BOOKS FOR SALE
Arms and Armor and Related Subjects

In my never-ending search for information on Armor and Arms, I have found many exceptional books on the subject. I have decided to pick up copies of the better titles as I run across them. I will be offering them for sale here.

Please note that most of these books are out of print, and some are quite hard to come by. Being such, the titles I have listed are usually individual copies, and their condition varies from book to book. I have made every effort to provide accurate descriptions.

Some of the books are not in English. Language is noted in the description. For the record, English is the only language I speak/read, so my reviews of non-English books are based (like a little kid) mostly on the photos. I do find, however, that the catalog-format books still have plenty of information to glean-maker, date, client, provenance, and sometimes weights and dimensions.

I have provided each book with a short review from an armorer's point of view and given each title an overall letter rating. You may note that none of the books ranks below a B - or C +. This is because I only select titles that I personally think have a lot of merit.

Shipping on books will be by media mail to keep s/h costs to a minimum ($2 - $4 for most books). If requested, I can also ship Priority (usually $4 - $6 for books).

Please note that the photos may not depict the actual copy for sale. See the "condition" listed for each book. Condition will be noted for each copy if multiples of the same title are available.

Condition is listed as "book condition/dust jacket condition" and I have used the following abbreviations:
New = New (Are you getting all this? ;) )
XL = Excellent
VG = Very Good
G = Good
Fair = Fair
Poor = Poor
X-lib = Ex-library copy

More books will appear on this page at regular intervals (Last updated March 3, 2011)

