Philatelic Gold (and Vermeil) in St. Louis

Each year I enter one or two philatelic exhibits in national level stamp shows with various library history related topics. I’ve been doing this every year since 2003, and I find the development of these exhibits to be both enjoyable and challenging. This year I developed a five frame exhibit on “America’s Membership Libraries” and a one frame exhibit on “Hiram E. Deats – The Life of a Jerseyman”. The debut of these two exhibits was at the Saint Louis Stamp Expo last month. Philatelic exhibits are judged by a panel of experts accredited by the American Philatelic Society. They are judged against a set of criteria that varies depending on the division in which the exhibit is entered. My exhibits are entered in the Display Division which allows the inclusion of ephemera as well as postal artifacts. Each exhibit is eligible to receive one of the following medal level awards (in ascending order): bronze, silver bronze, silver, vermeil, and gold. Exhibits are also eligible for a number of special awards. In St. Louis my “America’s Membership Libraries” exhibit received a gold award, and the “Hiram E. Deats – The Life of a Jerseyman” exhibit received a Vermeil award.  For both exhibits I was also recognized by The Ephemera Society of America for the use of ephemera in my exhibits. My primary motivation in exhibiting is telling the story of America’s libraries, but it's always nice to receive recognition for my efforts.  Incidentally, Hiram E. Deats was a world renowned philatelist and also a big supporter of libraries. Click Here for more information about Deats.