The FIP Postal History Commission will meet at the Business Design Centre, London during the LONDON 2022 exhibition. The meeting will be held from 14.00 – 16.00 on Thursday 24th February 2022. The meeting will be chaired by Prof Dr Henrik Mouritsen RDP. After dealing with some initial business he will lead a qualifying seminar on Read more…
The Board of Election of the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists has agreed to invite the following philatelists sign the Roll: Dr. Bruno Crevato-Selvaggi, RDP, FRPSL (Italy) Reinaldo Estevᾶo de Macedo, RDP, FRPSL (Brazil) Hugh V. Feldman, RDP, FRPSL (United Kingdom) Malcolm Groom, RDP, FRPSL (Australia) Patricia Stilwell Walker, RDP, FRPSL (USA) Read more…
This is the latest issue of the FEPANews Magazine. Click here to view in Dropbox Or, you can read the current issue as pdf here.
We received the following press release on 16 December 2021: The Museum of Philately has launched the ‘Rowland Hill Medal’ for the best collection on the Museum. The first medal winner will be revealed at Monacophil 2022, with judging in the run up to this prestigious November show open to the public, through a straightforward voting system Read more…
These are the minutes from the FEPA Congress in Athens 2021. Click here to view the FEPA Congress Athens 2021 Minutes
A draft Agreement has been reached to enable FEPA to grant Patronage to the LIBEREC 2022 exhibition. The FEPA Board’s recommendation that Patronage should be granted will be discussed by Congress at its meeting in Athens on 23rd November and, if approved, the Agreement will then be signed. LIBEREC 2022 is being organised under the Read more…
We are pleased to report on interesting developments in Youth Philately in the UK and Germany. From London John Davies reports that a new ‘Youth Zone’ was launched by the Stamp Active Network at Autumn Stampex, held from 29th September – 2nd October. The theme of Stamp Active’s activities was Birds and there were also features on Read more…
The Organising Committee of the NEXOFIL and NEXONUM Awards, led by its President Sr Eugenio de Quesada, has announced in Madrid the winners of this year’s competition for the best stamps and coins in the world of 2020. Stamps were nominated from many countries and judged by an International Jury in 11 categories. The result Read more…
We are very sad to report that Leonard Pascanu died on 1st November 2021 after a prolonged illness. Mr Pascanu was aged 69 and had been President of the Romanian Philatelic Federation for many years. He was well-liked and respected among philatelists and had many achievements to his credit including the excellent EFIRO exhibition in 2008. In Read more…
The NOTOS Exhibition opens at the Zappeion in Athens on Friday 19th November with FEPA Patronage. The Organising Committee have just published the exhibition catalogue on the NOTOS website: http://hps.gr/notos2021/ The exhibition programme – also available on the website – is: Thursday 18 November 2021 10:00-24:00 … Arrival of Commissioners and Jurors, Mounting of exhibits Read more…
The IBRA Organising Team have recently published further details about the World Stamp Exhibition to be held in Essen, Germany from 25 – 28 May 2023. The exhibition will include a Grand Prix Club, Consilium Philatelicum and Schatzkammer as well as special displays on Gems of German Philately, Brustschilde and the German inflation of Read more…
The LONDON 2022 World Stamp Exhibition will be held at the Business Design Centre in Islington, North London from 19 – 26 February 2022. The Organising Team is moving into the final stages of preparation and has issued an urgent call for volunteers to help with running the exhibition. 150 people are needed to Read more…
A Message from the NOTOS Organising Team Five weeks before its Grand Opening, NOTOS 2021 proceeds right on schedule and the final details are taken care of. We expect all our visitors in Athens to experience a philatelically outstanding and socially pleasant event which will bring us together after a long time. Please check Read more…
We draw your attention to an interesting article by James Gavin (The Digital Philatelist) about how philately is progressing through social media, a topic on which many philatelists are not well informed. The article describes how the on-line philatelic world is expanding and reaching out to younger collectors in a way that more traditional structures Read more…
We are delighted to report that four well-known European philatelists signed the RDP Roll at the Congress of the Association of British Philatelic Societies in Harrogate, Yorkshire on 24th September. They are: Henrik Mouritsen RDP (Denmark) James Grimwood-Taylor RDP (UK) Seija-Riitta Laakso RDP (Finland) José Ramón Moreno RDP (Spain) Congratulations to all of them on Read more…
The European Stamp Exhibition and Polar Salon will take place at the Hotel Babylon in Liberec, Czech Republic from 13-16 October 2022. The Organisers have applied for FEPA Patronage and FIP Recognition. The Organisers have just issued additional details about the event, as follows: A4 EN_210x297_2021_print (3) Attachments A4 EN_210x297_2021_print (3) (9 MB)
The Bund Deutscher Philatelisten (BDPh) has organised an online Philately ‘Marketplace’ on 13th November 2021 with no less than 21 presentations and discussion groups. A wide range of topics will be covered under three general headings: Germany and its territories. Thematics Practical Philately For further details download the BDPh Philately Marketplace Programme To join the presentations Read more…
The Association of British Philatelic Societies (ABPS) is looking at how it can improve the level of support it provides to member societies for the development of their websites. The ABPS uses a free internet-based website compilation program (WIX.com) and has developed a template to meet the needs of a philatelic society. The template includes 4 Read more…
The Union of Philatelists of Serbia (SFS) has published details of SOFIZ II, which this year will be an on-line exhibition. It will be open from 8th – 17th December 2021. Applications are welcome from members of SFS and from members of other national philatelic organisations that are FIP or FEPA Members. Exhibits will be Read more…
