The American Topical Association is hosting 12 virtual sessions during the month of October, with a special "Fall for Topicals" program during National Stamp Collecting Month.
Here is the schedule and details on how to register:
Topical Collecting 101
with Jennifer Miller
Saturday, October 3, 4:00 p.m. Eastern
Join ATA executive director Jennifer Miller in the topical classroom for some basic information about getting started in topical collecting.
Details & Registration
Integrating Errors, Freaks & Oddities into Your Collection
with Cemil Betanov
Tuesday, October 6, 6:00 p.m. Eastern
Cemil will discuss what EFOs are and give examples on how to integrate them into your thematic or topical collection. He will also give pointers on how you can find and buy EFOs.
Details & Registration
The Most Beautiful Bridge in Paris
with Tom Broadhead
Thursday, October 8, 6:00 p.m. Eastern
The Seine River, flowing through the French capital, is crossed by many bridges exhibiting striking architecture and dating for more than 300 years. This talk, from a traveler’s and philatelist’s perspective, reviews depictions of Paris bridges on stamps and highlights the most beautiful of all – the Alexander III bridge.
Details & Registration
Maps, Politics and Stamps: Some Examples from the Middle East
with Ian S. Lustick
Saturday, October 10, 4:00 Eastern
Ian S. Lustick is a political scientist and specialist on the modern history and politics of the Middle East. He currently holds the Bess
W. Heyman Chair in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He collects worldwide, but with emphasis on maps on stamps and politically instructive stamps.
Details & Registration
Presidential Grab Bag: The Variety You Can Collect
with John Hamman
Tuesday, October 13, 6:00 p.m. Eastern
Join John to look at many philatelic items that make up an eclectic collection of US presidents and presidential elections.
Details & Registration
Nurse Philatelic Stories with a Sampling of Exhibit Elements
with Ann Byerly
Thursday, October 15, 6:00 p.m. Eastern
Ann will present philatelic history as seen in postage stamps showing a nurse or nurses. Different philatelic elements will be used to illustrate nurses in philately for a stamp exhibit. Buying techniques and research resources will be discussed. Ann will show her favorite stamps.
Details & Registration
Stamping in Sequim
with Vera Felts
Saturday, October 17, 4 p.m. Eastern
Join Vera to find out what she’s been up to since retiring as ATA executive director in 2019. Visit her in beautiful Sequim, Washington, and catch up on her philatelic activities.
Details & Registration
Innovations Seen in US Railroad Topical Stamps
with Bill DeWitt
Tuesday, October 20, 6:00 p.m. Eastern
United States railroads, significant for the movement of U.S. Mail for 150 years, have been innovators for transportation. This presentation will discuss railroad locomotive innovation from the age of steam in the early 1800s to the era of internal combustion engines as seen in U.S. topical stamps.
Details & Registration
Indigenous Peoples of the World – on Stamps!
with Tom Broadhead
Thursday, October 22, 6:00 p.m. Eastern
There are more than 600 indigenous groups of people, the descendants of those who first inhabited many previously uninhabited areas of the globe hundreds or even thousands of years ago. These original peoples and their civilizations were often overprinted by European colonists, and their cultural traditions often have faded over the years. In 2007, the United Nations passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, intended to encourage member nations to protect those people and their cultural traditions. Stamps issued by countries with indigenous populations sometimes show those people and their remnant cultures. Explore the history of stamps depicting indigenous peoples world-wide.
Details & Registration
Telling Stories with Postcards
with Elizabeth Hisey
Saturday, October 24, 4:00 p.m. Eastern
This presentation will show you the wide variety of subjects that can be collected. It will also include the basics for starting to put together a postcard exhibit.
Details & Registration
COVID-19-Related Philately
with Jean Wang
Tuesday, October 27, 6:00 p.m. Eastern
COVID-19 has disrupted many aspects of normal life worldwide, including the delivery of mail. This presentation will showcase some of the stamps, postal markings, and postal history that the pandemic has contributed to philately.
Details & Registration
From Me to You: The Philatelic History of Roberto Clemente on Stamps
with Félix L. Pérez-Folch, Jr.
Thursday, October 29, 6:00 p.m. Eastern
This presentation will tell the story behind the eight official stamps issued in honor of Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker "The Great One - 21". The attendees will leave with a better understanding that not only was Roberto Clemente a great baseball player but also a great humanitarian.
Details & Registration
More information is available on the American Topical Association website.