News – EN

(wm-pcp) Almost four months before IBRA 2023, the World Exhibition to be held in Essen on 25-28 May by the Bund Deutscher Philatelisten in cooperation with Jan Billion, organiser of the 33rd International Stamp Fair, the organising team has already announced the overall programme for the event. There has hardly ever been anything like it!

The official programme:
The programme is divided into three overviews. On the one hand, there is the so-called “Official Programme”, which lists not only the opening hours but also numerous highlights. Some receptions or evening dinners are by invitation only, others – for example the festive evening, but also various coach tours – can be booked in a few weeks via the website www.ibra2023.de. Here, too, as always: first come, first served. If there are any remaining tickets, they will be available during IBRA at the Philately Centre in Hall 7.
more at: https://ibra2023.de/en/programm-en/gesamtprogramm-en/

IBRA 2023: The programme of the IBRA stage in the glass foyer:
(wm-pcp) The IBRA stage awaits visitors as early as 11 a.m. on 25 May 2023 for the opening ceremony. Afterwards, it will be the focal point of numerous presentations by renowned experts on various exciting topics. The IBRA stage is located in the so-called glass foyer in front of the entrance to Hall 8 (Trade Fair Hall of Commerce) and up to 100 visitors can be seated there so that they can relax and listen to the speakers. After all, there are 18 lectures on the four exhibition days, as a rule probably digitally illustrated, which also take up the completely unusual.
more at: https://ibra2023.de/en/programm-en/programm-ibra-buehne-en/

IBRA 2023: The technical programme of the CPh Forum Philately:
(wm-pcp) CPh is the acronym of the Consilium Philatelicum, which, in keeping with IBRA 2023, was able to organise a specialist programme of special topics thanks to the support of philatelists from Germany and abroad. A total of 20 lectures / presentations were held. The majority will be held in German, some also in English. The topics are aimed specifically at more advanced philatelists or those who want to enter a new field or deepen their existing knowledge. All these lectures can be heard in room F, which is easily accessible on the ground floor of the event and offers space for about 50 visitors.
more at: https://ibra2023.de/en/programm-en/vortragsprogramm-cph-forum-en/

A recommendation:
Visitors to IBRA 2023 can only be advised to find out about these programmes early on and to make a note of what they want to see and when. The parallelism of different offerings does not make such decisions easy, but not everyone is interested in each.
As far as the IBRA 2023 festive evening, the so-called palmarès, is concerned, the good advice is: only a quick decision will secure you the place you want. This is because there are only about 200 tickets available for open sale due to the limited hall space. Urgent advance orders should be addressed to Reinhard Küchler, info@bdph.de. If there are any tickets left, they will be available from 1 April in the IBRA shop at www.ibra.de.
The general rule for all programmes is: Subject to change.

(esc) Some of you may already have noticed that it is not easy to book a hotel room in Essen during IBRA. The organising committee keeps receiving emails saying “There are no more hotel rooms in Essen for IBRA”. The good news is that this is not true. Essen has countless hotels and it is easy to find accommodation at reasonable prices during IBRA in Essen. It is more difficult if you want to book a room for the last night before the start of the event – i.e. for the night from Wednesday, 24 May 2023, to Thursday, 25 May 2023. Then, unfortunately, you will not always find what you are looking for or, in individual cases, you will have to pay 300 euros and more for an overnight stay. The same applies to a few days before this date. The reason is another “mega” event, which means that many hotels in Essen are simply fully booked BEFORE IBRA. But as said: not during IBRA.

So what to do? For those who can, we recommend arriving from Thursday, 25 May 2023. Even for stays of several days from 24 May, there are still rooms available in various price ranges and districts of Essen, as you can easily find out via the usual online booking platforms, such as Booking.com and hrs.de.

(wm-pcp) What will take place from 25-28 May 2023 in Exhibition Hall 8 in Essen is likely to remind many of earlier times, when the International Stamp Fairs in Essen were downright „bear raging“! At this year’s 33rd fair, which is being organised together with the world exhibition IBRA 2023, this is once again the case. More than 100 dealers and postal administrations will offer their philatelic treasures on almost 4,000 square metres. With stands of 22 postal administrations, the hall offers a worldwide spectrum ranging from the Fiji Islands to numerous European countries. The centrepiece, of course, is Deutsche Post’s large stand, around which are grouped some 20 postal companies representing the most popular European collecting areas.

