Philatelic Covers

Dear Sir,

In response to George Edman’s article “Philatelists Eschew Philatelic Covers” [November Specialist] I want to respond to his perplexity about the use of philatelic covers in exhibits.  First let me say that the general prohibition is a good example of how a guideline becomes a hard and fast rule.  Nowhere is it said that philatelic covers are barred from exhibit; rather it is a fact that philatelic coves are often contrived, generally more available, sometimes did not even go through the mail, and are sometimes not franked with the proper postage.  Thus, commercial covers are preferred as they reflect the intended usage of the stamps on the cover, and the real service(s) they paid for.

This does not mean that philatelic covers can not be used.  Some of the times that they are entirely appropriate include times when they are the only surviving records of events, when they reflect postal operations that were not planned by the cover fabricator, and when they illustrate an authorized postal practice in the face of a temporary problem at the local level.

In the latter class, I have one of the bisected Huguenot-Walloon covers that Edman illustrates in my exhibit on stamp separation.  Since acceptance by the local postmaster is documented, and no other covers are known to illustrate it, it can not be replaced by a commercial cover.  Other covers that would be exhibitable might include first day covers that had been in a plane crash, Roessler and other first flight covers that document flights for which there are few or no commercial covers, pioneer air mail covers created as souvenirs, and a host of other items that might be needed to tell a part of the exhibit’s story.

Because there is no explicit prohibition on philatelic covers in judging, I do not in general deduct for use of the occasional philatelic cover when a commercial cover would be better, only for using a lot of them when commercial covers would be a better representation of the intended use of the stamps.  Remember that putting together a good exhibit is a challenge.  As with all competitions, having more difficult material is rewarded.  Commercial covers are generally more difficult than philatelic covers.  But that does not mean that philatelic covers can never be used.

Sincerely,
John M. Hotchner

The Author Responds

Dear Sir,

I thank Mr. Hotchner for his expert guidance on exhibiting.  However, the article was not intended to be specific to the acceptability, or not, of philatelic covers in exhibits.  The anecdote about the exhibit judge and his comments, while true, was only presented as a means to begin a commentary on a more far-reaching bias against such covers as were illustrated.  I have no knowledge to indicate that the apparent disdain for philatelic covers is rooted in exhibiting.  Even if that is the case, though, it seems to have influenced our hobby well beyond that activity.

Sincerely,
George Edman