The World’s First International One Frame Stamp Championship Exhibition

In an interview which first ran in the June Issue of Gibbons Stamp Monthly (back copies are available to buy here).  Isobel Klempka spoke with Chairman of CAPEX David McLaughlin.   David shared his knowledge and insight into One Fram Exhibiting as well as a little on how to get started. Below is some of the interview.  

Isobel Klempka on behalf of Gibbons Stamp Monthly spoke to chairman of the exhibition committee, collector and exhibitor David McLaughlin all about CAPEX 22 the world’s first International One Frame Stamp Championship Exhibition and why it is important to help more people exhibit within the hobby. 
David McLaughlin started collecting in his youth, and subsequently got back into collecting in 1998, and  started exhibiting nationally in around 2006.  His main exhibit is a multi award winning 8 frame exhibit entitled The Maple Leaf Issue of Canada 1897-1898 which has won Gold medals at four FIP world exhibitions from 2016-2019 and a Large Gold medal at Stockholmia 2019. Looking for something else to exhibit, David found One Frame Exhibiting. He has three One Frame Exhibits which he shows including the 1933 UPU Preparatory  Meeting in Ottawa, 1933 World’s Grain Exhibition held in Regina (Open Class) and an Ottmar Zieher Picture Postcard exhibit.    David was responsible for the idea for the world’s first International One Frame exhibit after attending the 2018 FIP Congress meeting.   At the congress the need for smaller exhibitions was discussed to help encourage more people to get into international exhibiting.   

Tell me a little bit about CAPEX 22?
The history of international CAPEX exhibitions dates back over 70 years to 1951 when the first CAPEX was organized to celebrate the centenary of Canada’s first postage stamp, the 3 Penny Beaver. Three more CAPEX exhibitions were held in 1978, 1987 and 1996. These were all large 8-day multi-frame exhibitions with several thousand frames of exhibits in competition. 
CAPEX 22 is the world’s first International One-Frame Stamp Championship Exhibition. It is being hosted by the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) with the patronage of the Federacion Interamerica de Filatelia (FIAF) and the recognition of Fédération International de Philatélie (FIP). 
We are very pleased with the level of support that we have received from exhibitors, the philatelic trade, philatelic societies, sponsors, donors and the philatelic community worldwide for this exhibition. 

What is one frame exhibiting
One frame exhibiting was only set up about 25 years ago, as a wonderful way for beginners to get into exhibiting. It allows exhibitors to show themes and topics that they couldn’t show in a 5 or 8 page exhibit.  It ensures collectors can celebrate niche topics bringing interest for experienced collectors. There are lots of well recognised national one frame exhibitions which people can partake in. 
One-frame exhibiting is all about telling a full story of a subject in one frame of 16 standard pages or its equivalent in larger pages. The exhibit can be in the format of any other class such Traditional, Postal History, Thematic etc. but the topic must be such that it can be fully covered in 16 pages. It was conceived as an exhibiting entry point providing a means for new exhibitors to develop exhibiting skills without requiring many years to acquire the material. That objective is as valid to today as it was in the beginning but there are also other reasons why one frame exhibiting is important. First, it allows for the development of exhibits of incredibly interesting subjects whose stories cannot be told with multi-frame exhibits.  Second, it provides a means for experienced exhibitors with mature multi-frame exhibits or who have sold a large portion of their collection to enjoy exploring new subjects and developing new exhibits for many years past retirement. 
 
How does someone get into One Frame Exhibiting
There are good examples of one-frame exhibits on line to study. The Philatelic Federation of South Africa site has the SAVPEX one frame exhibits available from their 2020 and 2021 virtual exhibitions for viewing at https://stampssa.africa/exhibits/#savpex . Also, the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors (AAPE) site has many excellent one frame exhibits available for viewing at http://www.aape.org/exhibits.asp .  There are other sites that provide excellent examples on line as well.

Any tips and advice?
Pick several topics of interest and sketch out the types of material that will be required to tell your story. Do some research on line and through philatelic catalogs, reference books and auction catalogs to determine the general availability of the material. Pick a topic that appears doable in one year. Some material you were hoping to find will be elusive but your focussed search will unearth things that will surprise you.  Aim to get your new exhibit into your first physical or virtual exhibition within the year time frame. 
The trick to creating the perfect one frame exhibiting is ensure your pick a topic which fits.  If the judges perceive the topic to be too narrow or to wide to fit into a one frame exhibition you will loose points.  
The America Philatelic Society (https://stamps.org) has lots of tips and advice on One Frame Exhibiting as does the FIP website.  (https://www.f-i-p.ch) 
 
More information on the show and those exhibitors who have won prizes can be found here.