Essential Militaria Books Every Collector Should Have
These eight books are essential militaria books in the market, and they primarily focus on U.S. Army WWI and WWII collectibles. Some also cover foreign items but are indispensable for their genres.
1. G.I. Collector’s Guide
If you could only have one reference, this is it. It is well organized with large, isolated color photographs of each item and with concise captions. For uniforms and headgear, it even shows closeup photos of the tags you ought to be looking for. This book is, quite literally, the Sears catalog of what you’re after.
2. Individual Gear and Personal Items of the GI in Europe 1942-1945
This book doesn’t get much notice among collectors but compliments the G.I. Collector’s Guide (#1) very nicely. It, too, has large, quality color photographs with descriptions. There are items in this book not seen elsewhere. This book is highly recommended.
3. American Web Equipment 1910-1967
For a comprehensive guide to U.S. Army web gear (from the Spanish-American War to Vietnam), this book fits the bill. It has plenty of color photos. The descriptions point out the differences in similar pieces, which can be quite subtle. This is an indispensable resource, if you are, or wish to be, a serious collector.
4. Canteen Covers of the Rock Island Arsenal
Books on U.S. Army 1910 canteens are practically nonexistent. For that reason, this is an extremely valuable resource.
It has clean black and white photos of 1910 canteens, both cups and covers. It says Rock Island Arsenal on the cover, but it also includes AGM, the original producer of 1910 canteens.
It features a very scarce one I wasn’t even aware of, even after a few years of collecting 1910’s. I got lucky and found three for sale. One was priced within reason so I bought it. The other two were outrageously priced and I doubt they will ever sell.
I wouldn’t have known how to recognize them without this book. It does not name the several minor suppliers who helped crank out the millions of canteens needed in a hurry during 1918. The model 1910 was produced and issued until 1942.
5. U.S. Martial Web Belts and Bandoliers: 1903-1981
This is the go-to guide for cartridge belts, garrison belts, and web bandoliers. It’s known as the “Dorsey” book, although he wrote others.
Each one is shown with clear black and white photos, along with a description of the unique features of each. There are around twenty variations of WWI-era rifle cartridge belts issued by the Army.
If you are attracted to collecting some, or most, you won’t know one from the other without this book.
Sellers commonly mislabel them in ads, so you’ll need this book to determine what they are selling, even if they don’t know.
6. World War One Volumes 1 and 2
This is an excellent introduction, and ongoing reference, to WWI U.S. Army equipment, uniforms, and weapons. There are black and white photos of each with a short description. To quickly get up to speed on WWI U.S. Army collectibles, this is what you want.
7. A Basic Manual of Military Small Arms
This is a neat book dated 1943 by W.H.B. Smith. This is the very first edition ever, but it’s been updated frequently up into the 1990s, in paperback and hardcover.
It’s an exhaustive survey of old and new small arms of many more countries than listed on the cover, with photos of each weapon, with step-by-step photos showing how to field strip each one. It contains a technical description of every military small arm you can think of.
8. Bayonets from Janzen’s Notebook
This is the Bible if you’re going to collect bayonets at all. It’s organized by country with a paragraph about the distinguishing features of each bayonet.
The bayonets are all represented by simple line drawings, which sounds disappointing, but is an advantage because the subtle differences between them standout more clearly than they could in photographs. It’s a thick book and covers any bayonet you could be interested in.
If you’re collecting within a very narrow range, like only German helmets, there are books available that go into excruciating detail. These books have broader coverage which can help you decide on where to focus, or where to expand next.
There are numerous other books covering much of the same collectibles as the books above. I have a lot of them. But I’ve spent more time with each one of these than all those others put together. These are the ones in which the subject matter is covered comprehensively, is the easiest to follow, and is the easiest to understand.
–
4 Comments