The Digital Philatelic Exhibition - Fall Mega-Event, New York

Examples of Digital Philatelic Exhibits
Digital Philatelic Workshop (Blog by Fran Adams)

The Fall 2008 American Stamp Dealers Association Inc. (ASDA) Mega-Event will include a new form of philatelic competition. Participants may submit a digital philatelic study (DPS). Such studies allow collectors to broaden the basis for the presentation of their research and knowledge and to complete studies which might not be undertaken in the framework of a conventional philatelic display or exhibit. It is expected that such studies will become very popular with collectors and students and will lead to major advances in philatelic research and knowledge. Listen to the (ASE 2007 DPS Seminar.)

The DPS accepted for the show will be displayed on both individual computer stations and by public computer projections at the Mega-Event to be held at Madison Square Garden, New York, in October of each year.

What is a digital philatelic study?

A DPS is an electronic file or set of files that tells a philatelic story such as: the change from traditional to pictorial designs in British Caribbean Colonies; the Pony Express; or mail from the Crimean war. It combines the elements of journal articles, exhibits and PowerPoint presentations into a final electronic presentation form (i.e. PowerPoint file, PDF file, etc.). Like an article, the primary focus is on the story as it is told, but, like an exhibit or PowerPoint presentation, the emphasis is placed on the illustrations with the text as supplementary. Examples of DPS from the Fall 2006 and 2007 Mega-Events may be seen at the ASDA's website - www.asdaonline.com..

Who may submit an entry and team entries

A DPS may be submitted for entry in the show by an individual who is: over 18 years of age; an emancipated minor; or under 18, with the approval of his/her legal guardian.

Entries may also be submitted by a team comprising no more than four people, each of whom meets the criteria specified above. Each team should have a designated Captain and all communication about the entry and the DPS should be submitted by, and will be sent to, the Captain of a team.

The name of the applicant(s) must be made known in connection with their application, but, at the request of the applicant(s), may be given as an alias in any published communication about the DPS.

Types and number of applications

A specific DPS may be submitted for either the competitive or non-competitive show, but not both.

Anyone who meets the criteria specified above may submit multiple entries for an individual DPS or may be included on multiple team entries or both, but each DPS must be submitted on a separate entry form. A participant may enter no more than three digital philatelic studies (DPS) as an individual or as a team member, but only one entry on which the applicant is listed as a sole entrant or as Captain will be eligible for the first/second place or 'Most Popular' prizes.

Applications will be made by means of an official application form that must be received no later than the cut-off date for the given year.

Uses of the DPS

The applicant(s) who submit an entry for either the competitive or non-competitive show give(s) the ASDA the right to present the DPS during the Fall 2008 Mega-Event. In addition, applicants have the option to give the ASDA the further rights to reproduce the DPS as a whole or in part in electronic form on the ASDA website or on a CD.

The CD, containing all of the exhibits which the ASDA has been authorized to place on a CD, will be given to the individual participants, and to all team members of the team entries, where they have granted permission for the DPS to be included on the CD.

Technical Specifications

A DPS will be an electronic file or set of files that may not exceed a total of 200 Megabytes. It is recommended that it contain the material that would ordinarily be found on about 20 normal exhibit pages. The file(s) must be in a format or formats such as HTML (with relative paths), PowerPoint, PDF, or Word Documents that can be read or viewed by a Windows browser. It can include text and graphic images, including animation, but, it may not include sound.

The DPS should have a title page that describes the topic of the study and indicates how it should be viewed (scrolled, use of hypertext linkages, Table of Contents in a frame, etc.). DPS that are not easily viewed by a novice computer user may be rejected.

The individual or team of individuals need not own the material that is displayed in the DPS, but must have the legal right to include it in the DPS and allow its reproduction as described above. In addition to currently owning it, they may have scanned it at an earlier point in time when they owned it, may have obtained written permission from the current owner to include it in the DPS, or have obtained it from some public source. Signing the application form signifies that the individual or team has the appropriate legal rights to illustrate all material which is included in the DPS.

Every image that is included, with the exception described below, must have been taken from a real item and an original image of that item or part of that item must be included in the display. The original image is defined as an image that resembles as closely as possible the real item or that part of the real item that is given in the display. The original image may be magnified or reduced in size, but such changes in size must be noted in the text associated with the item.

Additional auxiliary images that are enhancements of any kind of an original image may be included in the DPS as long as the display clearly indicates the original image from which the auxiliary image was derived and specifies the way in which it was enhanced. For example, if a cancellation is lifted from a canceled stamp, then the canceled stamp would be the original image, and the lifted cancellation the auxiliary image. The study would have to indicate both that the cancellation was lifted and show the stamp from which it was lifted.

A constructed image that is one which is created by electronic means and not derived from an extant, real item may be included in the DPS if it plays a critical role in furthering the argument being made in the display. Such constructed images must be labeled as such and the critical point it makes must be clearly indicated. A DPS may be rejected if it makes extensive use of constructed images or if any of the constructed images do not meet the requirements specified above (critical to the argument and labeled as such).

Submitting a DPS

DPS accepted for the show must be submitted on a CD received by Monday, 8 September 2008. Applications will be acknowledged as they are received.

Judging of the DPS

Judging of those DPS submitted in the competitive class will be undertaken by a panel of three judges. Several criteria will be assessed including, but not limited to, the intellectual merit of the subject chosen, the methodology of the study, the significance and appropriateness of the conclusions reached, the furtherance of philatelic knowledge and understanding, the completeness with which the story is told and illustrated, the concordance between text and illustrations, and the ease of use by the viewer.

The Jury will select first, second and third place entries. Prizes will be awarded for first place and second place. An additional prize will be awarded to the DPS selected by viewers as the 'Most Popular' exhibit.

Designated award certificates will be given to the first, second and third place entries and award certificates for participation will be given to the other individual applicants, and to the Captains and team members of all accepted DPS submitted, including those submitted as non-competitive DPS.

The decisions by the judges shall be final.

For further information, contact Dr. Edward Grabowski at (908) 337-0039 (edgpe2003 @ yahoo.com), Richard Maisel at (212) 982-6796 (rm3 @ nyu.edu), Colin Fraser at (845) 679-0684 (frasers @ writeme.com), or Jim Roselle at (516) 759-7000 (joroselle @ erols.com).