Polar
philately consists of philatelic material with a polar (Arctic and Antarctic) character.
It is an organized international philatelic activity since the mid-1950s.
At the exhibition it was possible to see materials from this area, which is
interesting not only for those who deal with it, but also for those who want to
learn more about polar history. Both parts, the North and South Poles and their
surroundings, may seem at first glance unattractive to those who do not
know their history. But the opposite is true. Polar philately includes
expeditions of all kinds, parts of aerophilately and military postal history,
thematics, ie polar oriented subjects or geographics, ie subjects from
traditional polar places. Visitors could see exhibits from these five main
categories in a wide range from the earliest postal documents to interesting
current presentations of polar topics. It was a unique opportunity
to see extraordinary polar materials at one place.
What is the
connection between the “Polar Salon” exhibition and the countries where the
exhibition is held?
International polar philatelic
exhibitions are held regularly in various countries, usually in countries with
a strong polar expeditionary history and a tradition of polar and collecting
activities, such as France, Germany, Monaco and Denmark.
But we also have important collectors of
polar philately. In addition, the Czech Republic has been making considerable
efforts in the field of polar research for decades through the scientific
activities of the Czech Antarctic Research Infrastructure, which also includes
its own polar stations – on the coast of James Ross Island there is Johann
Gregor Mendel station, on Nelson Island there is planned the construction
of a new research station CZ * ECO Nelson on the place of original station.
They are part of the Center for Polar
Ecology.
What were the
highlights of the exhibition?
The Polar Salon presented polar
philatelic exhibits of extraordinary significance comparable to the most
interesting items that occur in general philately. Unique materials was
exhibited, such as the first letters from the Antarctic region, where
scientific research was part of the expeditions of seal hunters and research
expeditions from the early 19th century, such as the Ross Antarctic Expedition.
You could see rare documents from the Belgian Antarctic Expedition and its
first planned wintering in Antarctica (late 19th century). You could find
complete materials documenting the first French, German, British, Swedish and
Scottish Antarctic expeditions (early 20th century). The oldest known philatelic
material from Greenland (18th century) or material showing the oldest transit
of the Northwest Passage (in the middle of the 19th century) was also
interesting. However, there were also interesting exhibits with more modern
material.
Why is polar
philately so fascinating and what attracts people to it?
That is a good question. One category of
this material is described as “archival”. These are items full of
history that you could expect in museums and archives as an important
historical artifact. The fascination with this material gives it appeal beyond
what can be found in their basic postal nature. But even modern polar
philatelic material has an added touch of adventure and the secrets of the
polar regions. Perhaps the very demanding environment of the polar regions
evokes a feeling of physical and emotional danger in someone. More than
100 years ago, Robert E. Peary, an explorer and first at the North Pole,
replied to the question of why he was continuing his research in the Arctic,
that he had signed a contract with the “Arctic Fever.” The polar
philatelic material is also interesting because almost no items have been
cataloged and therefore a large amount of information is difficult to access
for the general public. In addition to the existing unique types of materials,
new discoveries are made every year (especially the postal history from the
early polar expeditions). In some cases, some polar expeditions would be completely unknown today without
this philatelic material. Just as it is difficult to live in the polar
regions, so it is difficult to find most of the historical philatelic material.
And this may make polar philately so attractive to all.
More information is available on the Liberec 2022 website:
History of Antarctic Exploration
History of Arctic Exploration
