Popradfila 2024
Tatra Gallery Poprad
October 31 – November 16, 2024
From October 31 to November 16, 2024, a premiere competitive philatelic exhibition with invited international exhibits was held in the Slovak city of Poprad, at the foothills of the High Tatras, in the premises of the Tatra Gallery.
The Prestige Philately Club Prague (PPCP) participated in the exhibition both in the competitive class and, more importantly, by bringing five representative frames featuring highly prestigious exhibits from its members. Notable among them was the exhibit dedicated to the world’s first stamp, the “Penny Black,” by Jaroslav Stuna, as well as a preparatory study for this stamp by Zdeněk Filípek. Considerable attention was also drawn by Petr Sobotka’s exhibit devoted to the first stamp of British Guiana – the 1 cent black on magenta in a block of four – as well as by Roman Šorejs’s exhibit featuring one of the rarest covers of the German colonial empire. It is also impossible not to mention one of the most important exhibits from the period of Czechoslovakia 1918–1939, namely the souvenir sheet depicting Křivoklát, which Marek Vrba kindly lent from his collection for the purposes of this exhibition. All these exhibits were displayed in a place of honor at the entrance to the competitive section and attracted the attention of all visitors, including schoolchildren, whose teachers explained the history of global stamp production and postal services in general. Through this presentation, PPCP succeeded in shedding light on philately among the Slovak public and demonstrated that philately can be a very engaging hobby for today’s young collectors, as well as a lucrative field of interest for both small and major investors from both professional and general audiences.
Three PPCP members took part in the competitive exhibition:
Mr. Marek Vrba with the exhibit “Czechoslovakia 1918–1939”;
Mr. Roman Šorejs with the exhibit “Airmail in German South West Africa 1914”;
Mr. Peter Vaňuga with the exhibit “Rarities of the First Persian Issue (Lion and Sun).”
All three exhibits were awarded gold medals, the highest distinction at the exhibition, and Mr. Marek Vrba, with a score of 96 points, became the overall winner of the entire exhibition.