Books for Collectors of SS Items

[daveward]

Hey guys! I thought it might be interesting to start a thread where everyone can list what they consider to be the most helpful/useful books for collectors of SS items. Feel free to list your favorite books on uniforms, insignia, edged weapons, helmets, etc. I think such a list would be very helpful to both novices and experienced collectors. There's always more to learn!

My contribution to the list will be a book that was suggested to me by FB:


"Insignia and Artifacts of the Waffen SS" by Beaver and Bando.


I'll be picking this one up soon!

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Some of the books I have bought in the last couple of years plus.

[HPL2008]

These older threads may be helpful, too:

good book on SS cloth insignia?

Which SS Reference Book is better? Need Advice

[Adrian Stevenson]

I know FB and myself have said it many times, by the vols by Andrew Mollo are a must.

Cheers, Ade.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

These older threads may be helpful, too:

good book on SS cloth insignia?

Which SS Reference Book is better? Need Advice

May I say this: for novice collectors and beginners, one very simple method is to follow everything that Andreas writes and even thinks.

His contribution here has been exemplary and fulfills Kant's Categorical Imperative in a manner that I never can.

[M18922]

I have a couple of books covering the SS. Not many, though. A whole world of literature on the SS would open up if you know the German language.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

I have a couple of books covering the SS. Not many, though. A whole world of literature on the SS would open up if you know the German language.

which is the other salient point here, do learn German, as Patrick is doing with such skill.

Patrick is yet another of my favorite members here, who always adds something.

Robin Lumsden himself is a fine contributor to these fora, who, in addition, to his knowledge, always has a sense of humor.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

[Friedrich-Berthold]

I know FB and myself have said it many times, by the vols by Andrew Mollo are a must.

Cheers, Ade.

Thank you, Adrian. I still look at these books every week, and have done so for four decades.

They could be improved today in places, but those of us here at work are in daily conversation with his original work.

The present day colored picture books are no substitute for this foundation work.

And the novice who aspires to collect without a library, and or to engage here in a sensible way, cannot do so without having this part of the canon at hand.

This generalization might irritate those who want an "SS app," but the notion even of such a whiz bang belies some naive misunderstanding of what this is all about.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Here is what Bob Hritz said about all of this a while ago, and I take the liberty of citing him.

"....I agree with HLP2008 about the Mollo, Beaver, Williamson, Ulrich of England, and Lumsden tomes. You cannot successfully collect SS material without having studied originals. Next best to 'hands-on' examination are clear illustrations of originals.

....Sadly, many people are failures at collecting because they were raised in the 'instant gratification' era and demand that everyone else must do their work for them, or that they must be provided a risk-free, profit-guaranteed hobby. Since no human endeavour is risk-free and guarantees a profit, these are the collectors who fall by the wayside or collect the jetsom and flotsam that floats upon the sea of collectibles.

Bob Hritz ..."

I associate myself with this sentiment.