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Books		Title		Author	Year	Condition	Comments		CLANG's Rating	Price
		Armeros (Spanish edition-English title "Armourers")		Matthias Pfaffenbichler	1992	VG	PB 72 pp. Spanish text version. Interesting look at armor from the standpoint of the craftsmen of the period. Well illus in color and B&W.		A	$28
		Eyewitness Books-Arms and Armor		Michele Byam	1988	G (X-lib) G (X-lib) XL XL	HB 64 pp. As with all Eyewitness Guides, photography is large format and beautiful. Spans the history of A & A. Contains a great shot of a disassembled 16th C armor with some inside views. Text is aimed at the juvenile audience, but photos are superb.		B +	$11
		2500 Years of European Helmets		Howard Curtis	1978	XL/XL	HB 346 pp. Single page B/W photos of over 150 helmets with commentary. Some of the commentary is a bit dated, but practical observations about construction and dimensions are very useful. Photos are excellent, often showing unusual views and unusual helmets.		A +	$175
		Arms and Armor (Odyssey Library)		Stephen V. Grancsay	1964	VG VG XL XL	HB 46 pp. Small format, but a great reference. Good overview-Medieval/Ren era only. Color pics small but good subject matter.		B	$10
		Arms and Armour (Octopus Books)		Vesey Norman	1972	XL/XL XL/G G/G (X-lib) (Pleasures & Treasures version)	HB 96 pp. Well illustrated with B & W and color photos. Good general overview of A & A from the 11th to the 17th C.		A	$16
		Arms and Armor of the Crusading Era 1050-1350 Vol 1 Only Western Europe and the Crusading States		Nicolle	1988/1999	XL/XL	HB Vol. 1: 480 pp. 1600 Illus. These books are an excellent resource on armor development and distribution. 3600 line drawings (both volumes) taken from contemporary art, each entry numbered and with a corresponding detailed description.		A +	$65
		Arms and Armor of the Samurai		Bottomley and Hopson	1988	XL/VG XL/VG XL/VG XL/XL XL/XL	HB 192 pp. Excellent and very well-illustrated history of development of arms and armor in Japan over 1400 years.		A +	$35
		Arms and Armor of the Medieval Knight		Edge/Paddock	1990	XL/G XL/XL XL/XL XL/XL (Mylar) XL/XL (Mylar)	HB 192 pp. Profusely illustrated in color and B/W. Great general overview of the development of Medieval arms and armor.		A +	35$
		Armor		Sean Morrison	1963	G/G (X-lib) VG/G (X-lib)	HB 261 pp. One of my favorites back in school! Illus w/line art by the author, with emphasis on soldiers from the classical world through the renn.		B	$15
		Armour		Gregor	1976	VG (X-lib)	HB 23 pp. For the juvenile reader-nice color illus.		C	$5
		The Armourer and His Craft-11th to 16th C		Ffoulkes	1912/1988	G G VG VG VG	PB 199 pp. B/W drawings and plates. Though some material is dated, still a fascinating book with much information taken from contemporary documents. Especially interesting because it deals not only with armor, but also the armorers themselves, materials, etc.		A	$10
		Art of Chivalry (MMoA Exhibition Book)		Nickel, Pyhrr, Tarassuk	1982	G G>	PB 179 pp. Well illus throughout-large B/W photos, a few color. Catalog format. Excellent book showcasing the MMoA collection, with extensive notes on each piece pictured. Medieval/Ren era. Some very nice 15th C items.		A +	$32
		Color Treasury of Arms and Armor (Translated from Italian)		Aldo Cimarelli	1973	VG VG	HB 64 pp. Good collection of armor and weapons rarely seen-shown in color photographs with notes on each item. Mostly 16th C. Islamic/Asian section also.		A -	$25
		Fine Arms and Armor: Treasures in the Dresden Collection (German title: Prunkwaffen-see below)		Johannes Schobel	1975	VG/VG (X-Lib) XL/XL (w/Poor slipcase)	HB 257 pp. English text. Primarily 16th C. Large catalog format with astounding color and B & W photography. Divided into sections on Armor, Edged Weapons (primarily swords), Firearms, Sporting Arms, and Oriental A & A. A Beautiful book.		A +	$60
		Prunk-Waffen (English title: Fine Arms and Armor: Treasures in the Dresden Collection)		Johannes Schobel	1975	VG/G	HB 257 pp. German text. Primarily 16th C. Large catalog format with astounding color and B & W photography. Divided into sections on Armor, Edged Weapons (primarily swords), Firearms, Sporting Arms, and Oriental A & A. A Beautiful book.		A +	$50
		Glossary of the Construction Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor		Stone	1934/1961	G/Missing VG/VG	HB 694 pp. Fascinating alphabetical listing of thousands of weapon and armor types. Profusely illustrated, though photos are sometimes grainy. Some info is dated, but it is still a great resource.		A	$20
		Historical Guide to Arms and Armor		Bull	1991	XL/XL	HB 224 pp. Large format coffee table book. Good overview of the development of A & A throughout history. Heavily illustrated throughout w/color and B/W photos.		A	$20