Rainer von Scharpen of the AIJP has drawn our attention to the latest Yearbook, OPUS XXI, published by the European Academy of Philately (AEP). As it was due to be presented at IBRA 2021 in Essen, the theme chosen was ‘L’Allemagne et ses Colonies / Germany and its colonies’. Due to Corona, the event had to Read more…
The IPF has informed us that in June 2021 it hosted AAPE 2021, a virtual tri-national stamp exhibition, with the participation of the United Arab Emirates and the United States. The exhibition marked the Abraham Accords peace agreements signed by the three countries in September 2020. It consisted of 3 competitive classes (Traditional Philately, Postal History Read more…
The Philatelic Traders’ Society have released details of the Autumn STAMPEX exhibition which will take place live at the Business Design Centre in London from 29th September – 2nd October. After the long break in live exhibitions, there will be interesting innovations including: New dealers and zones in the hall, A Youth zone celebrating World Read more…
Congratulations to the Cercle Philatélique Echternach and the FSPL who succeeded in holding the ’32e Journée Maximaphile & Cartes Postales’ on 24th July in the face of huge problems. First, it was only in early June that the Organisers were able to confirm the exhibition could go ahead following a welcome decrease in the incidence Read more…
The winners of the FEPA Medal for Exceptional Philatelic Study and Research 2020, and of the Francis Kiddle Medal for the Best Philatelic Website 2021 have been announced. The announcement is as follows: At its videoconference call on 16 July 2021 the FEPA Board carefully considered the proposals received from the member Federations for the Read more…
To celebrate the opening of the postal historical museum at the Bauernhof in Goldau, the Kimmel Foundation has invited visitors to HELVETIA 2022 to take part in specially-organised tours in Switzerland. Two tours are offered with accommodation at the 4* Ameron Hotel Flora in Lucerne and free public transport throughout Switzerland for the entire duration Read more…
The LONDON 2022 organisers have recently issued two press releases. Details on the special arrangements made for visitors who are looking for accommodation in London during the exhibition: London 2022 PR3 15.07.2021 Information for collectors on booth holders who have already booked stands at the exhibition and for dealers and auction houses looking for Read more…
The team behind Stamp Collector magazine and the allaboutstamps.co.uk website have teamed up with the Museum of Philately to announce a series of special webinars on the world of stamps and stamp collecting. The press release is at: PR – Adventures in Philately Webinars The series starts on 19 July with ‘Fakes, Forgeries and Funnies’ Read more…
We have received the following information about a video competition organised as part of the HELVETIA 2022 exhibition. Today’s technology enables new forms of communication that can reach a large number of potential new collectors, historians or interested persons by expanding philately and philatelic collecting. The opportunity to practice and expand the art of Read more…
The Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau has issued an innovative £4 postage stamp celebrating cryptocurrency that also provides a key to acquisition of blockchain-based Digital Collectibles, otherwise known as ‘non-fungible tokens’. These tokens make up a Gibraltar Genesis Collection comprised of a series of 22 iconic images of Gibraltar which is aimed at collectors in general. Read more…
The Stamp Active Network, the voluntary organisation that promotes stamp collecting for children in the UK, will be at Autumn Stampex providing free stamps and goodie bags for young collectors. There will be a range of free activities with prizes including Stamp Art fun. They also intend, if possible, to run the popular free Read more…
CAPEX 22 will be the world’s first International One Frame Stamp Championship. It will be held in Toronto, Canada from 9 – 12 June 2022. The Organisers have just launched a free bilingual (English / French) newsletter – CAPEX News – which will be distributed to subscribers, participants and supporters by e-mail. It will provide Read more…
Italy’s first planned virtual exhibition, Phil-Italia 4.0, opened on 17th May. It includes a national exhibition with 13 exhibits in the thematic and open philately classes, and a qualifying exhibition with 29 exhibits in thematic and open philately, postal history, and traditional philately. Phil-Italia 4.0 is organised jointly by the Collezionisti Italiani Francobolli Ordinari (CIFO) and Read more…
The FEPA Board is delighted to announce the winner of the FEPA Medal for Exceptional Service to Organised Philately for 2020. It is: Jonas Hällström (Sweden) Warmest congratulations to Jonas for receiving this award in recognition of his many outstanding philatelic achievements. The following Societies have been awarded FEPA Certificates of Appreciation for outstanding Read more…
We are pleased to report that preparations for HUNFILEX2022, are on course in spite of all the disruption caused by COVID restrictions. The Organisers have just published Bulletin 1 with the latest information, including the exhibition rules. The Bulletin can be seen at: HUNIFLEX Bulletin HUNFILEX will take place at the Bálna (Whale) Exhibition Centre Read more…
The NOTOS 2021 Organising Committee has announced that the exhibition will be held at the Zappeion in central Athens. The Zappeion, where NOTOS 2021 will be held from 19th – 22nd November 2021 Previously planned at the Peristeri Exhibition Centre, the Organisers were obliged to find a new venue when the Greek Government took over the Read more…
The hard-working German Youth Philately organisation DPhJ has drawn our attention to SÜDWEST 2021, a virtual exhibition organised by the Landesverband Südwest im BDPh. It includes no less than 24 Youth exhibits from young people and groups on a range of themes including historical personalities, sport and animals as well as traditional philately and postal history. The head of Read more…
