Chuck Hoey, Curator museum@ittf.com
Issue # 15 November 1, 2009	ITTF Museum Newsletter

From the Curator's Desk

The annual autumnal delights have arrived, but this season has been especially active at the ITTF Museum, so not much time to enjoy the colors. In September members of the Swiss Swaythling Club visited for a tour - many fascinating stories.
A group of French Table Tennis collectors visited for several days in October, touring both the ITTF Museum and the Musée Olympique. Jean Devys announced the donation of his prestigious philatelic collection to the ITTF Museum. We are grateful for the opportunity to show this superb collection to the world via a special new website.
In the technical arena I am pleased to report some great progress, with installation of a second touch-screen video exhibit - more interactive capabilities! I also added a Donate Now button to the Museum homepage, enabling secure cash donations via PayPal or bank transfer. Bill Gates, please take notice! Plans are in motion to add more French and German signs throughout the Museum, and work is ongoing to produce a beautiful brochure for our Museum. A new & updated Virtual Tour will soon be available, thanks to Sharif Sourour & Mariann Domonkos.
In Shanghai an exhibition at DHS HQs is nearing completion.

Swiss Swaythling Club Visit

Some members of the Swiss Swaythling Club visited the ITTF Museum on 13 September. L-R: Laszlo Földy, Theresia Földy, Markus Fruchti, Thomas Sadecki. We appreciate their warm reviews of the Museum, as well as many colorful & historic stories reminiscing from their careers as players.

Swiss Elite 10 trophy kindly donated by Laszlo Földy, along with the personal rackets of Laszlo & Theresia.

Cash Donations
via ITTF Museum Website
I am pleased to announce a recent enhancement of the ITTF Museum homepage: ittf.com/museum Secure cash donations by PayPal or direct bank transfer are now possible. Such donations can help the ITTF Museum acquire historic items as well as finance improvement projects in the Museum. Donors can send special instructions, such as In Remembrance of ... or indicate if they prefer to remain anonymous. A list of donors will be available on the ITTF Museum Donations page.

JEAN DEVYS Donation

Jean Devys of Roubaix, France, new ITTF Museum Ambassador

Members of the French Table Tennis Collectors' Society visited the ITTF Museum in October, including President Hubert Menand, Secretary Marc Templereau, and the renowned Jean Devys. Jean announced the donation of his superb world-class philatelic collection to the ITTF Museum. I plan to create a special website showing each piece in the collection so it can be preserved for all to enjoy. Jean was appointed an ITTF Museum Ambassador & given a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Bravo Jean Devys!

The ITTF greets the French collectors. L-R: Neil Harwood, ITTF Exec. VP, Jean Devys, Chuck Hoey, Museum Curator, Marc Templereau, Hubert Menand
and Jordi Serra, ITTF Executive Director

New Interactive Touch Screen Video Exhibit

I am pleased to announce installation of our second touch-screen video exhibit. This enhancement adds more interactivity to the Museum, and is planned to connect with a projector that beams the videos onto a transparent screen that is suspended over the DHS table from the 1961 World Championships. The videos, kindly edited by the talented and dedicated Dr. Scott Gordon (USA), show highlights of Fred

Perry, Victor Barna, Laszlo Bellak, Miklos Szabados, Richard Bergmann, Bohumil Vana, Johnny Leach, and women champions: Maria Mednyanszky, Anna Sipos, Ruth Aarons, Diane & Rosalind Rowe, and legendary Angelica Rozeanu. Japanese stars from the 1950s are also shown, as are brief moments from the 1969 (Ito-Schoeler) and 1983 (Guo-Cai) World Mens Singles Championships.

Filming for an ITTF Video
A professional film crew arrived to do some filming for videos planned by ITTF Marketing Director Steve Dainton. Some scenes of the ITTF Museum were filmed, as well as an introduction by the curator. They put make-up all over my face in a (hopeless?) attempt to improve my appearance on camera - a first for me! ITTF Media Coordinator Marius Widmer was on hand to supervise the filming.

ITTF Museum On the Air In October the ITTF Museum had the opportunity to air a brief broadcast on World Radio Switzerland, an English language station based in Geneva. No make-up needed for this session! I summarized the great success of Table Tennis as a major inter- national sport, and invited the listening audience to visit the ITTF Museum. We love such moments to promote our sport and the Museum.
Contact the curator to receive e-mails about the new issues: museum@ittf.com	Online Table Tennis History Journal A magazine devoted to the history of Table Tennis and its memorabilia is available free as a pdf download via the ITTF Museum website, or by direct link: Magazine The Table Tennis Collector is published 4 times a year, and is enjoyed not only by collectors across the globe, but also by those who are fascinated by the colorful history of our sport - over 2 million pages downloaded since the ITTF Museum began its publication in 2006. Each issue is packed with 24+ pages of historic information: research articles, vintage photographs, exhibit reports, and regular columns on auction trends, books and Table Tennis philately. The Fall issue is scheduled for release on 1 November; it shows some important Heavy Metal, challenges the readers with another mystery photo, and looks at new dicoveries & old treasures. The Winter 2010 issue is scheduled for 1 February. Visit the Museum homepage: www.ittf.com/museum and click on the magazine cover icon to retrieve any issue. Allow time for the pdf download to complete, as they average 4 MB in size.
Did You Know ... ?	There are over 5000 pieces in the ITTF Museum, including 1000 rackets! Why not plan a visit to the Museum soon - groups welcome. Contact the curator to make a reservation.