2019.04.24.

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Sportcentrum De Mammoet, Gouda

April 17-20 2019

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Gouda is not only the world famous city of cheese, but also a well renowned philatelic city. For over 25 years the International Fair De Brievenbeurs for stamps, postmarks and postal histrory is held exactly in this building. So „everybody” knows: Easter Friday and Satrurday: Brievenbeurs! This year however philatelists gathered in another place, in Sportcenter De Mammoet.

 

The change this year was not only the place, the fair itself became to be much larger, had much more participants and the organizer was not De Brievenbeurs but the national Stichtig Filatelische Evenementen itself. Stamp collectors exhibited over 760 frames many of which bore thematic character presenting Gouda’s past in more than 300 frames on postcards.

 

The organizers paid much attention to presenting the versatility of stamp collecting and to presenting how one can make use of stamps by loving them in another way. So we had the opportunity to set up our our corner, our own stand. This was not that easy task for the organizers as being stamp exhibition makers they did not have their own picture stands. The Dutch organizers, nevertheless managed this task well, so we got the opportunity to exhibit among others the trio of „Chessplay in Three Moves” and also two pictures reflecting Dutch life, the „Tulip Garden” and also the „Bycicle”. Many of the traders and exhibitors were already familiar to us from London but we made new friendships as well. So we now have new friends now from the Netherlands and from Paris also. Our new French partners extended even and invitation to their next exhibition  to Paris this year.

 

This exhibition was of course a bit different than the London one but I think we were successful in making a new step on the way of building a road between art and stamp collecting!