Exhibits and Major Awards at London 2022

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Exhibits and Major Awards At London 2022

With over 600 competitive exhibits, London 2022, the international stamp exhibition taking place on 19 to 26 February at London’s Business Design Centre in Islington, will have something on display of interest to all collectors. With so many exhibits to enjoy, they will be divided between the two halves of the exhibition.

A full list of the exhibits, and when they will be on display, can be consulted at www.london2022.co. In addition, the entries in the Literature Class can be viewed in the Reading Room, open through the exhibition.

All the exhibits will be competing for a number of major awards.

The Grand Prix National will be awarded to the best exhibit of a predominantly British subject. It is a cut-glass, silver-capped claret jug kindly donated by the Great Britain Philatelic Society.

The Grand Prix International is for the best exhibit, not of a predominantly British subject. The award, donated by the Royal Philatelic Society London, is a British Gold Sovereign, dated 2020, in a presentation box [below].

The award for the best exhibit in the World Stamp Championship Class is a Moorcroft vase and has been donated by the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) [below].

A silver London 2022 medal will be awarded for the best exhibit in each class. Many of these have been sponsored, as follows: Postal History (sponsored by the Society of Postal Historians); Traditional Philately (Bill Barrell); Thematic Philately (Christine Earle Memorial Award); Philatelic Literature (Stuart Rossiter Trust); Open Philately (Irish Philatelic Circle and Éire Philatelic Association); Modern Philately (Deegam Publications); Youth Philately (Stamp Active Network).

Sponsors are invited for the remaining classes: Aerophilately; Revenue; Postal Stationery; Picture Postcards. To sponsor one of these awards, please visit the exhibition website.

London 2022 will be open each day from 10am to 6pm (closing at 4pm on Saturday, 26 February). Entry costs £10 on the first day, tickets now available by visiting www.london2022.co; admission is free on all other days.

Key Facts about London 2022

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
London 2022 – The Key Facts

The international stamp exhibition, London 2022, will take place on 19 to 26 February at London’s Business Design Centre in Islington. The exhibition has FIP (Fédération Internationale de Philatélie) patronage and FEPA (Federation of European Philatelic Associations) recognition.

The Business Design Centre is located in Upper Street and is a short walk from Angel station on the Northern Line of London Underground. The Northern Line provides a direct connection to Kings Cross, St Pancras International and Euston national rail stations, and links with many parts of London. However, note that there will be no Northern Line trains between Kennington and Moorgate (thus serving London Bridge Station and Bank) for the duration of the exhibition. Many bus routes pass along Upper Street.

The exhibition will be open each day from 10am to 6pm (except it will close at 4pm on Saturday, 26 February). Entry will be free on all days except for the Opening Day, 19 February. On that day admission will cost £10 (tickets may be purchased in advance by visiting www.london2022.co).

The booth holders will be located on the Village Green, Mezzanine Level and Gallery Bays (a full list of the booth holders can be found on the exhibition website). Present will be dealers, auctioneers, publishers and postal administrations. The stand of Royal Mail will be found on the Village Green on entering the exhibition.

Stamp Active (to be found on the Mezzanine Level) will welcome all young collectors with encouragement and advice.

The Royal Philatelic Society London will have a booth – discover all about the world’s leading philatelic society.

There will be a total of 3,400 frames of exhibits, divided between the two halves of the exhibition. These can be seen in the Gallery Hall and Auditorium. Exhibits of Postal History, Postal Stationery, Open Class, Picture Postcards, Revenues and part of the Youth Class will be on display from Saturday, 19 February until midday on Tuesday, 22 February. Entries of Traditional Philately, Aerophilately, Thematics, the remainder of the Youth Class, plus exhibits for the World Stamp Championship, can be seen from Wednesday, 23 February until midday on Friday, 25 February.

There will be an opportunity during Saturday, 26 February to see those exhibits that have been recognised as the ‘Best in Class’, as well as the Grand Prix National, Grand Prix International and World Stamp Championship winners.

The entries in the Literature Class can be consulted every day of the exhibition in the Reading Room, which will be found on the Village Green.

Catering is provided on the Gallery Level.

Over thirty philatelic societies will be holding meetings during the exhibition while several societies will each have a table at the exhibition on Wednesday, 23 February. In addition during the exhibition FEPA will be holding two seminars, while several of the FIP Commissions will be holding meetings. Full details of all the meetings including day and time can be found on the exhibition website (www.london2022.co).

For those intending to spend a few days in London, hotel bookings can be arranged though HotelSmart, with a link available on the website.

New Version of Boston 2026 Label

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Newest Boston 2026 Collectible Released

Boston 2026 World Expo is pleased to announce that a new version of its first promotional label featuring a colonial post rider is now ready.

A limited edition sheetlet of 9 rouletted labels depicting the image signed and numbered by its designer, Chris Calle, is being offered exclusively through the Boston 2026 web site for a donation of $10. No more than 450 will be made available on a strictly one per person basis.

Unsigned sheetlets of Design #1 were first released at the Great American Stamp Show in Chicago in August and since that time have been available by visiting the Boston 2026 promotional table at major U.S. philatelic events. To facilitate collector demand they, too, may be requested on the Boston 2026 web site. Up to three may be ordered per person, free of charge.

Postage and handling for each U.S. domestic order is $5, with international orders at $10.