We are sorry to report that, due to the continuing COVID restrictions, the organisers of NORDIA 2021 have been forced to cancel this prestigious regional exhibition. NORDIA 2021 was due to be held in Kuopio, Finland from 13th – 15th August 2021. In its place the Kuopio Philatelic Society will arrange a national exhibition with Read more…
FEPA is pleased to announce the panel that will support it in selecting the winner of the Francis Kiddle Medal 2021 for the best philatelic website. All panel members have expressed high satisfaction for the initiative that highlights the important role of websites in today’s philatelic world, and have confirmed their willingness to assist Read more…
The Slovenian Philatelic Federation wants to encourage as many people as possible to participate in its One-Frame competition, being held as part of the DesetoOkno (‘Tenth Window’) exhibition in Kranj from 9th – 18th September 2021. So it has decided to run the competition on-line. The frame is €10 in all classes which makes the Read more…
The Union of Czech Philatelists, in cooperation with the club Evropská vystava známek LIBEREC 2022 z.s., have announced that a specialised European Stamp Exhibition and Polar Salon will be held at the Wellness Hotel Babylon in Liberec, Czech Republic, from 13th – 16th October 2022. Exhibits are invited in the following competitive classes: FIP Read more…
We have heard with great sadness that Alexander Sergeevich Ilyushin has passed away. He was a leading figure in philately in Russia for many years and will be greatly missed. We send our condolences to his family. The Russian Philatelic Federation has provided the following statement recording Sasha’s many achievements in science and philately: Born Read more…
Message from the FEPA President In the last year there has been a tremendous expansion in the use of on-line facilities to enable philatelic activities to continue in the face of the draconian restrictions imposed around the world to combat the Coronavirus pandemic. Exhibitions, meetings, auctions and friendly conversations have all taken place online regularly and Read more…
The LONDON 2022 International Stamp Exhibition will take place at the Business Design Centre in London from 19th – 26th February 2022. A revised IREX containing the latest information on the exhibition has just been published and is available at: http://www.london2022.co/wp-content/uploads/Newsletters/London2022Newsletter_021-20210405.pdf LONDON 2022 is, of course, taking place because LONDON 2020 had to be Read more…
We received this message from Peter Lang, President of the Motivgruppe Musik e.V. Despite the ongoing Corona crisis, the Motivgruppe Musik, the International Philatelic Music Study Group, is again inviting all collectors around the world to vote for the most popular music stamp of the past year. You can find the candidates for the vote on Read more…
Prof. Dr. Atadan Tunaci, MD, FRPSL, who is a member of the Turkish Philatelic Federation and Academy, has kindly sent us information about an exhibition held at the Faculty of Medicine in Istanbul University from 11 – 14 March 2021 to mark National Doctors Day on 14 March and the first anniversary of COVID 19 being Read more…
The XXV^ ALPE-ADRIA exhibition, involving seven Philatelic Federations from the region of the Alps and Adriatic, has been cancelled. It was due to be held at the Sports Hall in Tarvisio, Italy from 10-13 June – having been postponed from 2020 – but the Organisers have decided that it cannot go ahead this year in Read more…
We do not often report on newly published material, but recent press reports drew our attention to an article published on 2nd March 2021 in the journal ‘Nature Communications’ concerning research by academic scientists from a number of universities working in the ‘Unlocking history research group’. Their project was to study unopened sealed letters from Read more…
The Board of Election of the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists has invited five eminent philatelists to sign the Roll. They are: Dénes Czirók, RDP, FRPSL (Hungary) Dr. Seija-Riitta Laakso, RDP. FRPSL (Finland) José Ramón Moreno, RDP, FRPSL (Spain) Henrik Mouritsen, RDP, FRPSL (Denmark) Randolph Neil, RDP, FRPSL (USA) We Read more…
The Museum of Philately is a unique digital platform, hosted independently and free online and on Appstores, It captures and preserves award winning collections and rarities, as well as providing the facility to track provenance and pricing information. Launched in 2016 by David Feldman International Auctioneers as an App it is now also a fully integrated website. Its aim Read more…
The VÖPh is 100 years old and, in the best philatelic traditions, is marking this significant birthday in cooperation with Austria Post with personal stamps, special postmarks and special registration labels. The first meeting of the Federation of Austrian Philatelic Societies was held in Vienna on 9 March 1921 and included such distinguished philatelists as Read more…
The Israeli Philatelic Federation’s first virtual National Stamp Exhibition (NETBUL 2021) opened on 1 March. It will be accessible to visitors until 31 March at: https://netbul.co.il/en/exhibits/ The exhibition includes sections on postal history, thematic philately, maximum cards, picture postcards and modern philately. Visitors are invited to look at the different exhibits on display. To help Read more…
The latest issue of FEPA NEWS has an article by Rainer Fuchs (FN38 PAGE 51) inviting discussion on whether Two or Three frame exhibits should be able to enter international exhibitions competitively on the same basis as One Frame exhibits. Since the article was published the Organisers of NOTOS, which will be held in Athens Read more…
We have received this information from the Philatelic Traders’ Society, organisers of the twice-yearly STAMPEX in London. For the second time Stampex will take place virtually because of COVID restrictions, but the PTS’s first experiment with virtual exhibiting last October was judged very successful, with many visitors from around the world, and the PTS is Read more…
The Club de Monte. Carlo has announced that the next Monacophil, due to be held in Monte Carlo from 8th – 11 December 2021, has been postponed until December 2022. Further details will be posted when they become available.
