BRNO 2000
~ A Report
by: Jaroslav J. Verner
While it may be true that Brno is the second largest city in
the Czech Republic, the folks there have no intention of playing
second fiddle to anyone especially not when it comes to philatelic
exhibitions. From the time I was first told, during PRAGA 98,
by friends from Brno that they were planning an exhibition in
2000 to honor the 150th anniversary of Tom G.Masaryk's birth,
they repeatedly said theirs would be the better of the two exhibitions.
Now that both shows are behind it is tempting to compare them.
But since our friends and members are located all over the country,
and since the competition is theirs, I will leave the comparisons
of the exhibitions to them. I will say, though, that many of the
weaknesses we witnessed at PRAGA were avoided in this year's show,
while others were apparent.
Let it be clear that this was a very good show. It was a national
exhibition with "international participation"
and organized by the Union of Czech Philatelists and the Czech
Post. Philatelists were invited from those countries in which
Masaryk worked during World War I to further the cause of Czechoslovak
independence. That is why American exhibitors were invited to
appl and I am pleased to report that all American applicants were
accommodated. The exhibition was run under F.I.P. rules and with
the patronage of the Federation of European Philatelists (F.E.P.).
It opened on a Sunday and closed the following Saturday. It was
located in four buildings on the Brno Trade Fair grounds, all
of which were only a few hundred yards from each other. To alleviate
what some thought an inconvenience, a little motor "trolley"
kept moving between the various venues.
The exhibits themselves were placed is a series of smaller rooms
which allowed for plenty of space between the rows of frames and
hence easy viewing. It also gave this exhibit a feeling of intimacy.
There were sufficient chairs for the weary and a restaurant and
snack bar for the hungry.
The Brno organizers did everything possible to make the visitors'
experiences positive ones. (One even used his health insurance
card to cover the cost of medical attention for an exhibitor).
Even among this group of extraordinarily helpful and hospitable
philatelists, one stands out and needs mentioning. Zden k Ok
, Deputy Chairman of BRNO 2000, with his drive, availability,
and good humor, was ever ready to take on our problems, large
and small. His contributions were critical to the success of the
show.
For us, BRNO 2000 started when Lois and I (and the American
exhibits) were met upon landing in Prague by Ladislav Klus
ek, Chairman of the Exhibit Commission. He asked us to sit and
rest while he handled the formalities with Czech Customsnot the
speediest process. When the paper work was finally done we and
the American exhibits piled into a car supplied by the Czech Post
while our personal luggage was loaded into our police escort car.
We left the airport just as Prague's rush hour was beginning and
when it became clear we would be making slow progress through
the standing traffic, our police escort took over with lights
and sirens. We moved through the traffic smartly and were on our
way to Brno. Several members of the Organizing Committee were
waiting for us when we reached Brno, quickly took over responsibility
for the exhibit, and delivered us to our hotel for some much needed
rest.
Those of our members who participated in PRAGA would have been
as pleasantly surprised, as I was, once mounting of the exhibits
began. I was assigned two mounting teams who worked quickly and
obviously knew what they were doing. I later learned that all
involved in the mounting of exhibits had to participate in a training
session which covered the mundane as well as problems that might
develop. My role was to check the mounted exhibits and make any
decision needed for the few minor problems. All the exhibits where
up by 10 in the evening on Friday.
Since this was the Czech Republic, much more time was devoted
to an orchestral program than to the speeches during the exhibition
opening. The opening was attended by representatives of the city
of Brno, of the Czech Post from Prague, functionaries of European
philatelic organizations, exhibitors, and others connected with
the show. This was the first of several social events organized
by our Moravian hosts. All of them featured music, both folk and
classical, fine Moravian wines and plenty of food. On the entertainment
side, the piece de resistance was the extravaganza called "Palm re."The
evening was conceived and presented by our Honorary member Jan
Kar sek. As we entered the foyer we were greeted by a fine
folk orchestra and a table for tasting Moravian wine. As we entered
the main dining area, a sometime Sokol Hall, we were greeted by
an orchestra playing light classic and semi-classic music. When
they took a break they were spelled by a somewhat more modern
combo playing Moravian and Czech melodies. In addition to all
this we had a folk orchestra and dance troop entertain with traditional
folk songs and dances from the different regions of Moravia, a
performance by the Brno ballet and the Brno Opera. At one point
in the evening the mandatory speeches and award presentations
took place, but were kept short even while recognizing V.I.P.
guests and gold medal winners, much to the relief of all who,
on other similar occasions had had to sit through long, often
self-congratulatory, speeches and award presentations. Just to
keep the record straight, food and drinks kept flowing throughout
the evening.
