Sberatel Fair attracted thousands of collectors to Prague

For the first time in Europe, the fair featured an artefact that no one else had. A Czech collector acquired a rare „Facing slip“ from the Titanic’s ship’s mail. This small piece of paper carries not only the history of the famous ocean liner, but also a rare trace of the tragic event.

The Facing slip, which belonged directly to the ship’s post office, is referred to among collectors as the Titanic Facing slip, the address slip that the ship’s mail went through. This particular one had been postmarked on sailing from Southampton just four days before the tragedy, and was stamped with the personal stamp of the clerk of the ship’s post office “O.S. WOODY” (pictured) the line stamp “TITANIC”. It is thus a unique testimony to a historic disaster. There are only thirty such slips in the world, of which only ten are available on the open market. The rest are held by prestigious museums and institutions.

Titanic-related rarities have attracted a lot of media interest. The Sberatel Fair has been featured in major television news, tabloids and on the most visited website on the Czech Internet.

The Titanic artefact was on display at the Sberatel Fair in a generous exhibition with a range of engaging information that attracted hundreds of visitors.

Especially for the exhibition, the Czech Post prepared a commemorative postcard with a picture of an address label, a commemorative postmark and a seven-block imprint.

The first public display of the Titanic address label was also commemorated by the popular 0 euro souvenir with a picture of the famous ship. The banknote is also interesting because it is the first 0 euro souvenir to be completely created using artificial intelligence.

To mark the 60th anniversary of the release of the first Fantomas film, the Sberatel Fair issued a 0 euro souvenir banknote, a nine-print note with a drawing by artist Roman Sedlak (in the middle between Petr Jirásek and Jindřich Jirásek, the organisers of the fair) and a collector’s novelty – a gift blister with a nickel-plated medal.

A unique exhibit with two originals of the rarest philatelic artefacts from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, the so-called “Heydrich sheet with envelope” and the “R. Heydrich commemorative plaque with envelope”, were on display at the autumn Sberatel Fair in the Prestige Philately Club Prague exhibition in the foyer of the exhibition centre.

A postage stamp with the motif of the first Czechoslovak aerodynamic car Wikov 35 Kapka also had its premiere at the Sberatel fair. The drawing is the work of artist Petr Ptáček, who came to the Sberatel to present it in person (in the photo with the hat).

 A commemorative postcard with a dinosaur motif issued especially for this year’s Sberatel was brought to Prague by the Kyrgyz Express Post. On both days, it was possible to get the signature of the artist Daria Maier, who has been creating postage stamps for Kyrgyz Express Post for a long time, at its exhibition.

A number of exhibitors brought collector’s artifacts issued directly to the Sberatel to Prague.

Graphic sheets by artist Milan Bauer, inspired by Jules Verne’s books and issued as custom made stamps, were on sale at Sberatel. The author came to the event to show them in person and then signed them at the big autograph session of the Czech Post, which took place on the first day of the fair.

Antonín Panenka, the 1976 European champion from Belgrade came to the Sberatel fair to personally present his collector’s commemorative banknote. The commemorative sheet in the form of a banknote was issued last year on the occasion of his 75th birthday and also on the 30th anniversary of the Football Internationals Foundation.

Football international and representative Jan Koller and world champion and Olympic medallist in biathlon Gabriela Soukalová arrived to the Sberatel to present their own collectible figurines at the fair. They also willingly signed all the collectors’ items.

The Prague Gem and Mineral Show, which accompanies the Sberatel Fair every year, has grown into a separate hall this year. Visitors were able to buy precious stones, minerals, jewellery or just get inspiration for home creations.

Traditionally, the Vinyl & Stereo Expo and the Rock & Metal Market is also held alongside the Sberatel Fair on Saturday. Collectors could find rare records from nearly forty dealers from all over Europe, CDs, cassettes and music memorabilia.

Collectors will have another opportunity to meet and buy new material at the Christmas Sberatel fair, which will take place from 22 to 23 November at the Olympik Hotel in Prague.

• Sberatel fair

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