We received the following message from Matthew Hill, Associate Editor of the UK philatelic magazine Stamp Collector. I am writing to let you know about the second Collectors’ Conference taking place at allaboutstamps.co.uk, this time with a focus on Modern Stamps. The online event will take place between 22 and 24 February 2021 at: https://www.allaboutstamps.co.uk/virtual-events/modern-stamps-conference/ The Read more…
Attachments 202101_Journee_Maximaphile_2021_Artikel_Fachpresse (17 kB)202102_Journee_Maximaphile_Invitation_ENG (15 kB)
It is with great sadness that we bring news that Christine Earle FRPSL passed away on 28th January 2021, aged 73. Christine was well-known in the UK and internationally for her innovative approach to thematic exhibiting, and as a judge and contributor to organised philately in many ways. She was taken to hospital on 26th Read more…
The Slovenian Philatelic Federation has announced that its 10th specialised One frame Exhibition, designated DesetoOkno Kranju 2021, will be held from 9th – 18th September 2021 in Kranj, Slovenia. ‘DesetoOkno’ means “Tenth Window”. The idea is that a Window is a story in one Frame. For the DesetoOkno exhibition all FEPA Members are invited to submit entries. For further Read more…
Invitations have gone out from the FEPA Vice President Giancarlo Morolli to the Member Federations to nominate candidates for the prestigious FEPA Medals and Certificates. The awards are made annually and this year they will give recognition to outstanding contributions to philately in 2020. Three medals can be awarded. These are for: Exceptional service to Read more…
At the FSFI Board meeting held on 17th January 2021 the new President Bruno Crevato-Selvaggi, who took up office on 1 January, appointed Nicolino Parlapiano as Vice-President. In addition to his long-standing service as FSFI General Secretary Nicolino is President of the philatelic society in Benevento. Nicolino Parlapiano The Board, which also includes Paolo Guglielminetti, Read more…
This is the FEPA News Magazine for January 2021. The big theme for this magazine is Virtual Philately in the current times. Click on the cover to open the magazine and read it in Dropbox.
We are delighted to announce that Thomas Hoepfner has accepted an invitation to join the FEPA Board as a Director. Thomas is a well-known figure in German and European philately and has been closely involved with the organisation of IBRA 2023. This fills the vacancy created when Ari Muhonen stepped down from the Board Read more…
Faced with the impossibility of holding Spring Stampex as usual in February at the Business Design Centre in London due to the pandemic, the Philatelic Traders’ Society has decided to cancel it and hold another virtual exhibition instead. The next Virtual Stampex will be open continuously for 72 hours from 25th – 27th March 2021 and Read more…
The Bund Deutscher Philatelisten (BDPh) has announced a new programme of on-line seminars (German language) for the period up to 12th June 2021. The programme is shown in the table below. A reservation to join one of the seminars can be made by clicking the short link given in that row. Datum Uhrzeit (MESZ / Read more…
On 1st December 2020 the Union of Bulgarian Philatelists and the Bulgarian Postal Administration organised a ‘solemn validation’ of a single-stamp block (miniature sheet) celebrating the 135th anniversary of the printing of the first Bulgarian banknotes in St Petersburg. The ceremony was held in the Royal Palace ‘Vrana’ with the number of guests kept small Read more…
SOFIZ 1 IS NOW OPEN. SOFIZ 1 is the first Serbian National exhibition held on-line. It also has international participation. The exhibition will remain open to visitors until 14 December 2020. To visit SOFIZ 1, go to: http://www.philaserbia.com/sofiz1/
The Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) has recently made two important decisions in response to the continuing evolution of philatelic exhibiting. The first relates to Open Philately, an approach to exhibiting whose popularity has increased steadily since the Open Class was accepted in FIP exhibitions several years ago. The formation of an FIP Open Philately Commission Read more…
Right on time, the Organising Committee of NOTOS 2021 has published Bulletin 2 in preparation for the exhibition. NOTOS will be held at the Peristeri Exhibition Centre in Athens from 19 – 22 November 2021 and is expected to have 2,000 16-sheet frames + 200 Literature exhibits. It will be a great opportunity for Read more…
On 21st November 2020 the FEPA Board held a Zoom meeting with its Members, the national Federations, Associations and Unions. The meeting was joined by representatives from 31 Members and by the members of the Board. The FIP President, Bernie Beston, also joined the meeting by invitation. The meeting was called because it has proved Read more…
The Deutsche Philatelisten-Jugend e.V. have issued a press release about the novel approach being taken by one group in South West Germany to prepare for the Christmas period in this year of COVID restrictions on meeting and travelling. The press release is attached. The idea, created by Roman Machauer for the Young Philatelists’ Group in Read more…
