Complete disaster area. That 'Ohhhh' thing when you find the smashed up box plainly full of one (likely departed) man's shiny things... They've gone to a good home.
Ah - yes, my local auction house is full of lots like that. Someone's carefully-assembled lifetime collections of stuff, presumably being sold off by uncaring relatives. Makes you feel like a bit of a vulture . . .
Ran across this in a local shop and bought it based on it being an artillery memoir. Stuart started off in AA guns near Dartford but then transferred to a unit sent to Narvik. Later sections include Gibraltar and Tobruk. I guess he settled in Canada after the war as this was published in Waterloo Ontario in 1981.
The trouble with books is that dealers aim to pay nothing for them and wait twenty years to sell them, making up a price by counting clouds, or so it seems. Or, you give them to charity: if they have a new shiny look they try and sell them otherwise they go straight to landfill or an assistant who has heard of Abe books who has a bit of time to spare. Then they go to landfill to make room for a 250th impression of an Agatha Christie whodunnit. At the May auction sale by Woolley and Wallis of Salisbury I don't understand why Lot 358 was way over the estimate. You can see the Shanghai book online for nothing online. Otherwise, carefully assembled collections have not achieved estimates. MA250522 25th May 2022 | Woolley and Wallis Medals & Coins, Arms & Armour - 25 May 2022 LOT 342 A good collection of gallantry medal rolls and reference books Estimate: £150 - £250 Sold for £120 + Buyers Premium A good collection of gallantry medal rolls and reference books, including: Bilcliffe, 'Irreproachable Character/ The Award of the Royal Marines Meritorious Service Medal'; Henderson, 'Heroic Endeavour/ A complete register of the Albert, Edward and Empire Gallantry Medals'; Seedie's Submarine Awards; Fevyer, 'Acts of Gallantry..... Medals and Clasps of the Royal Humane Society... Awarded from 1830 to 1871'; McDermott, 'Register of the CGM 1855-1992'; McInnes, 'The Meritorious Service Medal/ The Immediate Awards 1916-1928'; Webb, 'Recipients of Bars to the Military Cross 1916-1920'; Brown, 'The Register of the Distinguished Conduct Medal 1939-1992'; Bate and Smith, 'The Roll of the Recipients of the Military Medal from 1919 to 1991'; and many other titles, mainly hard covers. [39] Medals & Coins, Arms & Armour - 25 May 2022 LOT 345 A collection of personnel lists and biographical references Estimate: £20 - £30 Sold for £20 + Buyers Premium A collection of personnel lists and biographical references, and similar books, including: Drew, 'Medical Officers in the British Army 1660-1960', two volumes, hard cover; Winton Thorpe, 'Handbook of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire... 1921'; Who's Who, six volumes (1933, 1937, 1940, 1945, 1953 and 1969); Markham, 'The Arctic Navy List 1773-1873'; Lummis & Wynn, 'Honour the Light Brigade'; and others. [17] Medals & Coins, Arms & Armour - 25 May 2022 LOT 346 A collection of medal and militaria reference books Estimate: £30 - £50 Sold for £30 + Buyers Premium A collection of medal and militaria reference books, including: A.A. Payne, 'British and Foreign Orders, War Medals and Decorations'; Rippingale, 'French Campaign Medals of the Great War 1914-1918'; Neville, 'A History of the Early Orders of Knighthood and Chivalry'; Perkins, 'Military and Naval Silver'; Hutchinson (pub), 'The Army in India a photographic record 1850-1914'; Mitton, 'The Policeman's Lot/ Antique British Police Equipment etc..'; and other titles. [qty] Medals & Coins, Arms & Armour - 25 May 2022 LOT 347 Royal Naval and other maritime history: a collection of books Estimate: £40 - £60 Sold for £40 + Buyers Premium Royal Naval and other maritime history: a collection of books, including: Benbow, 'Naval Warfare 1914-1918'; Wilson & Perkins, 'Angels in Blue Jackets'; Dugan, 'The Great Mutiny'; Grocott, 'Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Eras'; Singlehurst, 'Afloat and Ashore: The Royal Navy During the Boer War 1899-1902'; Bainbridge (pub), a photographic copy of the diary of Coxwain Leslie Frank, in H.M.S. Amethyst on the Yangtse River 1949; and others. [qty] Medals & Coins, Arms & Armour - 25 May 2022 LOT 348 A large quantity of military reference books Estimate: £50 - £70 Sold for £40 + Buyers Premium A large quantity of military reference books, histories, biographies and other subjects, including: Lt J.E.P. Wood, M.C. 'Detour'; Maurice, 'The Campaign of 1882 in Egypt'; Narbeth, 'Taku Forts'; Greenwell, 'An Infant in Arms'; Baker, 'Battle Honours of the British and Commonwealth Armies'; Peniakoff, 'Popski's Private Army'; Haythornthwaite, 'The Colonial Wars Source Book'; Fraser, 'And We Shall Shock Them'; Legg, 'Dorset at War'; and many other titles. [qty]. Medals & Coins, Arms & Armour - 25 May 2022 LOT 349 German Militaria: a small collection of reference books Estimate: £120 - £180 Sold for £100 + Buyers Premium German Militaria: a small collection of reference books, comprising: John R. Angolia: 'Cloth Insignia of the NSDAP and SA', 'For Fuhrer and Fatherland/ Political & Civil Awards of the Third Reich', 'Swords of Germany 1900-1945', 'For Fuhrer and Fatherland/ Military Awards of the Third Reich', 'Belt Buckles and Brocades of the Third Reich'; together with Ludwig Baer, 'The History of the German Steel Helmet 1916-1945' [6] Medals & Coins, Arms & Armour - 25 May 2022 A small quantity of books and bound journals | Woolley and Wallis LOT 358 A small quantity of books and bound journals Estimate: £60 - £80 Sold for £1,700 + Buyers Premium A small quantity of books and bound journals, including: 'Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China'; 'The Royal Artillery Commemoration Book' (Great War); 'The Royal Artillery Commemoration Book 1939-45'; and other titles.