Equally impressive is the number and range of offerings from the international stamp trade. Of course, there are numerous important auction companies from Europe and overseas, renowned dealers in rarities from Great Britain, Switzerland and Germany, but also many dealers in letters and stamps, who offer a great variety of small-priced sought-after material at reasonable prices. There is something for everyone and it should not be difficult to find long sought-after material.

With this abundance, IBRA 2023 is clearly different from the big exhibitions, even the world exhibitions of the past year. Even in London, Lugano or Cape Town, the trade offer was quite clear. You should plan more than one day for food and prepare well in advance whose stand you want to visit. This is made easier by the early publication of the list of traders, which can be viewed at www.ibra2023.de or at https://www.briefmarkenmesse-essen.de/_messe/messe/aussteller/ already now – more than four months before the event opens. The stand numbers are also already mentioned there, so that one can easily find one’s way around the hall plan that will be published in a few weeks.

Available from Deutsche Post since 05.01.2023: The special-issue stamp “Zeche Zollverein” in the series “Landmarks in Germany” (Image: Deutsche Post)

The Zollverein colliery is located in Essen, formerly the largest mining city in Europe. Between 1851 and 1986, up to 8,000 miners were employed here, working in shifts above and below ground. When the facilities were shut down, a total of more than 600,000 people had worked there. Shaft 1/2/8, Shaft XII and the coking plant have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001. As an industrial monument, it commemorates an important part of German economic history; as an architectural monument, it reflects the unmistakable signature of the Bauhaus, which earned it the reputation as the most beautiful colliery in the world. Every year, some 1.5 million visitors tour the original preserved surface installations of the colliery and the former production facilities of the coking plant. In addition, not only companies have settled on the site, but also cultural institutions such as the Ruhr Museum and the Folkwang University of the Arts. (Text: German Philately Service, Wermsdorf)

Date of issue: 05.01.2023
Value (in euro cents): 110 cents
Design: The colliery’s winding tower in atmospheric evening light
© Jochen Tack
Design of stamp and postage stamp: Jennifer Dengler, Bonn
Printing: Multicolour offset printing by Bagel Security-Print GmbH & Co. KG, Mönchengladbach on coated white and fluorescent postage stamp paper DP 2
Postage stamp size: 55.00 x 30.00 mm

There will be a first-day postmark from Berlin to go with the new postage stamp and a special postmark for the first day of use in Essen.
Requests for postmarks can be sent to the following address:
Deutsche Post AG
Service and Dispatch Centre Weiden
Special postmark office
DE 92627 Weiden

More information on the Zollverein Colliery can be found on the Internet at https://www.zollverein.de/.

(wm-pcp) 20 years ago, the author Wolfgang Maassen published the first volumes of a book series he called “Chronicle of German Philately”. At first, the idea was to publish annual volumes that would only record the relevant events of the last 150 years of philately’s development, but a few years later, “special volumes” emerged that portrayed individual renowned philatelists, professional philatelists, but also companies, clubs and associations in sometimes very extensive volumes. In the meantime, 35 volumes have appeared in this series, including some in both German and English (in total, the author has published over 100 philatelic book publications since 1980). Thus, in the “Chronicle of German Philately” alone, almost 9,500 pages – mostly in DIN A4 format – have been accumulated. If one adds the author’s philatelic historical works published by publishers other than his own, the total number of these works adds up to 43 with about 12,500 pages. Almost all volumes were written by the editor Wolfgang Maassen himself, but some were also written by other authors such as Peter Fischer or, most recently, Hervé Barbelin. Two books have co-authors.

This book series, which is unique worldwide in terms of scope and content, will be on display in its entirety for the first time during IBRA 2023 from 25-28 May in Essen. Selected volumes will be on display in a small showcase, the complete series can be viewed on a book shelf. There will also be the opportunity to purchase titles that are not yet out of print on site in the reading and literature area of IBRA 2023 – and at attractive prices.

