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What patch reference book do you use?


Insigina Hunter
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Insigina Hunter

Hello all, Ive been collecting WWII patches for a few years now. I own a couple books on the subject but I would like to see what everyone else uses for this hobby. The main book I use is by Christopher P. Brown titled "US Military Patches of WW II"

 

I can not recall the title of a group of books that I would like to buy... There are 3 volumes to this book but I can not remember the name of the author or the title of the books. I know that not a great description but if you know the one that I am talking about please let me know.

 

So, what book do you use for your patch collecting and what era patches do you focus on?

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I've used Richard Smith's books for years. Others have been published since, but the Smith books suit me fine!

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Insigina Hunter
I've used Richard Smith's books for years. Others have been published since, but the Smith books suit me fine!

 

title to the book?

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I have one of the Smith books, the title is "Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the U.S. Armed Forces 1941-1945." It has photos of the patch fronts and a detailed description of each unit (the bulk of the book). I use it more for the unit histories than I do the patches.

 

I use Brown all the time and have the Keller and Keller series. It is nice and the photos are great. No pictures of the patch backs. I'd love to hear about some other patch books, I am definately in the need for a more advanced reference.

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"Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the US Armed Forces 1941-1945" and "Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the US Army 1946-1989". by Richard W. Smith. I think both of these books are good references. They don't delve in to variations or all those unofficial patches, Mr. Smith sticks with authorized patches.

 

I have depended on these books for years.

 

Dennis

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I use Chris Aleck's book "Authorized Shoulder Sleave Insignia of the US Army" 2012 this is a great inexpensive up to date reference. I also have Kellers books (four of them) and MR Smiths books as well as numerous others.

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"Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the US Armed Forces 1941-1945" and "Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the US Army 1946-1989". by Richard W. Smith. I think both of these books are good references. They don't delve in to variations or all those unofficial patches, Mr. Smith sticks with authorized patches.

 

I have depended on these books for years.

 

Dennis

 

 

I could say the exact same thing. My copy of "Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the US Armed Forces 1941-1945" is well-loved...

 

Dave

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Problem with Morgans book is it has errors and shows fantasy and fake patches, but does not distinguish between them and the authentic patches. That becomes a problem for new collectors who may not know the difference. So back to what many old time collectors have said, the best way to learn is to talk with expirenced collectors / dealers and handle the real deal (what ever you collect) in person.

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Chunky Monkey
United States Military Patch Guide [Hardcover] by JL Pete Morgan

http://www.amazon.com/United-States-Milita...f=cm_lmf_tit_23

 

The OOP prices are absurd ( I bought mine for $30.00) I really like this book, no detail in explaining the Patch but helps you identify patches.

 

Leonardo

 

 

What do you mean OOP prices? I can't believe the prices of these books ~ wowza ~ nutz!

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What do you mean OOP prices? I can't believe the prices of these books ~ wowza ~ nutz!

 

 

Very surprised that no one mentioned the ASMIC patch pamphlets; these are my most used and contain many variations. Main negative is that they are not in color and are drawings not photos. Until recently when the above mentioned books came out like Steins,Browns ,Morgans and Kellers the ASMIC books were my go to source. Mort

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Smith's, Keller's, Stein, + the Rossignolli books,from Macmillan to include the Macmillan/Blandford book on Parachute Badges and Insignia of the World. Also I still love my Evans E Kerrigan Book, THEE very first Book on U.S. patches and badges I ever got, I got it for Christmas 1973 from my Parents, I will cherish it always.

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What do you mean OOP prices? I can't believe the prices of these books ~ wowza ~ nutz!

 

Sorry, OOP means Out Of Print.

 

Leonardo

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Problem with Morgans book is it has errors and shows fantasy and fake patches, but does not distinguish between them and the authentic patches. That becomes a problem for new collectors who may not know the difference. So back to what many old time collectors have said, the best way to learn is to talk with expirenced collectors / dealers and handle the real deal (what ever you collect) in person.

I agree as a book trying to figure out variations and the differences between real, repo and fantasy it isnt the best book, but for identification purposes its a very handy book.