The XVIII Airborne Corps VARSITY order must've caught somebody's eye. Makes you wonder what the other bits are...
I had the same thought, I had a quick look at the lots in a local auction house and found a No.38 Wireless set with a starting bid of £10
Couldn't really leave a sliver of Zaloga on early Abrams in the shop for a quid, could I. Bet I've already got it. Sigh.
I wouldn't worry about being a vulture. Esp if the items are appreciated. I despair more of all the stuff that's ended up over time in skips/landfill sites. While I agree about how it's a shame that medal groups / collections are broken up, photos are removed from albums, etc, leaving no background or little context, for me it's more a case of how things are treated by the middlemen, either through ignorance or to maximise sales. Although it happens, it's not necessarily a case of "uncaring relatives". Some people die with no close family, leaving strangers to sort through belongings and decide what's 'valuable'. Some families are required by courts to itemise and then auction their relative's property in order to cover debts such as care fees. And there also comes a point when it's impossible to take in more stuff simply for sentimental reasons.
Ok - I've seriously blown my budget this month . . . First "Tank-Infantry Cooperation in the British Army 1935-1949" Then Brian Bond "British Military Policy between the two World Wars" Then "Wehrmacht weapons testing at Kummersdorf" (thanks to Von Poop) Plus I've fallen for an advance payment for Dick Taylor's "Armoured Warfare in the British Army 1939-1945" . . . And then we went to Bath today and I found these:
The "Buyer's Premium" on the sums shown above, including the vat, comes to 30% so lot 347 ( estimate £40 to £60 but sold for £40 plus 30%) came to a grand total of £52. There were two original editions of Janes' Fighting Ships, a 1914 edition and a 1939 edition ( plus about 46 other books ). Amounts asked for original Janes's ( there are lots of facsimiles ) usually range between £50 and £250. Perhaps VP bought the lot: he likes a bargain. But no tanks, so no good. After all, it is the content of the book that matters, however it is wrapped up. By the by, I think admirers of Siegfried Sassoon ( of which I am one ) would give a good home to the items recently sold by the same auction house, but the reproductions of his caricatures in the catalogue are very well presented, and I have no wish to own one. PW310522 31st May 2022 | Woolley and Wallis "Our May sale is led by The Siegfried Sassoon Collection (lots 1-77), the highlight of which is a wonderful still life by his friend Sir William Nicholson (lot 77). The painting is a stunning demonstration of Nicholson’s ability to capture the nuances of tone and surface in response to light and shadow. The collection also includes over 40 of Sassoon’s own caricatures and drawings, which depict some of the most notable figures in the literary and social circles of the period, including the Sitwells, Rudyard Kipling, T. E Lawrence, William Butler Yeats, T. S. Eliot and John Masefield. There are also numerous first editions of his work, various items of correspondence, family photographs and notably Sassoon’s original handwritten manuscript of his poem The Child at the Window. These works have remained in Sassoon’s family since his death, available to only the occasional scholar, and will be offered for sale for the first time."
Finally got round to purchasing this epic tome, which has intrigued me for a while: Think I might post a review if or when I've finished it.
Just released. I find floatplanes/flying boats fascinating so I had to get this. Some great info on floatplane fighters.
I blame Markyboy for telling us about Sapper Clack. Off I went to buy and it all went wrong from there really.
Love it! Happy to take the blame. I’ve ended up out of pocket so many times due to write ups on here I’m glad I’m on the other side for once!
Have just posted a separate thread about this one, but thought I'd better repeat it here, just in case: https://ospreypublishing.com/chobham-armour CONTENTS (Subject to confirmation) Part 1. Main Battle Tank Development Centurion FV215 Conqueror Countering the Soviet Tank Threat FV4201 Chieftain Chieftain Variants Novel Concept Studies UK German Future Main Battle Tank MBT80 and the 4030 Programme Challenger 1 Challenger 1 Variants Challenger 2 Future Concept Studies Part 2. Medium and Light Tracked AFV Development Light Tanks and Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance Tracked 93 Carriers and Armoured Personal Carriers Warrior AFV of the 80s Stage 1 Other Light and Medium Tracks Concept Studies Part 3. Wheeled AFV Concepts and Development Saladin and Saracen Ferret and Fox Part 4. Other Vehicles Associated with Chertsey 1 Ton Armoured 4x4 Humber FV180 Combat Engineer Tractor SP70: 155mm Self Propelled Howitzer Annex A: List of FV Numbers Annex B: Centurion Data Annex C. Chieftain Data Annex D: Challenger 1 Data Annex E: CVR(T) Data Annex F: FV430 Series Data Annex G: Warrior Data Annex H: Saladin Data Annex J: Saracen Data Annex J: Ferret Data Annex K: FV721 Fox Data Index
Yee-harr!! It's finally arrived! (But now I've got a copy of my own, that's the rest of the reading on the backburner for a while . . . Dammit!
Just today I have acquired: Goodbye to all that Old Soldiers never die The war the infantry knew I shall never clear this book backlog.