11 March 2019
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Stampex International recently took place in London and saw a queue around the block on the first day, as collectors waited to gain access to a range of dealers and special philatelic exhibits.
The show, which takes place at the Business Design Centre in Islington, featured a special Court of Honour exhibit from two female philatelists, featuring examples of the oldest known Valentine’s Day cards (dating back to 1700s) from Judith Holder’s collection, and a collection of love letters sent during the Denmark-Prussian war in 1864 compiled by Birthe King.
Meanwhile, hundreds of frames of philatelic exhibits were on display as part of the ABPS National Competition.
The Philatelic Traders’ Society (PTS) also launched a new charity campaign at the event, inviting collectors to donate their unwanted stamps to the MacMillan Cancer Support ‘Donate-A-Stamp’ stand.
Autumn Stampex plans
During the four-day show the PTS also took the chance to clarify the status of the event, which will be taking a break in spring 2020 due to the holding of the London 2020 eight-day exhibition in May at the same venue. Despite suggestions that this year’s event would be the last Spring Stampex, the organisers stated that no such decision had been made, with the organising committee due to discuss options at future meetings.
Stampex International is the UK’s largest stamp collecting exhibition, and the official show guide for the September event will be included with the October issue of Stamp Collector magazine.