What are the best books?

[pferdreiter]

I would really appreciate opinions on what the best books/references are out there that discuss SS insignia, both metal and cloth. My interests are in the metal TK's and eagles, collar tabs, sleeve eagles and cuff titles. Many thanks.

[istra63]

"Insignia & Artifacts of the Waffen SS" by Beaver/Bando would be a good start for cloth examples.

[Mr.Jerry D]

That is a really great current one with vet sourced items and great photos.

There is a 3 volume shiffer book on the SS

Some other older ones if you can find them are:

Cloth insignia of the SS by Angolia
SS regalia by Robin Lumsten
The Mollow series

[C. Betz]

Books

For cuff titles:
Ulric of England's: Collecting Third Reich, SS, and Political Cuffbands Vols. I & II.

Gordon Wiliamson's German Military Cuffbands, 1784 to Present.

Charles Betz

[Thundahbolt]

Yes to all of the above. Also Mollo A pictorial history of the SS . Time Life the SS is good too. Books are still important.

[pferdreiter]

Thank you all very much for the super list of books, looks like there is some awesome reading ahead of me!

[istra63]

There is a forum member currently working on a Metal Insignia book.
It will be a good reference when it arrives

[rbno]

Reference books

This subject has come up before. Because I have both a fairly comprehensive reference book library and some definite opinions, I will share my thoughts the forum. These are, of course my opinions, and what I have found useful. There are others, but this is my top ten.

Here is my list and comments:

“Cloth Insignia of the SS” by John Angolia: This is the most comprehensive book on the subject of cloth insignia. It covers all branches of the SS, to include Waffen, SSVT, SSTV, Foreign Volunteer formations, etc. Drawbacks include: relatively small pictures, some of which are of indifferent quality, many variations of cuff titles are not referenced and there are a few questionable pieces included.

“A Collelctors Guide to SS and Political Cuffbands” and “Collecting Third Reich SS & Political Cuffbands” by Ulric of England: This is actually a volume I and Volume II. This is by far the most detailed reference on SS cuff titles and includes many excellent shots showing construction details, front and back along with good descriptive material. It is, however, far from comprehensive, and is limited to cuff titles.

“German Military Cuffbands, 1784 – Present” by Gordon Williamson & Thomas McGuirl: This is probably the most comprehensive work on Waffen SS cuff titles. Most variations are included. However, it is limited to Waffen SS cuff titles and the photos could be a little larger, and more detailed.

“Insignia and Artifacts of the Waffen SS” by Michael D. Beaver / Mark A Bando: Excellent color photographs of Waffen SS insignia! Also includes some information on metal insignia, etc. In this case, the drawbacks include lack of Foreign Volunteer units of the WSS and lack of Allgemeine insignia.

“Uniforms of the Waffen – SS, Volumes 1 – 3” by Michael D. Beaver: This is by far the best reference on SS uniforms. Drawbacks are that headgear is not included and insignia is not the primary focus of this work (But there are many great insignia shots!)

“Uniforms of the SS, Volumes 1 – 7” by Andrew Mollo: This series has a little of everything, but its forte is the extremely detailed line drawings of insignia. The drawbacks are small photographs of indifferent quality and lack of comprehensiveness.

“SS Uniforms, Insignia & Accoutrements, A study in Photographs” by A. Hayes: Great color photographs of a wide variety of SS items, many of which are not shown in other references. Its drawbacks include the inclusion of a few questionable pieces and a lack of comprehensiveness.

“Inside the Allgemeine SS 1925 – 1945” by Ulric of England: Great color photographs of a wide variety of Allgemeine SS items, many of which are not shown in other references. Some of the some photos could be a little larger; it is far from comprehensive and covers only Allgemeine SS.

“The Collector’s Guide to the Distinctive Cloth Headgear of the Allgemeine and Waffen – SS” by Michael D. Beaver with William Shea: This is an excellent book on all cloth SS headgear with great color photos and descriptions. The downside is that insignia is not the focus of this book. There are excellent shots of the insignia attached to the headgear, but not reverse sides.

“Collectors Guide to Sturmabteilung Insignia” by David Fuller: This book is not about SS insignia. It is about SA insignia and its construction much of which applies to SS insignia. It includes numerous detailed pictures illustrating construction techniques. For that reason, I highly recommend it.