4)

Special Regulations for theEvaluation of Postal Stationery
Exhibits at F.I.P. Exhibitions

3.3

The physical form of the paper or card on which the stamps etc. havebeen printed can be sub-divided as follows:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

Article 1: Competitive Exhibitions
In accordance with Article 1.4 of the General Regulations of the F.I.P. for theEvaluation of Competitive Exhibits at F.I.P. Exhibitions (GREV), these Special
Regulations have been developed to supplement those principles with regard
to Postal Stationery. Also refer to Guidelines to Postal Stationery
Regulations.

3.4Article 2: Competitive Exhibits

Letter sheets including Aerograms
Envelopes including registration envelopes
Post Cards
Letter Cards
Wrappers (Newspaper Bands)
Printed Forms of various kinds.

Postal Stationery has been produced for a variety of postal andassociated services including the following:
1)
2)
3)
4)

A Postal Stationery exhibit should comprise a logical and coherent assemblyof postal matter which either bears an officially authorised pre-printed stamp or
device or inscription indicating that a specific face value rate of postage has
been pre-paid. (ref. GREV Article 2.3).

Stamped to Order (Private) Issues. Stamped Stationery bearing
stamps applied with postal administration approval and within
specified regulations but to the order of private individuals ororganisations.

Postal: Surface-local, inland, foreign; Air-local, inland, foreign.
Registration: inland, foreign.
Telegraph: inland, foreign
Receipt of Miscellaneous Fees etc.; Certificate of posting ofletter parcels; Money orders; Postal orders, and otherdocuments bearing impression of postage stamp designs etc.

Article 3: Principles of Exhibit Composition

3.5

A Postal Stationery exhibit should be arranged using appropriately chosen
unused and/or postally used items of postal stationery from a particularcountry or associated group of territories to illustrate one or more of thecategories set out below.

Formula items sold bearing adhesive stamps, covering the relevant
country, may be included.

3.6

Postal Stationery exhibits should normally be of entire items. Where
certain items are very rare in entire form or are only known to exist in
cut-down (cut-square) form they would be acceptable as part of an
exhibit as would a study for example of variations in the stamp diesused or those with rare cancellation etc. The use of postal stationery
stamps as adhesives could also properly be included.

3.7

Essays and proofs whether of adopted or rejected designs can also beincluded.
The plan or concept of the exhibit shall be clearly laid out in an
introductory statement which may take any form, (ref. GREV Article
3.3).

3.1

Postal Stationery can be classified according to either:
1)
2)
3)

3.2

The manner of its availability and usage
The physical form of the paper or card; orThe postal or associated service for which it is intended.

The manner and availability and usage may be defined as follows:
1)
2)
3)

*Post Office Issues;
Official Service Issues;
Forces (Military) Issues;
1Article 4: Criteria for Evaluating Exhibits

Guidelines for Judging Postal
Stationery Exhibits(Ref. GREV, Article 4).

Article 5: Judging of Exhibits
5.1 Postal Stationery exhibits will be judged by the approved specialists intheir respective fields and in accordance with Section V (Articles 31-47) ofGREX (ref. GREV, Article 5.1).
5.2

INTRODUCTION
These Guidelines are issued by the FIP Postal Stationery Commission tofurther explain the Special Regulations for the Evaluation of Postal StationeryExhibits (SREV) which were approved by the 54th FIP Congress in 1985 inRome (Revised at the 61st FIP Congress in 1992 in Granada). They areintended to provide general guidance regarding:

For Postal Stationery exhibits, the following relative terms arepresented to lead the Jury to a balanced evaluation (ref. GREV, Article
5.2):
1. Treatment (20) andPhilatelic Importance (10)30

2. Philatelic and related Knowledge,
Personal Study and Research35

3. Condition (10) and Rarity (20)30

4. Presentation

5

A. The definition and nature of postal stationery
B. The principles of exhibit composition, andC. The judging criteria of exhibits of postal stationery,and should be read in conjunction with both the Special Regulations referred
to above and the General Regulations for the Evaluation of Competitive
Exhibits at FIP Exhibitions (GREV).

____Total

Whilst the Commission was unanimous in recognising that any collector isperfectly free to build and develop a collection in any way he or she considers
appropriate, the Commission felt that it had a duty to inform and guide inrelation to the collection of postal stationery so that the true nature andpurpose of the various classes of material commonly grouped under thisheading can be properly appreciated by all those who have an interest. To thisend, an attempt has been made to produce a generally acceptable definition of
postal stationery with suitable qualifications covering associated material.