MONACOPHIL 2021 will be held at the Terrasses de Fontvieille in Monte Carlo from 3rd – 5th December 2021. As usual it will include an exhibition on specific themes, a display of 100 iconic items provided by members of the Club de Monte Carlo and an opportunity to meet postal administrations and international stamp Read more…
It is with regret that we inform you of the death of Saverio Imperato, a great Italian philatelist, on 20 November 2020. A brilliant professor of immunology, he was well known around the world for his charming personality, his assiduous participation in international exhibitions and his determination to compete for the top awards. He started Read more…
Congratulations to the Austrian Federation (VÖPh) which has succeeded – in the face of all the current restrictions – in holding ÖVEBRIA 2020, its national exhibition with international participation, live in Sankt Pölten from 2nd – 4th October 2020. The local authority agreed to allow the exhibition to take place as a special fair but Read more…
We are delighted to report that, in spite of all the current COVID restrictions, the Spanish Federation of Philatelic Societies (FESOFI) and its President Mr García Fernández have succeeded in holding a successful 58th national philatelic exhibition (EXFILNA 2020) virtually. The exhibition took place from 28th October – 1st November 2020. The scale Read more…
Undaunted by COVID restrictions on travel and meetings, the Carinthian Postal History Club (Kärntner Philatelistenclub) of Klagenfurt, Austria, succeeded in holding a display exhibition in 122 showcases on 10th October 2020, marking to the day the centenary of the 1920 plebiscite in Austrian Carinthia. After the end of the First World War the lands of Read more…
The Organizing Committee of the annual Nexofil Awards have announced in Madrid the winners of the ‘Best Stamp in the World’ competition for 2020 and the associated awards for various categories of stamp. The competitions were judged by an international jury and the winners of ‘Best Stamp in the World’ are: 1st Read more…
Information has reached us about several new philatelic materials now on line. Seminars on exhibiting postal history. Recordings of the recent, excellent series of seminars organised by the FIP Postal History Commission have been placed on YouTube and are now available to view. Links to them are on the FIP website at: https://www.f-i-p.ch/ If you want to bring yourself up-to-date on Read more…
At the virtual Stampex held from 1st – 3rd October David Feldman introduced his plan to build a digital Museum of Philately. The idea is to have an on-line platform where images of collections can be stored and available to view long after the actual collection has been disposed of. In a video that Read more…
An enquiry last year from the Organising Committee of NOTOS 2021 to the Philatelic and Postal Museum in Athens has produced a wonderful result. Since the 20 Lepta Large Hermes Head stamp was printed in 1861, the plate has been in a state of disrepair. 29 of the original 150 clichés are missing and the Read more…
Philatelic life is thriving in Germany. First, the Bund Deutscher Philatelisten (BDPh) held a very successful Virtual NAPOSTA exhibition that ran through the month of September. Its main aim was to give exhibitors an opportunity to qualify for IBRA in Essen (now postponed until May 2023) and it was well supported with 64 exhibits entered Read more…
With great sadness we bring the news that Daniela Morolli, wife of FEPA Vice President Giancarlo Morolli and a well-known figure in international philately for many years, died on 16th October 2020 at the age of 75. On behalf of the whole FEPA family the FEPA Board offers its deepest condolences to Giancarlo and to Read more…
We received this notice from Niall Murphy: I want to bring to your attention an online contest I have developed with a group of well-known enthusiasts: “Best Europa Stamps – The Collector’s Choice 2020”. This is a totally non-profit contest aimed at raising general awareness of philately. This contest, now in its third year, Read more…
With great regret we announce the death of Lumir Brendl on 8th October 2020. We received the following obituary notice from Vit Vanicek. It is with deep regret that we have to announce the death of Mr Lumir Brendl on 8th October 2020 at the age of 85. Lumir was born on 8th March 1935 Read more…
It’s almost here! The first ‘virtual’ Stampex will open to visitors on 1st October at 0800 (London time). It will be open continuously for 72 hours and the booths will remain open to visitors until 28th October. The show is open to all, free of charge. To enter it just go to: https://stampex.vfairs.com/ Many dealers, auction Read more…
The Organising Committee of SOFIZ 1, Serbia’s first-ever on-line exhibition, have sent us the following message: It’s a great pleasure to announce that SOFIZ I, the first Serbian national online stamp exhibition with international participation will be held in the period 7th of December 2020. – 14th of December 2020. on the official web site Read more…
