American Topical Association to offer two online courses in May

By Linn’s Staff

The American Topical Association will offer two courses via the Zoom online platform in May.

“Wondering How to Mount and Display Your Collection? Make Your Own Album Pages!” will be presented in three sessions May 4, May 6 and May 11. Each session will begin at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. The course will show how to design pages on a computer and print them or take them to be printed.

The course will be taught by Martin Kent Miller and Jeff Hayward.

Miller owns the Philatelic Press, a design and marketing firm geared to the needs of stamp collectors. He has worked as a graphic designer for 30 years and enjoys making album pages. He also edits numerous publications, including First Days and the United States Specialist. He designs many publications for the ATA and edited the 2020 book Topical Adventures — A Guide to Topical and Thematic Stamp Collecting.

Hayward, the ATA first vice president, works in the computer field and assists the ATA with its technology. An avid collector, he designs album pages for his many topics.

The cost for this course is $25 for ATA members and $40 for nonmembers. Registration is open on the ATA website.

The five-part course “Thematic Exhibiting:  Steps to Success” is designed to give students practical information to use in planning and developing a thematic exhibit. The individual parts of the course will be offered May 15 (4 p.m. Eastern Time), May 18 (6 p.m.), May 20 (6 p.m.), May 22 (4 p.m.) and May 29 (4 p.m.) The cost is $35 for members and $50 for nonmembers.

ATA president Dawn Hamman will present the first session, which includes an overview of the decisions collectors need to make in planning, writing the thematic story, and acquiring and describing material. There will be a discussion of resources to use along the way. Hamman is a thematic exhibitor, writer and editor.

The second session, taught by Miller, will cover layout and design, including choosing paper, page design basics, matting, and typefaces and size.

The third session will be a case study. Prominent thematic exhibitor Phillip Stager will go through the steps he took in developing his award-winning exhibit “The Wonderful World of Bamboo.”

Stager has been exhibiting since high school and has won many top awards for his thematic exhibits.

He is a retired philatelic judge who served as chief judge for the National Topical Stamp Show several times. He wrote the chapter on thematic exhibiting for Topical Adventures — A Guide to Topical and Thematic Stamp Collecting.

Jean Wang will lead the May 22 session, titled “How to Choose a Wide Variety of Philatelic Items for Your Exhibit.”

She is one of the foremost thematic exhibitors working today. She will describe how she selected a wide range of philatelic items to tell a thematic story.

The final session of the course on May 29 will be a wrap-up for students to report on their progress and ask questions.

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