Unsigned sheetlets may continue to be requested at Boston 2026 promotional tables while supplies last at national and international exhibitions, including:

  • Emirates 2022 (Dubai, UAE): January 19-23, 2022
  • Southeastern Stamp Expo 2022 (Atlanta, GA): January 28-30, 2022
  • London 2022 (London, United Kingdom): February 19-26, 2022
  • Philatelic Show 2022 (Boxborough, MA): April 29-May 1, 2022
  • CAPEX 22 (Toronto, Canada): June 9-12, 2022

Four additional collectible label designs will be issued, one per year through 2026, honoring the exhibition’s theme of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

Boston 2026 World Expo takes place May 23-30, 2026, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Full show details may be found at boston2026.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Sign up to be added to the Boston 2026 email list and receive updates when available.

[The Virtual Stamp Club asked Boston 2026 spokesman Tom Fortunato what the difference between this version and the last was. “Only change is the autograph and numbering,” he replied.]

The Philatelkid December 2021

The Philatelkid is a monthly newsletter for young stamp collectors, produced by Robert W. Martin for his Stamp Collectors Clubs for Kids non-profit program. We hope to post the newsletters here, with Robert’s permission.

Please note that, uncharacteristically, much of this issue, from the middle of page 2 to the end, is a non-philatelic editorial in favor of taking precautions against the coronavirus.

The up/down buttons on the bottom left of the “illustration” below will take you to successive pages of the newsletter.

The Philatelikid 21 120121

Serbia Honors Tennis Star Djokovic (2021)

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The top male tennis player in the world has been honored by his native country with a series of stamps. Novak Djokovic tweeted “I’m humbled!” in response to the new stamps from Serbia. “An honour to receive my very own Serbian stamp. Thank you to my generous country for this rare gift!”

Agence France-Press (AFP) reports the 34-year-old athlete attended the ceremony launching the stamps this past Thursday (December 16, 2021).

The stamp is also mentioned near the top of Djokovic’s website.

The Post of Serbia says it is the first time it has honored an athlete on a stamp. “The stamps represent an athlete … the best tennis player of today and the best athlete in the history of Serbian sports,” the postal agency’s statement said.

Djokovic is also a “great humanist and philanthropist” it said, referencing his education foundation that it said “helped reconstruct 48 kindergartens and supported more than 2,200 teachers in their work throughout Serbia.”

Wimbledon 2019. Photo by Peter Menzel, edited by Petar Milošević.

Djokovic was born May 22, 1987, in Belgrade in what was then Yugoslavia. He has won 20 major tennis tournaments, three of them this year — Australian, French and Wimbledon. He missed the fourth, the U.S. Open, after losing in the finals. He
was named the Association of Tennis Professionals’ top-ranked player for the seventh time, more than any other player in history.

He has not yet announced whether he will participate in the next Australian Open, which requires players to be fully vaccinated. Djokovic has not said whether he has received the coronavirus vaccinations.

He and his wife Jelena have two children. “Now Jelena Djokovic and I will take some stamps home for the kids to write to Santa,” he said. On his foundation’s website, he added that he is happy to help encourage children to write letters and postcards. “Our Foundation receives many letters every day from children and their teachers throughout Serbia.”

The artwork for the stamps is by Boban Savic.

The Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) and Wikipedia also contributed to this article.

United Nations 2022 Stamp Program

Issues and details are subject to change.

Commemorative Issues

14 January: Sport For Peace
(6 mini sheets of 6 stamps)
58¢, $1.30, CHF 1,00, CHF 2,00, €0,85, €1,80

18 March: Endangered Species
(3 sheets of 16 stamps – 4 designs per sheet)
$1.30, CHF 1,50, €1,00
3 maximum cards
2022 Endangered Species Collection Folder
Limited-edition silk cover

1 April: Wangari Maathai
Definitive stamp
(Sheets of 20 stamps) €0,85

5 May: Planet Mars
(Sheets of 20 stamps)
58¢, $1.30, CHF 1,00, CHF 1,50, €0,85, €1,00
Souvenir sheets – $1.30, CHF 2,00, €1,80

27 August: World Heritage
(Sheets of 20 stamps)
58¢, $1.30, CHF 1,00, CHF 1,50, €1,00, €1,80
Prestige booklets

10 October: World Mental Health Day
TBD
Souvenir card

4 November: Crypto Stamps
(3 mini sheets of 1 stamp) TBD
2022 Annual Collection Folder

Special Events Sheets:

21 January: Chinese Lunar Calendar Year Of The Tiger
(New York special event stamp sheet of 10 Stamps) $1.30

14 February: #TROLLSFOODHEROES
(New York special event sheet of 10 stamps) $1.30

3 June: World Bicycle Day
(Geneva special event sheet of 10 stamps) CHF 1,50

20 July: World Chess Day
(Vienna special event sheet of 10 stamps) €1,00)

18 November: Seventieth Anniversary Of Guided Tours At
United Nations Headquarters
(New York special event stamp sheet of 10 stamps) $1.30

APS Names Gilson Distinguished Philatelist

The American Philatelic Society has named VSC member Dennis Gilson its 2022 Summer Seminar Distinguished Philatelist, for his long record of service and dedication to the APS and philately. Not mentioned in the citation below for the 2016 Luff Award winner is that he was the project manager for the conversion of the Match Factory into the American Philatelic Center.The image above expands quite a bit if you click on it, making it easier to read.

APS Announces 2022 Summer Seminar Courses

The American Philatelic Society’s 2022 Summer Seminar course descriptions are now available on the APS website [direct link]. The 43rd Annual Summer Seminar runs from Sunday, June 19 to Thursday, June 23, 2022.

The subjects include revenues, stamp technology, Russian philately, forensic philately, the Kansas-Nebraska Overprints, research, auxiliary markings, Argentina’s stamps, Machins, intermediate to advanced exhibiting, and U.S. stamps of 1920-1933.