After a long delay due to COVID cancellations, two of the 2019 FEPA Medals have been presented to the recipients. The winner of the FEPA Medal for Exceptional Service to organised philately is Chris King RDP, Hon FRPSL and the presentation was made by FEPA President Bill Hedley at the Annual General Meeting of the Royal Read more…
During the summer the American Philatelic Society (APS) staged a virtual Stamp Show with a full range of activities on offer on-line. Other organisations including the FIP, the Bund Deutscher Philatelisten e. V. and the Royal Philatelic Society London also organised programmes of on-line presentations. The APS and the BDPh have published the results of Read more…
Lars Nordberg, Chairman of the NORDIA 2020 Organising Committee, has confirmed that the exhibition – due to be held in Malmö from 4th-6th December – has been cancelled. The Organisers had done everything in their power to avoid this outcome but in the end they were left with no alternative when faced with restrictions imposed Read more…
The FIP has just published the latest edition of its regular magazine FLASH with much news of philatelic events as well as articles on virtual exhibitions and on the future of philately. Read more…
The Association of British Philatelic Societies (ABPS), which represents the UK in FEPA, has recently launched a new website. The aim is to reach out to users and respond to their particular needs in addition to providing an essential store of information on the Association’s activities. Thus, a new feature is a searchable list of Read more…
The Philatelic Traders’ Society is organising a ‘Virtual’ Stampex from 1st – 3rd October to replace the Autumn exhibition normally held at the Business Design Centre in London. Visitors from anywhere around the world will be able to enter the show via an interactive lobby open 24 hours a day and connect with dealers, auction Read more…
The Prestige Philately Club Prague has sent us the following information regarding its BIENNALE 2020 ‘TREASURES OF WORLD PHILATELY’ exhibition. The exhibition will be held from November 7th to 22nd 2020 in the ceremonial halls on the 2nd floor of the National Museum in Prague. 80 to 100 individual rarities of extraordinary importance from the collections of Read more…
Delcampe, the well-known internet trading house popular with many philatelic collectors, recently invited the FEPA President Bill Hedley to talk about what FEPA does and its priorities in the next few years. They have just published this interview on their blog. You can read it here: https://blog.delcampe.net/en/do-you-know-fepa/ A French translation of the interview will Read more…
The Académie Européenne de Philatelie (AEP) has this year awarded its Prize for the Philatelic Press to the magazine ‘Cursores’, published by the Associazione Italiana di Storia Postale (AISP), and edited by Paolo Zavattoni. This is a recognition of the high standard set by ‘Cursores’ and consolidates its standing as a journal of international importance. Read more…
The FIP Postal History Commission has put together a programme of five on-line seminars on the theme of: ‘The importance of ……… in postal history exhibiting’. The programme will run from August – October 2020 and all the seminars will be held on Sundays. The programme is as follows: Starting Time A 16 Read more…
The annual International Stamp Fair that was due to be held in the Exhibition Hall at Sindelfingen, Germany, from 22 – 24 October 2020 has been cancelled. The restrictions currently applying to exhibitions in Baden-Württemberg to combat COVID-19 have made it impossible for the Organisers to proceed with a workable plan. This means that the annual Read more…
The Organisers of the Irish national exhibition (STAMPA) have been obliged to cancel the exhibition this year because COVID restrictions have made it impossible to use the Conference Centre. The exhibition was due to take place in Dublin in October. The next STAMPA will, therefore, be held in Dublin from 15-17 October 2021. The Irish Federation Read more…
The American Philatelic Society (APS), together with the American Philatelic Research Library and Museum, is organising a virtual Postal History Symposium from 26 – 30 October 2020. The theme will be ‘Postal Innovation in the Classic Era – Evolution leading to Modernization’ and an impressive list of speakers to deliver 14 presentations has already been Read more…
We were sorry to hear that Manfred Bergman died in early July in Geneva at the age of 92. He participated in Verso Mexico 68 in Riccione where he came into contact with Italian collectors. He then made proposals for modifying the FIP Thematic Regulations which at the time were penalizing for sport-Olympic collections and Read more…
At the Veronaphil in November 2019 the Federazione Italiana fra le Società Filateliche (FSFI) celebrated its 100th birthday. Now another “100” event has taken place in spite of Covid-19: Qui Filatelia, the Federation magazine, has reached its 100th issue. Over the years the magazine has received high appreciation because of the appeal and variety of its contents as Read more…
