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Norman D. Landing


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General Apathy
Now you're even a better guy in my book (keeping it on literary level), Ken. :thumbsup:

 

Erwin

 

Thanks Erwin, just speaking of a literary level then I know Jim Moran who wrote one of the earlier books on USMC ( 1993 ), he had a request for a signed copy of his book from an ex-marine who was also a big time collector of Marine stuff in the states.

 

Jim with that typical English sense of humor and familiarity which we all play on one another signed the guy's name into it and added ' Love and Kisses, Jim Moran ' I later heard that it didn't go down well and might have ended up being burnt at midnight in some dark area of a back-yard. :lol:

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 23 2010

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General Apathy
OK, so here's mine then....

 

I've always wondered if the 4500 copies were the entire initial print or just the signed ones....

And just how does one establish how many copies should be printed to satisfy initial demand.

Was 4500 a large number or were you making sure not to have too many unsold copies left...

 

JOhan

 

Hi Johan, The intention of the book was to try and give it some lasting quality, the best of everything was used, paper, glued and stitched spine, hard boards with real gold leaf blocking, quality loose color cover and each copy hand numbered and signed. It was also intended to be a one print limited edition.

 

I had seen other collectors books and disliked the amount of blank white spaces incorporated into the books, so I made sure that every page was printed with the minimum of blank areas. however I did leave a space across the bottom of page so that owners could annotate notes about items within that page, whether anyone ever used that blank space for notes I have never found out.

 

The print run was 4,500 because that was all the money I had left in the bank for printing, after all the research, travel, photographic, layout and other costs had left me with. It really was head on the chopping block when I wrote and published the book.

 

With all the continued interest for copies after the initial print had run out then a second and third print were printed, however these had no loose cover, no gold-leaf blocking and not signed or numbered.

 

This was all the plus sides of the book, I won't go into all the negatives things that occurred during the five years of research, writing and publishing. :crying: The one thing I will say, is that sadly the book was ahead of it's time in that it was much much too expensive to do more than sixteen pages of color, three years later and cost wise it would have been possible to do the full book in color. As I didn't give any thought to that one day color printing would become so much cheaper then all my photo's were done in monochrome.

 

But in finality a big big thank you to all who bought or owns a copy, :thumbsup: one of the extreme highlights of the book was to present my parents with a finished copy while they were both still alive. ;)

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 24 2010

 

 

p.s. the funny thing is when I joined this forum I did so anonymously and didn't sign anything with Ken or Lewis only General Apathy, however I think it was possibly Craig Pickrall that caught me out and first added my name when he was passing comments :lol:

 

 

 

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General Apathy
Hey Ken...how does this grab you? The person with the lowest numbered signed copy wins an all expenses paid trip to Normandy with the services of an expert guide! Whaddya think? Sounds like a winner to me!!

 

Ian ;)

 

Hi Ian, I think that's a fantastic idea, however you overlooked that I would win as I kept copy No # 1 :lol: , but I also loose as I kept copy No # 4,500 :blink:

 

Your always welcome though to drop by and Gin & tonic me when your in Normandy :lol:

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 24 2010

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Hi Ian, I think that's a fantastic idea, however you overlooked that I would win as I kept copy No # 1 :lol: , but I also loose as I kept copy No # 4,500 :blink:

 

Your always welcome though to drop by and Gin & tonic me when your in Normandy :lol:

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 24 2010

 

 

Bugger! :crying: Never thought of that! Oh well...never mind. Keep that there gin on ice Ken! Now then...where'd I put that Normandy Ferries timetable...?!

 

a bientot mon ami!

 

Ian ;)

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Ken...thank goodness you kept #4500...I was afraid I would have to buy everyone drinks on the 67th in Normandy next June having the number I do!

 

Personally, I find this one of the coolest threads I have seen in a while. Somehere along the lines of "Inland only made 4500 carbines of X pattern" or "McCord only manufactured 4500 pots with this stamp" I wonder where they all are?

 

It is like a Doughboy to GI family reunion!

