Stamp exhibitions need an addition to their classifications, because at present they ignore the largest body of collectors: those with general collections mounted in printed albums.

Let’s face facts; more people collect in printed than blank albums, and are general or one-of-a-kind collectors, rather than specialists. More people understand this form of collecting better than any other yet when clubs or societies stage stamp exhibitions, all but the specialists are frozen out in the classification of entries and the awards made by juries.

Is it any wonder then that the millions of “outside” collectors don’t attend stamp shows or take an interest in clubs? We make them feel like “step children”.

We need a place in every show where these printed albums with their general assemblages of stamps can be entered. We need awards for worthy efforts in this category. We also need judges with an appreciation for the more generalized stamp collecting interests of these millions of people. The fact that these millions don’t find twenty varieties where Scott only finds one shouldn’t freeze them out of the shows.