The Global Philatelic Network (Köhler/Corinphila) is presenting the Edition d’Or/Edition Special book series in showcases and on another shelf. Approximately 80 volumes (!) have been published so far in this most comprehensive series of unique collection documentations worldwide. Editions that are not yet out of print can also be purchased on site.

(wm-pcp) As is well known, the so-called centre of philately at major events, fairs as well as exhibitions is the contact point for all those interested parties who want to be competently informed about the advantages and services of the German philatelic associations. This will also be the case at IBRA, which will take place from 25-28 May 2023 together with the 33rd International Stamp Fair in Essen (exhibition halls 7 + 8). The Bund Deutscher Philatelisten e.V. (BDPh) will present itself there, as will the Deutsche Philatelisten-Jugend (DPhJ), the Bundesverband des Deutschen Briefmarkenhandels (APHV) and the Bund Deutscher Briefmarken-Versteigerer (BDB). An additional BDPh advisory stand in this Philately Centre will offer valuable information on collector protection and counterfeit detection. Last but not least, all commemorative printed matter will be available at an IBRA stand, i.e. philatelic IBRA-related covers and stamps, but also the exhibition catalogue and a selection of books published, among others, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the BDPh, etc.

As the organiser, the BDPh is presenting itself and German philately in its ‘centre’, but also to world philately. Comparable to other world exhibitions, it is presenting an unusual special show entitled “German Philately: Yesterday – Today”, which looks back on the development of philately in Germany since 1858. In ten showcases, the theme “From the first collectors, dealers, clubs and associations to the Federation of German Philatelists” is illuminated using selected philatelic objects, usually letters and postal stationery, in a way that has probably never been seen before. The unusual exhibit – already the format size of 21 x 21 cm of the 80 object sheets, which is necessary for the showcases, indicates this – was specially redesigned for IBRA 2023 by exhibitor Wolfgang Maassen, a well-known philatelic historian from Schwalmtal. For all those who do not have the opportunity to see this exhibit in person, the exhibitor is planning a publication of the exhibit in printed form, signed and numbered, which will be available in small editions at the IBRA stand during IBRA.

(wm-pcp) Those who visited the website https://ibra2023.de/ibra-schatzkammer/ in the past months already knew that during IBRA (25-28 May 2023 in Essen) a treasure trove will be on display in which the unique “Bordeaux letter” – the only known one with the blue and orange-red Mauritius Post Office stamp from 1847 – will be exhibited. Thanks to the mediation of Briefmarkenhaus Richard Borek GmbH & Co KG, this is once again possible after almost 15 years.

However, the text on the aforementioned website also hints that there will be further top pieces of the exceptional class around this “crown jewel of philately”. The annual preview of the Wiesbaden auction house Heinrich Köhler – the house is the official auctioneer, major sponsor and philatelic partner of IBRA 2023 – already reveals a little of the secret. For in this treasure trove of the IBRA, the three most valuable rarities of German philately will also be on display. These include: the only known first day cover of the “Black One”, the Bavarian 1 Kr. stamp of 1 November 1849, the legendary “Baden misprint” 9 Kr. on cover, which was printed on green instead of pink paper (only one other letter and one piece of cover are known of this one) and last but not least the only complete sheet of the “Saxony Three”, Germany’s second stamp, still in existence.

Never before has this “trio” been admired together, and it was only through the mediation of Dieter Michelson, managing director and co-owner of the Wiesbaden-based company, that Joseph Hackmey (UK), the Museum Foundation Post and Telecommunications and a private collector who has not been named made these rarities available.
More details are expected to emerge in the coming weeks and months about other precious objects that will be on display at the IBRA Treasury in May 2023.

This is good news for visitors, but bad news for exhibitors who hestitate to register: the 33rd International Stamp Fair in Essen, which is the commercial part of the World Stamp Exhibition IBRA from 25 to 28 May 2023, is almost fully booked. There are only a few small row stands available, which are suggested to be given away quite soon, looking at the figures of demand. In view of the Corona pandemic, this was not necessarily to be expected. Yet, it is evidence for the rank the Stamp Fair of Essen has achieved over decades.