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Lewis I'm only up to page 423. Got a ways to go, :lol: Maybe you can post your signature here and us less fortunate book owners can cut and paste for our books :blink: Robert

For your info my oldest Son made it home safely from Afghanistan :thumbsup:

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General Apathy

post-344-1282668728.jpg

 

Lewis I'm only up to page 423. Got a ways to go, :lol: Maybe you can post your signature here and us less fortunate book owners can cut and paste for our books :blink: Robert

For your info my oldest Son made it home safely from Afghanistan :thumbsup:

 

Hi Robert, first off congratulations to you, your wife and family for the safe return of your son from his call of duty. :thumbsup:

 

What's been happening, you been asleep or something your only at page 423, you need to get out there buying or you will never get to page 1,248 it will continue eluding you.

 

As per your request I did you a big joined up dedication for your book, I know your needing that with the age thing coming on and all, your beyond thirty now I believe :think:

 

( now if any of the other members wants to convert to being called Robert everyone can have one ) :lol::lol:

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 24 2010

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Ken...thanks to the modern wonder we know as "the internet" your signature will now be appearing on dodgy cheques form Normandy to Nicaragua!!

 

Ian :whistling:

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General Apathy
Ken...thank goodness you kept #4500...I was afraid I would have to buy everyone drinks on the 67th in Normandy next June having the number I do!

 

Personally, I find this one of the coolest threads I have seen in a while. Somehere along the lines of "Inland only made 4500 carbines of X pattern" or "McCord only manufactured 4500 pots with this stamp" I wonder where they all are?

 

It is like a Doughboy to GI family reunion!

 

Hi Jake, thanks for joining in on the silliness here, and look forward to the drinks in Normandy next year. ;)

 

I need to go cut the lawn now but will post my book number later, that is of course if I am allowed into the family reunion of book owners. :think:

 

Up above here you ask ' I wonder where they all are ' I can tell you that back when it was out of print at least three dealers I heard of had their personal copies stolen off their stands at shows :crying:

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 24 2010

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Ken...thanks to the modern wonder we know as "the internet" your signature will now be appearing on dodgy cheques form Normandy to Nicaragua!!

 

Ian :whistling:

 

Ian you are too funny! I don't have this book :crying: yet :think: It is one I am on the hunt for :thumbsup: .....Kat

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General Apathy
Ken...thanks to the modern wonder we know as "the internet" your signature will now be appearing on dodgy cheques form Normandy to Nicaragua!!

 

Ian :whistling:

 

Hi Ian, no problems I forged that signature anyway, as I changed my name by deed-Poll then all my signatures are actually now signed as General Apathy. :lol:

 

Something that I have never let on is that my checks actually have to have my middle name initial included in the signature. :thumbsup:

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 24 2010

 

 

 

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General Apathy
Ian you are too funny! I don't have this book :crying: yet :think: It is one I am on the hunt for :thumbsup: .....Kat

 

Kat, please don't encourage him, he's Welsh don't you know, when we asked him if he would have liked to have been at the Boston tea party, he replied no, not if it meant buying cakes for everybody. :huh:

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 24 2010

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Kat, please don't encourage him, he's Welsh don't you know, when we asked him if he would have liked to have been at the Boston tea party, he replied no, not if it meant buying cakes for everybody. :huh:

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 24 2010

 

 

Ken...I think you're confusing we Welsh with our Celtic cousins from north of the border...the Scots!!

 

Ian ;)

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Johan Willaert

Ken,

 

Since we're talking about your book... Can you remember how many reactions you got regarding the 4 items to be identified in the back of the book?

I know you kept my snail-mail letter regarding one of them, so I guess you kept the others too...

Just curious...

 

JOhan

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General Apathy
Ken,

 

Since we're talking about your book... Can you remember how many reactions you got regarding the 4 items to be identified in the back of the book?

I know you kept my snail-mail letter regarding one of them, so I guess you kept the others too...

Just curious...

 

JOhan

 

Johan, I think in seventeen years that there was probably only about twelve contacts.

 

Regarding the four items at the back, it was more an idea of getting collectors connected and contacting me though the identification of those items.