100Article 6: Concluding Provisions
6.1

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

6.2

The Special Regulations for the Evaluation of Postal Stationery Exhibits
at F.I.P. Exhibitions have been approved by the 61st F.I.P. Congress in
Granada on the 4th and 5th May 1992. They come into force on 1stJanuary 1995 and apply to those exhibitions granted F.I.P. Patronage,
auspices or support, which will take place after 1st January 1995.

A. Definition and Nature of Postal Stationery1)

A generally accepted traditional definition of postal stationery can bestated as follows:
Postal Stationery comprises postal matter which either bears an
officially authorised pre-printed stamp or device or inscription
indicating that a specific face value of postage or related service
has been prepaid.

2

N.B. whilst traditionally the presence of a printed stamp impression hasbeen fundamental to an item being generally accepted within thedefinition of postal stationery (ref. SREV, article 2), a number ofcountries issued so-called "formula" items which were sold to thepublic bearing adhesive stamps, prior to the issue of postal stationery
items with impressed stamps. More recently a growing number ofPostal Administrations have introduced postal stationery which, while
sold to the public at a specific price, merely indicates that a particularservice/postage rate has been prepaid without indication of value termed "non value indicators" (NVI). Such material would of course beappropriately included in collections and exhibits of postal stationery.
The position regarding items which are similar or identical in format tonormal postal stationery but which do not bear either a stamp
impression or an indication of value or service is more open to debate,
and at the present time, exhibits consisting entirely of such unstamped
items are probably best shown out of competition in FIP International
Exhibitions. The situation is however a developing one and theCommission may well wish to produce further guidance on this aspectin due course.
2)

The physical form of the paper or card on which the stamp etc. has
been printed depends upon the specific purpose for which a particular
item of postal stationery is intended. The earliest stamped items of
postal stationery were usually letter sheets (termed covers) andenvelopes. The other forms of postal stationery commonly include
postcards, wrappers (newspaper bands), registration envelopes,
certificates of posting, letter cards, and air letter sheets (aerograms),
but other types of documents bearing impressions of postage stamp
designs have been produced by a number of countries.

POST OFFICE ISSUES: Stamped stationery prepared to thespecification of and issued by Postal Administrations for publicuse. It is important to distinguish unofficial private modificationsof normal Post Office issues made for philatelic purposes which
are often termed "REPIQUAGES".

b)

OFFICIAL SERVICE ISSUES: Stamped stationery produced forthe use of Government Departments only. Imprinted stamps
may be similar to those found on Post Office issues or of aspecial design. Alternatively, Post Office issues may be
adapted for Official Service by overprinting etc..

c)forces (MILITARY) ISSUES: Stamped stationery produced forthe use of members of the armed forces. Imprinted stamps
may be similar to those found on Post Office issues of special
design.

d)

STAMPED TO ORDER (PRIVATE) ISSUES: Stamped
stationery bearing stamps of Post Office design applied with
Postal Administration approval and within specified regulations
to the order of private individuals or organisations. Imprintedstamps may cover a wider range of denominations and hence
designs to those found on Post Office issues.

N.B. It is important to distinguish within the stamped to order class
between those items which where produced for genuine postal usage
and those produced for philatelic purposes.
e)

LOCAL POST ISSUES: Stamped stationery produced byprivate postal agencies with varying degrees of Postal
Administration recognition or support.

It is also possible to classify postal stationery according to the type ofpostal or associated service for which it is intended. Examples of suchservices include the following:

Other categories of stamped stationery which are designed to prepay
related but strictly non-postal purposes and which are commonlyincluded in postal stationery collections are telegraph forms and postalorders.
N.B. In some cases the imprinted stamps found on telegraph forms are
actually inscribed "POSTAGE" and were accepted as postage stamps
when detached from their original form.
3)a)Postal Stationery can be grouped into the following classes according
to the manner of its availability and usage:
3f)

POSTAGE: Surface/airmail - local, inland, foreign, - letters,post cards, parcels, newspapers, etc.

g)

REGISTRATION: Inland, foreign.

h)

TELEGRAPH: Inland, foreign, etc.

i)

RECEIPT: Receipt of posting - letters, parcels.

j)

MISCELLANEOUS FEES ETC: Postal orders, money orders,
other documents bearing impressions of stamp designs etc.