Most of the Medals Of America books have issues but over all i use them quite often for identification purposes.

 

Leonardo

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Proud Kraut
I can not recall the title of a group of books that I would like to buy... There are 3 volumes to this book but I can not remember the name of the author or the title of the books. I know that not a great description but if you know the one that I am talking about please let me know.

 

So, what book do you use for your patch collecting and what era patches do you focus on?

 

Are you talking about the books William and Kurt Keller edited? "United States Army Shoulder Patches..." including thousend of color pictures of patch variants from WW I to Korean war era of

- Armies/Corps

- Infantry Divisions 1st - 40th

- Infantry Divisions 41st - 106th

- Armored units insignia

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I agree as a book trying to figure out variations and the differences between real, repo and fantasy it isnt the best book, but for identification purposes its a very handy book.

Most of the Medals Of America books have issues but over all i use them quite often for identification purposes.

 

Leonardo

 

I bought the Medals of America book on Air Force insignia and it was so bad, I never bought any of the others. I figure if they can't tell the difference between USAF insignia and modern US Army insignia, the books were not worth the money.

As for Army patch identification I mainly use Aleck's & the Briton/Washington books. For USAF patch ID, I use Polders. There are several others I use and often refer to the wartime National Geographic issues on insignia. Since I collect a much broader area than just WWII, any patch identification publications are usefull.

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For every "dedicated" patch reference book there are others which contain detailed images of patches as a part of their overall content. Impossible to list them all here, but, for example, Ken Lewis' (General Apathy) "Doughboy to GI"...Gary Howard's "America's Finest" (Airborne patches and ovals etc) Jon Maguire's books on USAAF flight jackets etc. etc....there's a whole bunch of them out there. You'll need a big bookcase and plenty of $$$ to accomodate them all!

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Smith's, Keller's, Stein, + the Rossignolli books,from Macmillan to include the Macmillan/Blandford book on Parachute Badges and Insignia of the World. Also I still love my Evans E Kerrigan Book, THEE very first Book on U.S. patches and badges I ever got, I got it for Christmas 1973 from my Parents, I will cherish it always.

 

I still have my 1970s copy of Kerrigan's book too. It was the first hardback book I ever bought. I remember when I got it home what a thrill it was to sit with the book and match up all the patches. I always wanted to get Kerrigan's other book on US medals but I just never got a copy. Last month at a used book sale I found a copy signed by the author. Just dumb luck, but it made my day.

 

Dennis

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When I started collecting patches the only reference were the wartime National Geographics and Kerrigan's book. I bought every one that came out for several years. The best are those by Richard W. Smith for the older stuff and Chris Aleck for the newer. I like the Keller books and U.S. Military Patches of World War II by Brown. For World War I, Organization and Insignia of the American Expeditionary Force 1917-1923 by Dalessandro and Knapp. The books by Britton have some iffy patches as do some other books.

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Very surprised that no one mentioned the ASMIC patch pamphlets; these are my most used and contain many variations. Main negative is that they are not in color and are drawings not photos. Until recently when the above mentioned books came out like Steins,Browns ,Morgans and Kellers the ASMIC books were my go to source. Mort

 

How do you get copies of the ASMIC pamphlets?

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I bought the Medals of America book on Air Force insignia and it was so bad, I never bought any of the others. I figure if they can't tell the difference between USAF insignia and modern US Army insignia, the books were not worth the money.

 

 

Funny, that is the only MOA book I don't have!

 

LF

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I still have my 1970s copy of Kerrigan's book too. It was the first hardback book I ever bought. I remember when I got it home what a thrill it was to sit with the book and match up all the patches. I always wanted to get Kerrigan's other book on US medals but I just never got a copy. Last month at a used book sale I found a copy signed by the author. Just dumb luck, but it made my day.

 

Dennis

 

Yes for a little boy it was a special book, the book is not all bad you know, I have the third printing of 1972 it still can be of help in a quick pinch. When I started to get more and more patches and ranks, I colored the line drawings in with crayron for the patches I already had, with the blank uncolored ones being ones I NEED TO GET :lol:

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