The Delcampe online collectors’ market-place has just celebrated its 20th birthday. During that time it has handled 50 million transactions involving more than 1 million collectors and, to mark this important milestone, it has published an on-line magazine and made it freely available to everyone. It is a ‘Generalist’ publication, designed to appeal both to Read more…
The Spanish Federation (FESOFI) has published a new book on disinfected mail and has generously put it on its website where it can be downloaded free of charge. The title of the book is: “From the Great Plague of Marseille (1720-1722) to the Covid-19”. The authors are Esteve Doménech and Antonio Llacér, and the Read more…
We have been informed that it has regrettably been necessary to cancel the WÜBA 2020 event for young philatelists, including the Stamp Camp, that was due to be held in Würzburg in September 2020. This is because of the current pandemic restrictions. The event may be rescheduled in 2021. Further information will be provided as it becomes Read more…
The Organisers of OSTROPA, which was to have taken place in June 2020, have set new dates for the exhibition. It will now be held at the Russian House of Science and Culture in Berlin from 5 – 8 November 2020. Further information is available at the exhibition website. www.ostropa2020.de
‘Philatelica’ is the journal produced by (MAFITT), the Hungarian Philatelic Institute, and MAFITT have now made it available to all readers free of charge. ‘Philatelica’ publishes studies on Hungarian philately and is issued twice a year in English. All previous issues, which go back 30 years, are available to read on the MAFITT website. www.mafitt.hu/philatelica Read more…
The Italian Federation of Philatelic Societies (FSFI) has created a Protocol of rules and guidance for societies who want to resume meetings and other activities following the COVID-19 lockdown. This problem will be of concern to many philatelic organisations as they wonder whether and how to start up again as restrictions are lifted so we Read more…
Following the cancellation of London’s Autumn Stampex, there will be a virtual ‘Summer of Stamps’ Festival in the UK. It is being organised by the team behind Stamp Collector magazine and the allaboutstamps.co.uk website. Read more…
We have been informed by his son Anders that Gunnar Dahlvig has died after a long fight against pancreatic cancer. Gunnar was a specialist in thematic philately and was a prolific exhibitor and juror. He served in many roles and was Vice-President of the FIP Thematic Commission between 1992 and 2000. In 2000 he signed Read more…
Postal administrations around the world have been marking the efforts made by so many people to combat the effects of COVID, a public health emergency unparalleled in living memory. Vojtech Jankovic of the Slovak Federation has undertaken a survey of various issues that have been made in the form of stamps, miniature sheets, pre-paid cards, Read more…
Further information has been received about the postponement of exhibitions organised by FEPA Members due to COVID restrictions. BALKANFILA, due to be held in Bucharest from 17 – 20 September, has been postponed until 29 September – 4 October 2021. BALKANFILA is a multinational exhibition involving the Balkan countries plus Israel and Egypt. STAMPEX, Read more…
After it was forced to close by the Coronavirus crisis, we are pleased to report that the Museum of the Tasso family and of Postal History has reopened. The Museum is in two historic buildings in Camerata Cornello, near Bergamo. This was the birthplace of the Tasso family which, over several centuries, made a huge contribution Read more…
We have been informed that the Pilatus-Emmen Philatelic Society in Switzerland is adding an interesting item to its website every day to keep its members alert and provide a topic for conversation. To have a look at what they have put up, go to http://www.philatelistenverein-pilatus.ch/Besonders/brief-des-tages/
The Deutscher Philatelisten-Jugend organisation has announced that it will be running a Stamp Camp (WÜBA 2020) in Würzburg, Germany from 11th to 13th September. It is open to all young stamp lovers. Applications must be in by 1 June. Further details below. The announcement reads as follows: WÜBA 2020 will be a residence Read more…
Since the lock-down began in March SOFIMA (the Madrid Philatelic Society) have published daily articles on subjects of philatelic interest. As a result they now have a long list of articles on their website on ‘curiosities’ ranging from the ‘Philatelic Aftermath of the Civil War’ through ‘The first aerial stowaway’ to ‘Disinfected Mail’. To see them Read more…
The Bund Deutscher Philatelisten (BDPh) is launching a series of on-line seminars using Zoom technology to offset the restrictions on philatelic life imposed by the Corona crisis. The first seminar will be held from 16.00-17.30 on Wednesday 13 May when Lars Böttger will talk on the theme of ‘Der 1. Weltkrieg und seine Folgen für Read more…
We have been informed that the Association of Stamp Catalogue, Stamp Album and Philatelic Magazine Traders (ASCAT) will wind up its activities later this year. It was founded in 1977 to defend the professional activities of its members and is currently based in Germany. Residual funds will be transferred to the non-profit organisation ‘Kinderlachen’.
