P. official
languages. The text of the exhibit should also be written in one of the F.I.P.
official languages.
3.4 The material
displayed should be fully consistent with the subject chosen. The selection
should show the appreciation of the exhibitor as to what is available in the
concept of his chosen subject. It should also include the fullest range of
relevant philatelic material of the highest available quality.
3.5 The
presentation and the accompanying text of the exhibit should be simple,
tasteful and well balanced. It should add information to that provided by the
material and show the level of understanding of the subject and the personal
research of the exhibitor.
SREV
Material appropriate to traditional philately includes,
among other things, (Ref. GREV. Art. 3.2).
3.1 Postage stamps, whether unused or used,
singles or multiples, and stamps used on cover.
3.2 Varieties of all kinds, such as those of
watermark, gum, perforation, paper and printing.
3.3 Essays and proofs, whether of adopted or
rejected designs.
3.4 Prestamp and stampless items and postal
markings as appropriate, but normally not to exceed 15% of the exhibit space.
3.5 Other specialised items, including postal forgeries,
postally used fiscal stamps, or unused postal/fiscal stamps valid for postal
use.
The Title page must contain an introductory statement which explains the aim of the exhibit. It
must be followed by a plan covering all aspects which could be expected
according to the title and the introductory statement. (Ref. GREV 3.3).
GUIDELINES
3.1 A listing of
basic groupings of "Material appropriate to traditional philately"
(Ref: SREV Art. 3.) will always be inadequate when applied to some traditional
specialities. Traditional approaches to
collecting the stamps of one country will make the inclusion of certain items
obligatory, while including the same sort of items in an exhibit of another
country would be quite inappropriate.
Many small sub-specialities are unique to different countries and the
inclusion of some of them may be obligatory to achieve the highest awards. The material that is required and the
techniques for exhibiting it vary from country to country.
3.2 "Material
appropriate to traditional philately" is meant to include virtually all
items that are in any way connected with transmission of matter by, or outside
of, the postal service. This includes railway, local and private mail services.
3.3 If the status
or genuineness of any item is in doubt, but the item is considered significant
enough to be included in the exhibit, it may be included, but its status should
be indicated by means of a certificate from an approved authority or by other
explanatory remarks.
3.4 Traditional
exhibits should contain material that is related and can be described as a
unit. The coverage should be clearly
and concisely stated in the exhibition catalogue description and on the title
page. Actual arrangement of the exhibit
is a matter of personal taste and the choice of one of the many accepted forms
of presenting the material is left to the exhibitor. Innovation is encouraged.
providing it is not detrimental to the treatment of the exhibit.
3.5 The introductory
statement required by Art. 3.3 of GREV should add to the exhibit by showing the
exhibitor's knowledge of the material he has chosen. Its purpose is to help
people to easily understand the treatment and objectives of the exhibit and to appreciate the significance of the key
items on display. Exhibits of material
that may be regarded as less well known or obscure should make full use of the
introductory statement.
Article 4:
Criteria for Evaluation
GREV
4.1 The
evaluation of the exhibits is made by a jury, which will be constituted and
shall perform its duties in accordance with the provisions of Section V of the
GREX.
4.2 Criteria for
the evaluation of competitive exhibits at F.I.P. exhibitions are as follows:
-Treatment and
Philatelic Importance
-Philatelic and related Knowledge, Personal Study and
Research
-Condition and Rarity of material exhibited
-Presentation.
4.3 Special
criteria apply to exhibits in the Thematic, Youth and Literature classes see article
5.3 below.
4.4 The criteria
for exhibits in an open class shall be laid down in the IREX of the exhibition.
4.5 The criterion
of "Treatment of the Exhibit" requires an evaluation of the
completeness and correctness of the selected material made by the exhibitor to
illustrate his chosen subject.
4.6 The criterion
of “Philatelic Importance" 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.
4.7 The criteria
of "Philatelic and related Knowledge, Personal Study and Research"
require the following evaluations:
Knowledge is the degree of knowledge of the exhibitor as expressed
by the items chosen for display and their related description;
Personal Study is the proper analysis of the items chosen
for display;
Research is the presentation of new facts related to the
chosen subject.
4.8 The criteria
of "Condition and Rarity" require an evaluation of the quality of the
displayed material considering the standard of the material that exists for the
chosen subject, the rarity and the relative difficulty of acquisition of the
selected material.
4.9 The
criterion of "Presentation" requires an evaluation of the overall
aesthetic appearance of
the
exhibit.
SREV
“Philatelic and related Knowledge, Personal Study and
Research" (Ref. GREV, Art. 4.7)
Exhibits which cover areas which have been extensively researched
and the findings published should not be penalised for a lack of personal
research where it is evident that the exhibitor has a thorough knowledge of the
subject.