Visitors will find international commercial offers presumably leaving nothing to be desired. There will be a number of rows of international post office stands around the large stand of the German post office of Deutsche Post. Traders and auctioneers will not only be from Germany and other European countries (Great Britain included), but will also come from overseas: companies from the United States, South Africa, and Australia will travel thousands of kilometers to present their offers in Essen.

Saving the best for last: Entrance continues to be free!

(wm-pcp) It is becoming increasingly clear that IBRA 2023 will be a very unusual event. On 12 November 2022, representatives of the BDPh board and the IBRA presidium – Alfred Schmidt and Walter Bernatek, accompanied by Dr Wolfgang Leupold – met with Reinaldo Macedo, the responsible FIP coordinator, to discuss jury appointments and other issues. Due to the expanded exhibit acceptance, it was necessary to appoint more jurors than originally planned, for which the BDPh board had already submitted proposals, which were approved and supplemented by Reinaldo Macedo. These will now be submitted to the FIP board and the individual jurors, respectively, so that it can be expected that the appointments will be determined at the beginning of 2023 and published shortly afterwards.

The Grand Prix Club and its members will present individual objects in approximately 10-12 frames at IBRA 2023, all of which are distinguished by noteworthy rarity and uniqueness.

A FIP Jury Academy is also being considered, which could perhaps take place a few days before the start of IBRA 2023 in Essen. Interested FIP jurors will then have the opportunity for further training on the basis of exemplary exhibits in a 34 framework. Such a project already marks IBRA as an exhibition where the world will be a guest in Essen.

(woe) „We join“, DPhJ leader of Munich, Markus Vester, is pleased to annonce. What does he mean by that? „Our youth group has just registered for the IBRA youth meeting“, the Bavarian youth group leader explains. The meeting is going to take place parallel to the IBRA world exhibition from 25 to 28 of May 2023 in Essen.

There will be a lot on offer for all young at heart people: besides visiting the youth center, and, as a matter of course, attending the IBRA, there will be highlights every day, such as the legendary Phila fete, and great trips: for Saturday afternoon a visit to the famous Zollverein colliery ist planned, guided by the company Zechenschicht. On Sunday, a trip to the German Football Museum in Dortmund is on the agenda. „The programme is very entertaining. It has convinced us“, Markus Vester continues.

„I´m looking forward to being reunited with all mein DPhJ friends at the youth meeting“, Jonas Vester, member of the Munich youth group, says. Besides this, Jonas would like to present his exhibit `Der Wettlauf zum Mond (orig.: Space Race)´ at the IBRA and is already curious about the opinion of the jury. By the way, there will be a special award ceremony for the youth on the IBRA podium on Sunday, 28th May, organised by the IBRA team.

The IBRA youth meeting is organised by the DPhJ (German Philatelic youth) with support from Förderkreis Junger Briefmarkenfreunde (support group of young stamp collectors). Accommodation is possible in shared rooms in the youth hostel Essen-Werden for 145 Euro for adolescent DPhJ youth members, respectively, 195 Euro for adults.

How to take part? Registration is quick and easy, Markus Vester explains. The registration form, as well as a detailled schedule, you can find on https://www.dphj.de/ibra

(esc) On the last day of the international FIP exhibition in Capetown, the FIP flag has been passed to the representatives of the BDPh board and the IBRA organising committee. Alfred Schmidt shows himself delighted, saying: «We are looking forward to bringing the world of philately to Germany and to the city of Essen in May 2023. We have planned a great programme. Everybody is cordially invited to come to Essen.»

The countdown clock shows that there were 193 days left on 12th November until the start of IBRA 2023. There is still much to do for the organisational team. Yet, the joy grows every day.

The day before, Alfred Schmidt had been given the Grand Prix Interna tional for his exhibit «Prussia – The first three issues». Having both, the flag and the Grand Prix on board, the journey to Essen is sure to be even more fun now.