 

Yours was the first on the strap and I had a second i.d. of that strap again from a Belgian or maybe a French collector.

 

The headset brought in a contact from the American dealer Hayes Otoupalik asking if I got a positive i.d. on the headset to let him know as he had a crate of around six hundred of them

 

The hood item has never brought forward any information or possible i.d. on it, but several times I have been asked if I ever managed to i.d. it.

 

The life vest I actually saw examples being used in an American 1942 film about an American flying boat leaving somewhere on the south coast of England to return to the states and being fired on by a German submarine. In the

film the crew and passengers of the aircraft are wearing copies of this life vest so the A.C. stamping on the vest might stand for American Clipper which is what these flying boats were called at that time. Strange that the life vests are of a military o.d. color and not a bright color for easy observation.

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 24 2010

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General Apathy
Ken...I think you're confusing we Welsh with our Celtic cousins from north of the border...the Scots!!

 

Ian ;)

 

Ian, shush I think there are some Scots on the forum, and certainly some Scottish-Americans, but don't worry I think you might have got away with it. :thumbsup:

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 24 2010

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General Apathy
post-551-1282676750.jpg

 

I've got the biggest . Robert

Your signature that is :lol:

 

Hi Robert, your no longer anonymous, we will all recognise that forum cap anywhere :laughing1:

 

 

:bye1:

 

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 24 2010

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Hi Ken,

 

is it still raining up there? :)

 

...just speaking of a literary level then I know Jim Moran who wrote one of the earlier books on USMC ( 1993 ), he had a request for a signed copy of his book from an ex-marine who was also a big time collector of Marine stuff in the states.

 

Jim with that typical English sense of humor and familiarity which we all play on one another signed the guy's name into it and added ' Love and Kisses, Jim Moran ' I later heard that it didn't go down well and might have ended up being burnt at midnight in some dark area of a back-yard. :lol:

 

post-4089-1282678622.jpg post-4089-1282678870.jpg

 

Jim don't love me no more... :crying:

 

I'm guessing the majority of copies had "Semper Fi" on them. :thumbsup:

 

Cordialement,

 

Prof

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General Apathy
Hi Ken,

 

is it still raining up there? :)

post-4089-1282678622.jpg post-4089-1282678870.jpg

 

Jim don't love me no more... :crying:

 

I'm guessing the majority of copies had "Semper Fi" on them. :thumbsup:

 

Cordialement,

 

Prof

 

Hi prof, I don't think Jim ever made that same mistake again unless asked to by the book owner, I can't recall what stupid comment Jim added to my first edition of his book it's packed away somewhere. His second book has ' to Ken an ooooold friend, Semper Fi Jim Moran.

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 24 2010

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General Apathy

post-344-1282735671.jpg

 

Hi Forum Members & Readers.

 

So I was cutting the lawn yesterday lunchtime and a friend walked into the garden with his dog and related that he had been into a brocante store ( antiques ) in Carentan and there was an unissued Jeep tarp ( canvas roof ).

 

He said that he could only tell me what he saw but not being too informed on U.S. militaria he couldn't say whether it was genuine and WWII. So that was it, that was the end of the lawn cutting, with the idea that there might just might be an original tarp just a few miles away it was impossible not to go look, a little like a crated Jeep type scenario.

 

I showered and changed out of my work clothes and hit the road for Carentan, just as we were a mile away from the brocante a Jeep approached from that direction and we laughed saying bet he's just been and bought the tarp.

Well the tarp turned out to be still there but it was French army, well might as well take a look around while we were there and that's when I spotted the late 1930's milliners hat stands made in Paris.

 

Here's the two stands, to the left an MI-C para helmet with painted red-cross ( without white paint ) emblem on the front. to the right a McCord with Hawley liner, the front of the helmet has aged chalk markings 37 / 37 possibly relates to the 37th soldier in a group of 37 ??

 

This might not be the final display site for the helmets and stands but positioned them there for the attached photo.

 

Ken

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, August 25 2010

 

 

 

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