Recommendation sought: SS reference book

[Najeeb]

I’d appreciate your assistance in choosing a single reference book on the SS, focus on uniforms, collar tabs, insignia. I have limited space for new books, and hope for sonething approaching consensus: “najeeb, if you are only going to get one book, then title X by author/authors Y is the one to get.”

I recognize that this may be a difficult request to satisfy, but hope for your help selecting one book.

Thanks in advance. PM’s OK, as you choose.

[David T]

For only one book meeting your criteria.....go with Mollo's book series on SS uniforms/insignia...."Combined" Volume. Dont know the exact title at the moment since my copy was destroyed but you shouldn't have a hard time googling/finding it.

[NickG]

Beaver/Bando SS insignia book + Beaver's 3 part uniform books! 4 book investment!
Mollo's series is good but old...

[rbno]

The real answer is that there is no single book that does justice to the subject. I wrote the following a year or so ago and saved a copy knowing this sort of question would come up again. Hopefully it will be of some help.

Al

“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.

[Najeeb]

Joke of the day: one SS reference book

Thanks to all for your responses. From a quick check on prices and availability, I can see that a second job is going to be necessary if I want a proper SS section in my library. Thanks again.

[Steve Flanagan]

Books

Keep this in mind, books like these never cost,,,,they pay,,,mistakes can be expensive and discouraging, and you will see that over time the value of the books themselves go up.

[Mr.Jerry D]

+1

[wehl]

Beaver/Bando SS insignia book + Beaver's 3 part uniform books! 4 book investment!
Mollo's series is good but old...

cloth insignia by Angolia ist old but still top book to own

[ibrahim ahmad]

to @ Al, excellent suggestions

---------------------------
Looking for all relevant info & items on WW2 German U-boats in Singapore and Asia for my research.
http://monsun-uboats.blogspot.com/

The real answer is that there is no single book that does justice to the subject. I wrote the following a year or so ago and saved a copy knowing this sort of question would come up again. Hopefully it will be of some help.

Al

“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.

[Gran Sasso]

What about Lorenzo's books, worth buying?

[FrenchVolunteer]

Hi,

I’d appreciate your assistance in choosing a single reference book on the SS, focus on uniforms, collar tabs, insignia.

all the existing books on the SS uniforms and insignia were listed dozen of times on the forum, plenty of topics already available.

Those books can't be used as reference per se. They are all flawed, biased, incomplete, using bad, small or b & w pictures, and some are just spreading now confirmed fake infos (when they are not openly promoting fakes). Many original variations are not listed, and can be taken as "fake" due to the lack of informations at the time of publication.

Don't except to become an expert with them. You will need hundred if not thousand of hours on the WAF and other messageboards to start to learn on insignia, cuff titles, uniforms etc.
And nothing will help you more than seeing and studying originals with advanced collectors in person.
Those books are only good to get you an introduction in the subject.

Depending on what you want to "see" or maybe collect, the best suggestions are :

- The 7 books made by Michael Beaver :
https://www.amazon.com/Camouflage-Un...dp/0887408036/
https://www.amazon.com/Uniforms-Waff.../dp/0764315501
https://www.amazon.com/Uniforms-Waff.../dp/076431551X
https://www.amazon.com/Uniforms-Waff.../dp/0764315528
https://www.amazon.com/SS-Helmets-Mi.../dp/0764324764
https://www.amazon.com/Collectors-Gu.../dp/0764332309
https://www.amazon.com/Bando-Insigni.../dp/B00J29O4A2

- the book of Ulric Woodhams (Allgemeine-SS only) :
https://www.amazon.com/Meine-Ehre-He.../dp/8496658333

If you may be interested by the books on the (Waffen-)SS cuff titles, they are all clearly incomplete, and most have small black & white pictures (even the more recent one published last year in Germany and which is full of ridiculous errors).
The books of Ulric Woodhams are 15 (!) years old (Williamson is 20 years old), and are still full of obvious errors (BeVo meaning for example) and are strangely organized.
They include far too many "impossible to find" cuff titles, so for the price the infos are limited for the common collector. The two volumes are also quite expensive imo. But if you want to focus on the cuff titles, you need to get :

http://www.ulricofengland.com/index....0k62e3k3uos9gc
http://www.ulricofengland.com/index....0k62e3k3uos9gc
https://www.amazon.com/German-Milita.../dp/0912138742

Updated studies on SS insignia and cuff titles still need to be published...
But many topics on the WAF will help you if you have any question.

If you are interested into collecting them, i will suggest to focus on "Dachau" insignia and BeVo & co (machine-woven) cuff titles.
Their prices tend to drop, and you will be able to get nice display for a reduced price.

See You

Vince

[Najeeb]

Thanks to all, Part Two

Thank you to the most recent respondants to my question. I am no longer a collector—I once focussed on enamel badges , of which there are a multitude, but have been out of the collecting for a couple of decades now.

I’ll be buying some of the titles you have recommended. Thanks again for taking the time to respond. I read the forum daily; it offers a military history enthusiast an education not duplicated elsewhere.

[August]

Keep this in mind, books like these never cost,,,,they pay,,,mistakes can be expensive and discouraging, and you will see that over time the value of the books themselves go up.

Steve’s statement is so true............