(wm-pcp) The originally planned number of competition exhibits in frames was 2,800 and the organisers calculated only 2,200 frames internally – due to Corona. But when the registration deadline came, at the end of September 2022, all fears were swept aside: so many exhibits were registered worldwide that 4,300 frames would be needed. Now the IBRA organising team had to find the golden mean between what was desirable and what was possible at all. After careful consideration, it settled on 3,400 frames for exhibits, almost 20 percent more than initially planned. The selection of exhibits has been made and the list has recently been submitted to the FIP, which has to examine it.

Hall 7 of Messe Essen, the so-called IBRA Hall, will therefore be entirely used. Including the hall for the International Stamp Fair, Hall 8, IBRA will offer a space of 12,000 m2 (!), which even optimists would not have expected a year ago. This will now also make it possible to increase the number of study group stands, ten more of which expressed their interest after the closing date for registrations, which means that approximately 65 (!) working groups will be presenting the world of philately.

This diversity is also reflected in the programme of the CPh-FORUM PHILATELIE and on the IBRA stage in the entrance area (trade fair foyer). Renowned experts from numerous countries, as well as connoisseurs and experts from the major sponsors Deutsche Post, the companies Christoph Gärtner and Heinrich Köhler will present currently important (advice) topics of interest to every collector on the IBRA stage. The programmes are expected to be announced by the end of the year. Then the appointment of the jurors from all over the world should also be known.

It will also be cramped in Hall 8, the hall of the International Stamp Fair. A number of postal administrations and trading companies have recently expressed their interest in participating. Deutsche Post alone will be represented with a large stand of 300 m2! Trade fair agent Jan Billion, organiser of this traditional event, sees many good reasons why this fair – despite all political and other difficulties – will even more offer the whole world of philately to visitors.

One thing is clear: this coming IBRA 2023 will be the largest stamp exhibition that has taken place in Europe for a long time. It will thus join the ranks of its predecessors, IBRA 73 in Munich, IBRA 99 in Nuremberg and IBRA 09 in Essen. “Glückauf” – is what they say in the Ruhr region!

(wm-pcp) 30 September 2022 was the deadline for entries of competitive exhibits that philatelists from all over the world would like to show at next year’s International Stamp Exhibition in Essen from 25-28 May 2023.

Already a few days later it was foreseeable that the previously considered maximum number of 2,800 frames for stamp exhibits would be significantly oversubscribed. Commissioner General Walter Bernatek commented on the current state of affairs on 5 October: “The figure of 2,800 had been a dream figure that was in the air. In the meantime, due to the crises in the world, we had even lowered our expectations and only expected maybe 2,200 frame bookings. Now we are completely shocked that 773 philatelists from all over the world have already submitted bookings for 3,800 frames via the 72 country commissioners. But that’s not the end of the line, because new applications are constantly coming in, so we have to calculate with more than 4,000 frames.”

IBRA Team President Alfred Schmidt also announced, however, that the first thing to do now is to check the registrations, and that further new registrations should not be accepted. In view of the significant overbooking, it is also to be expected that not all registrations will be accepted. Another problem is not only the number of frames needed, but also the time for the later necessary set-up, because unfortunately the time frame cannot be extended by one or two days.

Conclusion: These are not easy questions that the IBRA organisational team now has to solve. Overall, however, the result is more than pleasing, almost sensational, and a confirmation for the organiser, the Bund Deutscher Philatelisten, that this IBRA also enjoys high international reputation.

(wm-pcp) 114 literature registrations are currently available for the upcoming World Exhibition. This means that the minimum number estimated and requested months ago has been reached. After consultation with Commissioner General Walter Bernatek, it was decided to extend the deadline for applications for the literature competition class until 31 December 2022, similar to other previous World Expos. This is possible without any problems, as the literature and reading section of IBRA had been generously planned from the outset. A good and informative overview of this can be found on the website https://ibra2023.de/programm/literaturbereich.

Monographs, journals, catalogues, but also digital exhibits such as internet pages and much more can be exhibited. The regulations can be read at https://ibra2023.de/ausstellung/ausstellungsreglement. IBRA 2023 also shows itself to be innovative and collector-oriented in this respect: only a fee of 50 euros is payable per exhibit and only one copy of each printed exhibit is to be submitted. This means that the event now also offers other interested authors and publishers the opportunity to submit works that are currently in the pipeline.

