Award Winning Philatelic Treatment and Presentation – A guide to Display, Thematic and Topical Exhibits for Exhibitors, Collectors and Judges. By Dr. Edwin J. Andrews. First edition, 167+vii pages, 8½ x 11 inches. Published by Exhibitors Press, 2021. ISBN: 9798454594732. Available from Amazon, paperback $40, hardcover $55.
Philatelic exhibiting is about using postal artifacts to tell a story. At its core, the material – the stamps and ephemera – is what drives the story. And yet, being a knowledgeable collector with deep pockets is not sufficient to win superior exhibiting awards. Indeed, the same material, exhibited by the same collector, can achieve significantly different award levels under different circumstances. What determines such different outcomes? Treatment and Presentation.
The comprehensively-titled new book by Dr. Edwin J. Andrews, Award Winning Philatelic Treatment and Presentation – A guide to Display, Thematic and Topical Exhibits for Exhibitors, Collectors and Judges, is a welcome addition to the literature of philatelic exhibiting. The breadth of the coverage – display, thematic, and topical exhibits – is important here. Andrews uses a compare and contrast approach to highlight how the three categories differ and how the same material can be successfully used for each type.
The other aspect that adds to the robustness of the book is the wide target audience, including exhibitors, collectors, and judges. The relevance of exhibiting principles to collectors may not be immediately apparent. But an increasing number of philatelists are electing to design their own album pages. Thoughtful design and intelligent inclusion of information, as is required for successful exhibiting, can also be employed to enhance custom album pages. Moreover, the sense of “completeness” that drives exhibit story telling can also benefit collectors in their quest for, well, complete collections.
In exhibiting, strong philatelic material must first be organized into a coherent story line, mounted to emphasize that story, and be supplemented with the exhibitor’s philatelic knowledge. Andrews brings together each of these aspects when addressing treatment and presentation. Strong material without a vibrant story is not an exhibit. And if worthwhile knowledge is not effectively communicated to the viewer (whether judges or the public), then the story is unremarkable, and the exhibit is not successful.
The author opens with an introduction that is very helpful in informing the reader what is to come. The brief section “How to Use This Book” brings into focus the ways to maximize the readers’ understanding of each chapter. His inclusion of a definitions section is particularly important to elucidate the sometimes arcane nomenclature of exhibiting. Andrews’ usages may not all be universally accepted, but we can understand how he is using each term.
Chapter 1 offers the spring board to understanding “treatment” in general. Andrews’ discussion of the contents and organization of the Title Page is critical to initiating a successful treatment. In particular, pay attention to his comments on the Purpose and Scope statements. I found the examples of these two statements very helpful, but the inclusion of “what not to do” examples offered particular insight, not generally found in books on this subject.
The illustrations of actual exhibit pages are numerous and very expository. Each illustration is worthy of study to ensure that the reader fully grasps the author’s explanations of principles. Sadly, this book suffers from a common plight in books about exhibiting. The book size is 8½ by 11 inches, the same size as a single exhibit page. Hence, a full page illustration needs to be reduced to 6¾ by 8½ inches, effectively a reduction of some 37% in area. This degrades both the readability and the sharpness of the figures. Nevertheless, a careful reader will want to make the additional effort to study these figures; the information contained therein is important.
Chapters 3, 4, and 5 delve into treatment specifics for Display, Thematic and Topical exhibits, respectively. In each chapter, Andrews employs the powerful compare and contrast approach summarized in the nearby chart. He frequently shows side-by-side full page examples of an exhibit page with the same material but presented in a Thematic vs Display (or similar) treatment. The results are of great advantage to exhibitors deciding which type of exhibit to develop for their material.
Differences of Display and Thematic exhibit treatments.
Good books about exhibiting discuss principles, tips, and tricks. Andrews adds very helpful advice about traps to avoid. Knowing what not to do is perhaps of greater importance to both novice and advanced exhibitors. But the author goes a step further. In addition to this cornucopia of what to do, Andrews includes a strong chapter on Advanced Mounting and Presentation Techniques: not just what to do, but how to do it. This implementation advice can make a world of difference, enabling the exhibitor to go beyond flat, boring, and unimaginative displays. Andrews shows us how to reveal material to its best advantage, drawing the viewer to pay greater attention.
Following Andrews’ advice – both the what to do and the how to do it – will surely result in far better philatelic exhibits. Both judges and the viewing public will gain a greater appreciation for the exhibitor’s material, knowledge, and storytelling prowess. Happier judges make for happier exhibitors. Edwin Andrews’ excellent book can help make that a reality.