My best guide

9

911car

Well-known member
Arguably the best reference for easy identification of any imperial german headgear.
Highly recommended! And hard to find nowadays.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Casque-a-Pointe-L-Armee-Allemande-en-1914-de-Didier-LAINE-Top-documentation-/291594106242?hash=item43e45cf582:g:mIgAAOxyTjNSe~hh" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
I would very much agree, it is an excellent reference work and not just for headdress. The illustrations of the regimental shoulder board/epaulette cyphers are also very useful.

Regards
Glenn
 
totally agree best book out there, I have two, a mint one is storage for when the other one wears out.

James
 
This is my Bible, the one reference that I always take to the SOS in Louisville or consult when something unusual comes up on Ebay or anywhere else! Yes, it is also handy for shoulder strap identification. My only problem with this reference is the quality of the binding which is poor. The hard covers quickly broke off from the text pages but I keep using it. This reference, is a must have for any pickelhaube collector. I can't believe that this seller has 4 available!
 
I finally purchased one of these last year from a different seller in France. I'd also purchased a Hessian enlisted dragoon frontplate, and the seller did not wrap the frontplate up separately in the box even though I asked him to do so. The screw posts scratched into the front cover of the book and made a mess of it. Needless to say I wasn't very happy when I opened the box to discover this. :x

By b.loree
My only problem with this reference is the quality of the binding which is poor. The hard covers quickly broke off from the text pages but I keep using it. This reference, is a must have for any pickelhaube collector.
Click to expand...

Yes, my exterior paper of the outside cover split where it meets the backspine after opening the book 1-time, but at least the cover is still attached. I can glue it, and it should be o.k. The cover on this book is the cheapest, crappiest thing I have ever seen on a book in my entire life.

As a side note: I do very much like Jim Turinetti's "Field Guide to Imperial German Headgear" and use that book far more often, especially to check Issue Markings and color configurations of parts on helmets. It's all logically/numerically presented in his book, and not fragile.

Best Regards,

Alan
 
I agree with Bruno with several caveats. It is the best single volume work well actually two volumes but it is all in French. And my French stinks. He was such an expert that he wrote X Cathedra. As a result there are no footnotes. Therefore, even though it doesn't cover the same amount of years and is far heavier I preferred the three volume class Kraus. I also think highly of Jim Turinetti's field guide and Randy Trawnick's teaching volume on infantry helmets.

Every book has some mistakes. Inevitable. Here is to those who have put their feet in the fire! :thumb up: :thumb up: :thumb up:
 
joerookery said:
I agree with Bruno with several caveats. It is the best single volume work well actually two volumes but it is all in French. And my French stinks. He was such an expert that he wrote X Cathedra. As a result there are no footnotes. Therefore, even though it doesn't cover the same amount of years and is far heavier I preferred the three volume class Kraus. I also think highly of Jim Turinetti's field guide and Randy Trawnick's teaching volume on infantry helmets.

Every book has some mistakes. Inevitable. Here is to those who have put their feet in the fire! :thumb up: :thumb up: :thumb up:
Click to expand...

Do not take me wrong; I like (and use) very much Jim Turinetti's books, which are fantastic. I think I have all of them and I try not to miss each update he publishes. But Laine's guide came much earlier and was my first introduction to this collection, which created special memories...
 
My first references were the 2 Larcade vols. purchased from a shop in Paris. I got our head of the French Dept to phone direct and make the purchase. Next came Laine then Bowman's 2 vols. I greatly looked forward to Randy's book and bought it but was severely disappointed in the quality of the pictures. I asked him what had happened and he said they had problems with the publisher and they could do nothing to change things. The text though is excellent. The best internet reference online that I know of is ofcourse, The Kaiser's Bunker, Tony's site.
 
Alan...the Laine cover is notorious and such a shame that a great reference comes with this "curse". Both my covers are off now and the edges of the pages are discoloured from my skin oils due to constant use! :( My Larcade vols are the same! Another plus for Laine is that the text is in Fr, Ger, and Eng. so it covers many languages in N America and Eu. I picked up the companion soft cover volume to Laine at the last SOS from a member who was selling off his pickelhaube references. Until that time, I had no clue that there was a soft covered "quick reference" to the main volume. This one is in excellent shape!
 
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