(wm-AIJP/pcp) It was clear from the very start that for IBRA 2023 a spacious area should be reserved as a reading and literature area. The IBRA team has made for such an area available located in the front entrance to the IBRA hall, just in front of the stairway to the restaurant and the entrance from Hall 7. As much as 150 square metres! There was also consensus that the philatelic libraries should be given a representative area for their stands, as these are always in great demand among visitors. The Philatelic Library in Hamburg as well as the libraries in Wuppertal and Frankfurt have expressed their interest in participating. The organiser expects 100-200 literature exhibits to be displayed on more than 15 shelves. 18 seats at tables offer sufficient opportunity to browse the literature participating in the competition. In addition, there will be a special display of literature in showcases.

Starting from these basic data, Claudia Maassen drew up a first draught of the stand plan, in which all aspects are taken into account. To increase the value of this special area, it will even be carpeted, because visitors should feel comfortable and spend some time here, have conversations and refresh old relationships as well as make new contacts. The literature area is managed and supervised by the AIJP and its General Secretary Rainer von Scharpen and his wife Wiltrud. This team has already done a great job at LONDON 2015 + 2022 as well as Stockholmia 2019. In the plan, the “supervisor” table can be found on the right, and next to it a laptop will eventually be available to view the digital literature. Once again, Claudia Maassen, incidentally also a member of the AIJP, will be in charge of designing the shelves as well as the tables and display cases.

Anyone who knows anything about the trade fair landscape knows that such a large area with several booth set-ups and the equipment described above costs money. And not just a little. The author presented the IBRA team with a precise cost calculation for the project and also succeeded in finding a sponsor whose generous support made this enterprise possible in the first place: the Heinrich Köhler company in Wiesbaden and the Global Philatelic Network. These two companies not only make a good name for themselves as auction houses, but also as publishers with numerous releases every year. One cannot thank them enough for promoting philatelic literature!

(BDPh) Germany´s Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) agrees to take over the patronage of the International Stamp World Exhibition (IBRA) 2023 in Essen, the Federal Chancellery has now informed the Bund Deutscher Philatelisten e.V. in Bonn. “That is very good news, we are pleased about the commitment from Berlin,” says BDPh President Alfred Schmidt.

The IBRA will take place from 25 to 28 May 2023.

In his special address Chancellor Scholz writes: “I am very pleased that, after many years, this beautiful exhibition can take place in Germany again. For that I would like to thank the Bund Deutscher Philatelisten e.V., and the entire organizational team. I wish you and your guests from all over the world successful exhibition days and stimulating conversations during IBRA 2023!”

(wm-pcp) Ten days before the registration deadline, 13 members of the preparation team met for the first time in a long time for a two-day real meeting instead of a Zoom conference. The agenda included 24 topics, but in the end there were a few more.

The smaller working groups presented the progress they had made so far, while the larger group dealt with issues such as finances, rooms and their use, possibilities for expansion, e.g. for study groups, the upcoming PR planning, the printed matter programme, but also the special shows, treasury, catering and much more.

“We are well on time and on track,” confirmed BDPh and Team President Alfred Schmidt, and Event Director Jan Billion was pleased with a decision that admission to IBRA 2023 will be free. “This is of great importance, especially at this time, because inflation and cost explosions, not only in the field of energy, are already hammering people enough,” he said.

Everyone was of the opinion that everything must be done to offer many people the opportunity to visit this world exhibition despite all imponderables such as the Corona pandemic or the Ukraine war. IBRA Head of Organisation Wolfgang Maassen summed up the outcome of this first meeting as follows: “It is far more fruitful to have met face to face once again and we made very good use of the time.”

(Dittmar Wöhlert) Die The German Philatelic Youth, the federal association of young stamp enthusiasts, is organising a painting competition as part of the World Stamp Exhibition IBRA 2023 (from 25 to 28 May at Messe Essen). The theme of the painting competition is “My World”.