Our Society's only "event" during BRNO 2000 was a joint
dinner with the Czechoslovak Philatelic Society of Great Britain.
This most pleasant evening, again organized by Jan Kar sek,
was held at the Hotel Slavija and was centered around delicious
Moravian dishes. But the real value of the evening was the opportunity
to re-new and make new friendships with those who share our collecting
interests. Almost 60 people attended. This social event also gave
those of us who came from the United States the opportunity to
meet with many of our members from other, countries which was
a rare treat.
It has become a tradition at exhibitions in the Czech Republic
to hold a Congress of Collectors of Czechoslovak and Czech Stamps.
The all day Congress was held on Friday at the Brno Communications
Training Center and was reasonably well attended. While attendance
certainly would have been higher had the venue been at the exhibition
site, cost factors argued for the facilities of the Training Center.
Papers were presented by: Ji Íkaloud on the column types of the
Hrad any issue; Jaroslav Verner on the mail of the Czechoslovak
Legions in France during World War I; Henry Hahn on pneumatic
tube mail; Pavel Pitterman on verifying the color variety 13 K
s stamp of the Ko ice issue; Jan Kar sek on forgeries of
expertizing marks; and a discussion on collecting modern covers.
The talks were translated simultaneously into Czech, English,
and German. The only glitch encountered was the failure of the
slide projector whichseverely reduced the effectiveness of Henry
Hahn's and my presentations.
Unfortunately, a number of well known exhibitors were quite unhappy
with the judging at BRNO 2000. While it is not unusual for some
exhibitors to feel their exhibit was short changed by the jury,
this time there seems to have been something to it. I carefully
examined the exhibits in question and spoke to many who were in
a position to know. Based on this, I must conclude that in the
judging area the exhibition had serious shortcomings. The first
of several troubling problems which was reported was that thejury
loweredseveral awards after they had been set, but before a final
vote had been taken. The reason? Seems that someone thought that
there were too many gold level exhibits for such a small show.
Rather than be pleased that the show was able to attract such
high level material, the leadership of the jury decided to arbitrarily
reduce some of the awards. The effect of this is that the exhibits
were no longer being evaluated on their own merits, but were compared
to other exhibits or judged by some yet unknown and unstated criteria.
In other words, not all exhibits were judged by the same criteria.
It is sad that the jury should have allowed itself to fall into
such a trap.
The second serious problem was with the air mail exhibit of Ludvik
PytlÍ ek. Members may recall that some years back the Society
and the American Philatelic Society expelled Mr. PytlÍ ek for
selling forgeries to our members and then refusing to make good
when the forgeries were uncovered. This time, 10 (some said
11) covers which were represented as something they were not,
were altered, or were total forgeries, showed up in his exhibit.
Putting the best possible interpretation on this, one could say
that the exhibitor did not understand the material he had. Another
interpretation might be that he understood all too well. It is
difficult to understand why this exhibit was not disqualified
outright. It is reliably reported that a number of the Czech jury
members did not wish to level any penalty for showing this large
number of fakes, but eventually a compromise was reached by lowering
the award by one step plus a letter supposedly being written to
Mr. PytlÍ ek telling him that if he exhibits these covers in a
future exhibition the exhibit will be disqualified.
Still and all, my own evaluation is that BRNO 2000 was a fine
show. It was well organized and effectively run. Its visitors
certainly went away with fond memories and many new friends. Our
thanks and congratulations to all connected with BRNO 2000 for
a impressive job well done.
Jaroslav J Verner
Society
Exhibits at Brno '00 by Henry Hahn
Photographs
from Brno 2000
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