GUIDELINES
4.1 The
selection of material for a traditional philately exhibit involves a compromise
between the many pages of material the exhibitor may wish to show and the
number of pages that will fit in the frames allotted by the exhibition
management. This selection is an important factor not only in assessing
treatment, but also knowledge. The exhibitor may omit material that is of
lesser significance. In general, the
common values of an issue may be represented by a token showing, while the
better material of the same issue should be shown in depth. The judges will appreciate that this
treatment shows the exhibitor's knowledge of the material.
4.2 If a stamp
is considered common in unused or used condition, but relatively scarce on
cover or in a particular combination, then the showing of only the cover or combination
on cover would constitute a commendable understanding of the issue in
question. However, a page of examples
with no differentiation as to shade or other characteristic, or several pages
of covers all showing the same rate and usage, regardless of value, is likely
to detract from an exhibit.
4.3 Treatment of
the exhibit reflects the degree to which the exhibitor is able to create a
balanced exhibit characteristic of the field chosen. A logical progression that
is easy to follow and a clear concise write up will help the jurors to
appreciate the exhibit. In assessing treatment; Jurors will check that the
statements made in the introduction and plan are adequately represented in the
display. Consideration will also be given to:
a. The
difficulty of obtaining relevant and interesting material for the exhibit. This
should not be seen as a factor of rarity or value, but one of time and
dedication.
The
philatelic knowledge and skills required to assemble and present the exhibit.
4.4 In assessing the importance of the exhibit
consideration is given to:
1. How much of the key material of the
chosen subject is present.
2. The significance of the subject
within the philately of the country or area exhibited.
c. The significance of the subject on a
worldwide scale.
4.5 Research and
new discoveries should be given full coverage in accordance with their
importance. Major discoveries deserve
important coverage and recognition and should be identified by the exhibitor,
while minor discoveries should not overpower the main exhibit. It must be remembered that many classics and
modern issues have been very heavily researched over a long period and the
results of these studies have been published.
To gauge knowledge, the jury will consider how well the exhibitor has
made use of these resources. It is
unrealistic to require a collector to develop new findings in a heavily studied
and researched area. For this reason,
such exhibits will not be penalised for a lack of personal research, but will
be given additional consideration if, in spite of previous research that has
taken place, the exhibitor has managed to come up with new findings.
Where appropriate; references should be given to the exhibitor's
own or other previously published information.
Where the exhibitor has extended such information a reference can be
placed either in the introductory statement or on the exhibition page to which
the research refers.
4.6 The condition of
material is essential to a good traditional exhibit. Exhibitors are encouraged to show unique or very rare material
that does not occur in fine condition, but are cautioned from including other
items in a condition that may reduce
the perceived overall condition of the
exhibit. Watch carefully the condition of common material which should be
impeccable.
Article 5:
Judging of Exhibits
GREV
5.1 The judging of
an exhibit will be carried out in general accordance with Article 39 of the
GREX.
5.2 Judging is
based on the criteria explained in Art. 4 above.
1.
Treatment and Philatelic Importance 30
2.
Philatelic and related Knowledge Personal Study and Research 35
3.
Condition and Rarity 30
4.
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.
5.3 The criteria for evaluating Literature, Thematic
and Youth exhibits are shown in the SREV of the concerned classes.
5.4 Prizes will
be awarded according to Article 8 of the GREX.
5.5 Medals will
be awarded as per the following table, based on the total of the assessments under
the headings in 5.2 above:
Large Gold 95
Gold 90
Large
Vermeil 85
Vermeil 80
Large
Silver 75
Silver 70
Silver
Bronze 65
Bronze 60
5.6 The Grand
Prizes are awarded to the exhibits receiving the most votes of the jury in
secret ballot from among those
receiving
at least 96 points (ref: Article 44 of GREX).
5.7 The Jury may
express Felicitations for exhibits distinguishing themselves by philatelic
research or originality. (Ref.: Article 8.5 of the GREX).
5.8 Special prizes
may be awarded by the Jury in accordance with Article 8.6 of GREX.
SREV
5.1 Traditional philately exhibits will be
judged in accordance with Article 39 of GREX (Ref. GREV, Art. 5.1).
5.2 For
Traditional Philately exhibits, the following relative terms are presented to
lead the Jury to a balanced evaluation (Ref.
GREV, Art.5.2).
Treatment
(20) and Philatelic Importance (10) of the exhibit 30
Philatelic
and related 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.
Article 6:
Concluding Provisions
GREV
6.1 In the event
of any discrepancies in the text arising from translation, the English text
shall prevail.
6.2 The General Regulations of the F.I.P. for the Evaluation of Competitive Exhibits at F.I.P. Exhibitions (GREV) Wer