The American Topical Association (ATA) has released two new program DVDs, Scouts on Stamps and Nursing on Stamps. ATA’s multimedia program is headed by Dennis Dengel of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and is an outgrowth of slideshow presentations, which were at one time a standard for local stamp club programs. Today’s multimedia programs are suitable not only for stamp clubs but for civic groups, youths, or presentation of interesting facets of stamp collecting to others. They run on DVD players of all kinds, for display through television sets, projectors, or computers.

The new ATA DVD on Scouts on Stamps is the perfect complement to any collector interested in the topic. Over 100 slides in the original program were converted to an 18-minute DVD narrated by Richard Dreiling. The ATA is listed as one of the “go to” references on the requirements page for the Stamp Collecting Merit Badge on the Boy Scouts of America website.

Through the illustrated stamps, postal stationery, covers and collateral material on the DVD, one learns about the founding of Scouting in 1907 by Lord Baden Powell (1857-1941) when he devised a camp-out comprised of ~20 youngsters. Today there are ~ 38 million Scouts in at least 216 countries. The stamps on the DVD picture the founder, various scouting activities such as camp-outs and international jamborees (first held in 1920 in London, UK), and the Boy Scout emblem. The DVD program also covers the Girl Scouts, founded in 1912, plus the younger Cub Scouts and Brownies.

There is a direct connection between ATA, the Scouting movement and the postal service of the Republic of South Korea. ATA member Harry D. Thorsen (1913-96) of Winnetka, Ill., a lifelong Scouting enthusiast and founding member of the Scouts on Stamps Society International, an ATA Study Unit, was instrumental in the design of South Korea’s Boy Scout stamp issued in 1956. This is just one of the many historical facts about Scouting mentioned in the DVD program.

The new ATA Nursing on Stamps DVD is based on a program originally produced in 1962 and later revised by James E. Bie. It contained 50 slides. Now converted to DVD format, the program runs 20 minutes so it would be an ideal program for any local stamp club meeting.

Many of the nursing stamps shown also honor the International Red Cross or the American Red Cross–both important organizations offering various nursing services. The person most responsible for US participation in the International Red Cross was Clara Barton, who appears on a 3 cent stamp in 1948 (Scott 967). Many interesting stories about nurses and the nursing profession are mentioned in this program.

The release of these DVDs brings to 30 the number of ATA multimedia offerings. Any ATA DVD is available for $10 plus postage ($1.50 US/Canada; $1.75 Mexico; $2.25 international). Order any two or more DVDs for $9 each. Up to five DVDs can be mailed for the initial postage cost. For a complete list of ATA DVDs, see www.americantopicalassn.org/

ATA DVDs are also available for rental for $5 plus postage.  To order or to rent a DVD, go to http://www.americantopicalassn.org/multimedia.shtml, or call 618-985-5100, or email americantopical@msn.com, or mail orders to ATA, PO Box 8, Carterville, IL 62918-0008 USA.
Contact Vera Felts, americantopical@msn.com, 618-985-5100, for further information.
Vera Felts
Executive Director
American Topical Association
PO Box 8, Carterville, IL  62918-0008
americantopical@msn.com
http://www.americantopicalassn.org
Phone/Fax: 618-985-5100