American Topical Association

The American Topical Association (ATA) is a US-based philatelic society and the largest organization devoted to topical stamp collecting.

American Topical Association

Formation	1949
Founder	Jerry Husak

History

The American Topical Association (ATA) was established in 1949 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by Jerome (Jerry) Husak.

In 1988, the ATA became an affiliate of the American Philatelic Society.

The ATA celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2024.^[1]

Philatelic Services

• Bi-monthly issues of the 92-page Topical Time, the official journal of the American Topical Association. The journal includes topical articles, checklists and dealer advertising. Among the regular features in Topical Time are: "Topics on Postmarks," "Chapter Chatter," and "Units in Action" and at least one multi-page feature article. Topical Time is available in print and digital formats.
• The ability to participate in one of the many Chapters of the ATA. American Topical Association Chapters are geographical stamp clubs who have affiliated with the ATA. These chapters meet throughout the United States. There are currently 40 chapters, including 5 Canadian and 4 international chapters located in Australia, Great Britain and South Africa. For a complete list of ATA Chapters.^[2]
• Specific Topical Study Units.^[3] The American Topical Association is composed of members who specialize in thematic or topical philatelic collecting. Those who share a specific topic band together to form "study units." These units promote their specific topic and encourage research on that topic. The topics of study cover a wide range of areas from Americana on Stamps of the world to Wine on worldwide stamps.
• Handbooks. Handbooks play a vital role in making available to the topical collector research guides on various specific topics. The information for the handbooks have been researched and collated in some cases by members of some of the Topical Study units, and made available in printed or digital form by the ATA.
• Checklists Service The ATA provides Checklist for hundreds of topics on both popular and little-known areas of interest. For each stamp listed the following is given: Topic, Country, date of issue, denomination, Scott catalogue number, brief description, and non-Scott number if known. Checklists supplement the ATA handbooks on particular topics. The handbook serves as a reference item, and the checklist is a spreadsheet for collectors to use when shopping at dealer booths at stamp shows or on the Internet.

Members

ATA has members in nearly 100 countries.^[4] ATA also supports 50+ affiliated study units and 40+ affiliated local chapters.^[5]

Awards

ATA Distinguished Topical Philatelist medal

The Distinguished Topical Philatelist (DTP) is the highest service award offered by the ATA, given for service to topical philately in general and to the ATA in particular. It was established in 1952 by ATA's founder Jerry Husak and has been presented to over 120 individuals, including residents of Canada, Great Britain, Italy, and the United States, since its inception.^[6] The first Distinguished Topical Philatelist award was presented to Allyn H Wright in 1952. The annual award ceremony is held during the ATA's National Topical Stamp Show.

Events

ATA table at the World Stamp Show-NY 2016 at the Javits Center in New York City.

ATA's annual National Topical Stamp Show was an all-thematic philatelic exhibition and dealer bourse with meetings, seminars, and youth activities for collectors.

In June 2017, ATA and American Philatelic Society (APS) announced that they will combine their annual national shows starting in 2018.^[7] The combined show was held in August 2018 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.^[8]

Starting in 2021, ATA, APS and the American First Day Cover Society (AFDCS) joined forces to organize a combined annual show called the Great American Stamp Show. The first combined show was held in August 2021 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.^[9]