The competition to select the most popular EUROPA stamp for 2020 is now underway. The theme is ‘Ancient Postal Routes’ and candidate stamps have been selected because they illustrate this theme in different ways. All philatelic enthusiasts, postal fans or lovers of history are invited to vote on-line for their favourite stamp. To find the Read more…
The new issue of the Magazine for Young Collectors is available free of charge. Click this link: https://www.dphj.de/index.php?article_id=9
The Motivgruppe Musik is once again inviting all collectors to vote for the most popular music stamp of the past year. The candidates are shown on the Motivgruppe Musik’s website (www.motivgruppe-musik.COM). Read more…
Stampactive is the group within the Association of British Philatelic Societies that organises and encourages youth philately. They were recently awarded a FEPA Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding activities in promoting philately and have kindly sent us a paper on what they have been doing – this is attached. Everyone interested in youth philately, have Read more…
International postal services have been severely reduced in response to the Coronavirus restrictions on movement. The position is subject to constant changes as restrictions are imposed or relaxed, but for an impression of the current level of restrictions (25 April), we draw your attention to the latest advice from Slovenia Post. It can be viewed Read more…
The Royal Philatelic Society London held its first ‘virtual’ meeting on 23rd April, with well over 100 members from many countries around the world taking part via Zoom. Frank Walton gave a 30 minute presentation about the origins and evolution of the Queen Elizabeth II ‘Wilding’ stamps, the standard definitives in use in the UK Read more…
Publishers of some philatelic magazines are facing the problem that their production facilities are closed for an indefinite period due to the coronavirus lockdown. So some of them have made their April issues available free online to their readers and to the philatelic community in general. The following journals are available to read: L’Écho de la Timbrologie Read more…
Thanks to the initiative of Aniello Veneri and the prompt participation of a group of philatelists who used to have a monthly “philatelic dinner” in Rome that was suddenly cancelled because of the lockdown, a regular programme of video conferences is helping to overcome the absence of philatelic events, also at the social level. Each Read more…
We have just received this message from Murat Hazinedaroglu of the Turkish Federation. April 23th 2020 is one of the most significant anniversaries of the Turkish Republic’s history as it is the Centenary of Inauguration of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. We planned to celebrate this centenary with two separate exhibitions in Ankara, one of which Read more…
At present some of us may feel that the instructions to maintain 2 metres distance from other people and to avoid gathering in groups are a unique imposition, even if necessary to combat the epidemic. However, they have a long history. As an example, a colleague drew my attention to the Orders issued by the Read more…
Graham Winters, the Chairman of the ABPS (the British Federation), has been spending some of his lockdown time producing short amateur videos describing a selection of his exhibits. Graham is notable for having exhibited in almost every class and for hand-writing his exhibits. The videos include exhibits in Traditional, Postal History, Aerophilately and Maximaphily. They Read more…
To celebrate its centenary the Hungarian Federation (MABEOSZ) will hold a Specialised World Stamp Exhibition at ‘The Whale’ in Budapest from 31 March – 3 April 2022. The exhibition has been designated as HUNFILEX 2022. The exhibition will have four competitive classes – traditional, postal history, thematic and literature – with a total of around Read more…
Following the postponement of London 2020 due to the Coronavirus emergency Frank Walton, the Chairman of the London 2020 Organising Committee, has announced that the exhibition will now be held at the Business Design Centre in London from: 19 – 26 February 2022 The exhibition has FIP Patronage and FEPA Recognition. The Press Release issued Read more…
The Spanish Federation of Philatelic Societies (FESOFI) has sent us the sad news of the death of Luis Alemany, winner of eight FIP Grand Prizes, and a great person. He passed away on 9th April due to the Alzheimer illness he suffered from in recent years. Rest in peace. A record of his distinguished philatelic career Read more…
Dr Vojtech Jankovich, who is a member of the Board of the Slovak Federation, has let us know that he has added fresh news and articles to the philatelic portal at www.philanotes.com. The portal is full of interesting information and is well worth a visit, especially in these days when we have to spend so much time Read more…
Die Deutsche Philatelisten-Jugend e.V. has announced that its 2020 competition for Young Collectors will have the theme of ‘Meine Dauerserie’ (My Definitive Issue). Both Members and non-Members of the society are invited to show exhibits on this theme at the exhibition which will take place in Mainz on 3-4 October. A special information pack Read more…
Congratulations to the Union of Philatelists of Macedonia which celebrated its 70th birthday on 19th March. The Union, led by President Sinisha Pavleski and President of the Executive Board Dimitar Belchev, has a rich legacy of philatelic activities over the last 70 years during which it has worked in close cooperation with other societies in Read more…
The Organising Committee of OSTROPA 2020, which was scheduled to be held at the Russian House for Science and Culture in Berlin from 25 – 28 June 2020, has decided with great regret to postpone the exhibition because of the coronavirus crisis. The Committee is now looking for alternative dates in Autumn 2020 so that Read more…
Congratulations to four newly-elected Academicians of the Royal Hispanic Academy of Philately and Postal History. They are: Raimundo Almeda Luis Frazao RDP Manuel Alvarez Casado Jaime Benavides-Villarreal They were elected at a meeting of the Academy’s General Assembly which fortunately was held just a few days before the beginning of the Coronavirus emergency in Europe. Read more…
Pascal Bandry, the European Bureau Member on the FIP Maximaphily Commission, recently sent me a link to the latest journal published by the Maximaphilatelists in France. I thought it was a very interesting insight into the fascinating subject of maximaphily as well as being a reminder of happier times. Pascal has kindly agreed that we Read more…
We have been notified of more important changes to the philatelic calendar in response to the international Coronavirus lockdown. The Alpe-Adria exhibition, due to be held in Tarvisio, Italy in June 2020, has been postponed until 10 – 13 June 2021. It will still be held in Tarvisio. The Lubrapex exhibition, due to be held Read more…
FEPA Congress in Antwerp 11 April 2010 Read the Minutes of the Congress here. Congress papers distributed to all member federations before the Congress: Convocation including agenda Report 2009, president Jørgensen Report 2009, vice president Moreno Report 2009, secretary Bracic Report 2009, director Vanicek – Best Practices Report 2009, director Vanicek – Postal History Report Read more…