“We invite all children to take part in the painting competition,” explains Heinz Wenz, Chairman of the German Philatelic Youth. They can paint their own world over the template; this can be something from their own hobbies, a motif from their town, family, school or circle of friends. “It is about a motif that moves the participants and is from ‘their world’,” as Heinz Wenz describes the painting competition.

All primary school children can take part in the painting competition. Of course, whole school classes and entire schools can take part in the competition. Attractive cash prizes await the young participants.

The best designs will be exhibited during IBRA and produced exclusively as individual stamps. Cash prizes will also be awarded to the most successful participants at an awards ceremony on Friday (26 May 2023) at 11 am. 3rd place will receive a cash prize of €50, 2nd place €100 and 1st place €150. In addition, the school class with the most entries will receive a cash prize of €200 for the class treasury. The school with the most designs will receive € 500.

Entry forms can be downloaded here. The deadline for entries is 31 January 2023.

(wm-pcp) Even the welcome page is strikingly different from the previous one. Instead of a static Bordeaux-Mauritius letter, one is now greeted by alternating pictures and short texts on the special shows of next year’s IBRA. Clearly arranged and almost tidy, the eyes wander below on essential focal points, some of which are already described now, but will then be filled with progress of the preparations: News, List of Exhibitors, Shop, Special Shows, Programme, International Stamp Fair. Now there is also the possibility (see “News”) to subscribe to a newsletter (see “Subscription to mailing list”), which is highly recommended, as up-to-date news will certainly be expected more frequently in the last months before the event.

The “special shows” mentioned are already to be found here: “Jewels of German Philately”, “100 Years of Inflation”, “German-American Salon”. In the first one everyone interested can exhibit his most beautiful or valuable piece on a sheet, which will later also be documented in a special book. That way, anyone can be an exhibitor at IBRA 2023. The detailed conditions can be found at https://ibra2023.de/juwelen/.

Yet, this is not all: you should also take a look at the other three items  under the heading “Special Shows”. The BDPh “Philately Centre” (ZENTRUM PHILATELIE) of the associations, will present a special show in 15 showcases around the theme “From the first collectors, dealers, clubs, associations, exhibitions until today”, which will have a lot on display (e.g. a letter of the verifiably first German collector). On approx. 120 exhibition sheets, one can see rarities and curiosities as well as highlights of German (association and club) philately of the last 150 years. Even the stand plan of the “Zentrum Philatelie” of the associations can already be looked at. In addition to the BDPh stand, there will also be the “IBRA stand” where visitors can purchase catalogues and books as well as commemorative covers and stamps.

Even the literature area shines, providing a small showcase display of old rare stamp albums from the 19th century and the more than 50 study groups guarantee a high-class information offer.

One thing is certain even now: the IBRA 2023 organising team is busy preparing further projects. The current German homepage will be translated into English in the coming weeks, so that this language version will also be available to all philatelists abroad from September. The registration deadlines for exhibitors are currently running until the end of September, and it is important not to forget this. BDPh exhibitors can send the completed application form to the National Commissioner, Frank Blechschmidt. Email BDPh.Kommissar@IBRA2023.de; all exhibitors from other countries please send their registration to the respective country commissioners.

(wm-pcp) As Günther Korn announced at an IBRA PP presentation on 23 July 2022 in Bonn, the space available at IBRA to be allocated to study groups is almost completely booked up. “In the last few weeks, another 20 bookings, some of them for large stands of the study groups, have been added, so that we have now reached the figure of 50. We had hoped for this considerable number, but did not really expect it,” Korn emphasised. However, he left open the possibility of even more, in case more working and research communities come forward. “We still have capacities, but this space is not directly visible because it is behind the exhibition frames. We’ll see if something else can be done there.”

Korn’s presentation was an important piece of information for the participants in Bonn, especially as he once again referred to the registration deadlines that expire at the end of September and the need for early hotel bookings. And, he had a surprise in store: Dr Heinz Jaeger, the 98-year-old Honorary President of the BDPh and the Consilium Philatelicum, has agreed to support IBRA 2023 as a Gold Sponsor. If this isn´t a sign!