In Judging a postal stationery exhibit the jury will use the following generalcriteria (ref. GREV, Article 4.2):

B. Principles of Exhibit Composition
An exhibit of postal stationery should comprise a logical and coherent
assembly of unused and/or used items of postal stationery as defined by theguidelines produced by the FIP Postal Stationery Commission to illustrate one
or more of the categories set out below. The plan or concept of the exhibit
should be set out on an introductory sheet (ref. GREV, Article 3.3).

a)Treatment of the exhibit - ref. GREV, Article 4.3b)

Importance of the exhibit - ref. GREV, Article 4.4c)

Philatelic and related knowledge, personal study and research ref. GREV, Article 4.5d)

Condition and Rarity - ref. GREV, Article 4.6e)

Presentation - ref. GREV, Article 4.7.

a)

The issues of a particular country or associated group;b)

The issues of a particular chronological period;c)

The issues of a particular class of postal stationery; (ref.
section A 3) a - e;

Exhibitors should be aware of the need to consider carefully the various
aspects which combine together to maximise the award an exhibit can attract.
Some indications are given below of the basic elements underlying eachindividual criterion.

d)

The issues of a particular type of postal or associated service;(ref. section A 3 f - j;a)e)

The issues relating to a particular physical form of the paper orcard; (ref. section A 2).

Treatment of the Exhibit
Degree of advancement, originality, completeness of exhibit: Does theexhibit show the greatest degree of advancement in terms of thematerial exhibited? Is the approach orthodox, or has an unusual ororiginal interpretation been used? How complete is the treatment of thesubject chosen? Has the subject been chosen to enable a properly
balanced exhibit to be shown in the space available? Does the material
exhibited properly correspond with the title and description of theexhibit?

Postal stationery exhibits should normally be of entire items. Where certain
items are very rare in entire form or are only known to exist in cut-down (cutsquare) form they would be acceptable as part of an exhibit, as would a study
for example of variations in the stamp dies used or those with rare
cancellations etc. The use of postal stationery stamps as adhesives would
also properly form part of an exhibit of postal stationery.
b)

C. Judging of Postal Stationery

Importance
The "importance" of an exhibit is determined by both the significance ofthe actual exhibit in relation to the subject chosen and the overallsignificance of that subject to the field of Postal Stationery in general.

In agreement with Articles 4.3 and 4.10 of the General Regulations of the FIP
Exhibitions (GREX), General World and International Exhibitions should
provide for a specific Postal Stationery Class to be exhibited as an entity in
one part or room of the exhibition.

c)Philatelic and related Knowledge, Personal Study and Research
The exhibit should demonstrate a full and accurate appreciation of thesubject chosen, and a detailed study of existing information. The jury
should take due account of the personal study and any researchcarried out by the exhibitor (ref. GREV, Article 4.5).

In other exhibitions where no separate class has been designated it isdesirable that postal stationery exhibits be grouped geographically within theTraditional Philately Class except for airmail items which may be more
appropriately exhibited within the Aerophilatelic Class.

4d)Condition and Rarity

21.02.02/MH

The items should be in the best possible condition. The jury shouldtake account of any really exceptionally fine or rare items present andwhether all the accepted rarities in the chosen subject are included.
N.B. Unless a postal stationery item is of extreme rarity, is unknown
as entire, or the exhibit is primarily concerned with variations in thestamp impression only, it is desirable that it be shown in the form ofentires. Commercial examples of privately stamped items are to bepreferred to philatelically inspired ones.
e)

Presentation
The write-up must be clear, concise and relevant to the material shownand to the subject chosen for the exhibit. The method of presentation
should show the material to the best effect and in a balanced way.
With entires it is important to avoid unduly uniform arrangements.
N.B. No advantage or disadvantage shall apply as to whether the text ishandwritten, typewritten or printed. Brightly coloured inks and coloured
album pages should be avoided (ref. GREV, Article 4.7).

Relative Terms of Evaluation
Postal Stationery will be judged by approved specialists in this field andin accordance with GREX Section V Articles 3.1 - 4.7 - ref. GREV,Article 5.1.
1. Treatment (20) andPhilatelic Importance (10)30

2. Philatelic and related Knowledge,
Personal Study and Research

35

3. Condition (10) and Rarity (20)30

4. Presentation

5_____
100

Total
Concluding Provisions

In the event of discrepancies in the text from translation, the English
text shall prevail.
5