		Imperial Austria-Treasures of Art, Arms and Armour from the State of Styria		Krenn/Karcheski	1992	VG VG XL	PB 133 pp. Exhibition book about the armory at Graz, Austria. Excellent book with superb color photography. 16th C only. Beautiful pics of 'working armor' and the arsenal stores-as they were in the 16th C. Text more of historical interest than about armor.		A +	$32
		Mediaeval Arms and Armour		Rossi	1990	Fair-G (X-lib)	PB 63 pp. Large-format. Gorgeous color photography. Great shots of some of the early Churburg stuff, etc. Late 14th-late 15th C.		A	$40
		Resplendence of the Spanish Monarchy-Renaissance Tapestries and Armor from the Patrimono Nacional		Ortiz/ Carretero/ Godoy	1991	XL/XL XL/XL XL/XL XL/XL (Mylar)	HB 172 pp. Beautiful color photography throughout. Approximately half and half tapestries/ armor. Many of the tapestries pictured contain good iconographic depictions of armor. However, the real beauty of the book to me is the part on actual armor-exquisite large-format photos of swords and armor with many detail shots, and rich notes on each piece pictured.		A	$22
		Swords and Hilt Weapons		Coe, Connoly, et al	1993	G/G XL/VG XL/XL	HB 239 pp. Covering most of the world and most of history, this book has a surprising amount of information in it, including nice color photography.		A	$24
		Treasures from the Tower of London-Arms and Armour		Norman/Wilson	1982	G VG VG VG	PB 131 pp. Catalog format. Great photos, some in color, extensive notes each item pictured. Medievel/Ren era w/small Islamic section.		A	$18
		Warriors and Worthies-Arms and Armor Through the Ages		Helmut Nickel	1971	G (X-lib) G (X-lib)	HB 122 pp. Good overview of armor. Good color and B/W photos on a nice range of armor subjects, heavy on Medieval/Ren era w/decent eastern/Asian section. Text not very in-depth, but full of interesting anecdotes.		B +	$20
		The Wallace Collection Catalogs Vol. 1-Armour SOLD!		Mann	1962	XL (Green HB)	HB Vol. 1: Armour 239 pp. + 104 plates. Catalog format. Great B & W photography and notes on the fabulous Wallace Collection in England. This is the updated 1962 edition with lots of photos which older editions (1924 and modern re-print, 1945) lack.		A +	$60
		MMoA Bulletin Arms and Armor SOLD!		Helmut Nickel	Summer 1991	VG	PB 64 pp. Very nice showcase of armor from the Permanent Collection. Large glossy photos, mostly color.		A	$20
		Knights in Armor SOLD!		Glubok	1969	VG-(No DJ) (X-lib)	HB 48 pp. Junior-high book, but with many excellent period illustrations and large B/W photos of some fine armors and elements.		B+	$16
		John Woodman Higgins Armory-Catalog of Armor SOLD!		Grancsay	1961	XL	SC 128 pp. Catalog format. Excellent B/W photography throughout. Showcase of the fine Higgins collection with good notes/description of each subject.		A +	$45
		Historical Armor-A Picture Book SOLD!		Metropolitan Museum of Art	1946/1957 (4th Ed)	G (ex-lib)	Cardboard wraps 8 pp + 25 photo plates. Nice selection of photos from the Met collectoin.		B+	$18
		European Armour in the Tower of London SOLD!		A. R. Dufty	1968	VG/G (X-lib)	HB 188 pp. Large book-fantastic photography of suits and elements-some armors disassembled. Great detail-packed with photos.		A +	$95
		Arms and Armour in England from the Early Middle Ages to the Civil War SOLD!		Mann	1960	XL	PB 44 pp. Small book with a lot of content. Nicely illus w/ B & W photography.		A	$18
		Arms and Armor (Grosset All Color Guide) SOLD!		Wilkinson	1971	XL (Library binding)	HB 159 pp. Complete history of A & A. Well illus-though no photos.		B+	$16
		Arms and Armor Annual Vol. 1 SOLD!		Held (Ed)	1973	G	PB 320 pp. Anthology of 30 articles by noted A&A experts, ranging from 14th C knights to Japanese tsubas to US Civil War body armor. Very interesting read with numerous B&W illus.		A	$14
		Arms and Armor-In the Art Institute of Chicago SOLD!		Walter Karcheski	1995	XL/VG XL/VG XL/VG	HB 128 pp. Beautiful color photography throughout. Mostly Ren era high-quaility arms and armor. Text is mostly anecdotes accompanying each item pictured.		A -	$25
		Heroic Armor of the Italian Rennaissance SOLD!		Pyhrr/Godoy (NY MMoA)	1998	XL/XL	HB 358 pp. Showcases the work and life of Fillipo Negroli and his contemporaries. Lots of info on the armorers themselves as well as their work. Beautiful color photography throughout.		A +	$36
		Das Munchner Zeughaus (The Munich Armory) SOLD!		Wackernagel	1983	XL	PB 190 pp. German text with illus, + 46 photo plates. Much of the armor in this book I had never seen before. Makes it very noteworthy and valuable to me. ;)		A	$65
		The Wallace Collection Catalogs Vol. 1-Armour Vol. 2-Weapons SOLD!		Mann	1962	VG (Grey PB)	PB Vol. 1: Armour 239 pp. + 104 plates ,Vol. 2: Arms 475 pp. + 103 plates; Catalog format. Great B & W photography and notes on the fabulous Wallace Collection in England. This is the updated 1962 edition with lots of photos which older editions (1924 and modern re-print, 1945) lack.		A +	$95
		Further Account of the Armour Preserved in the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie Near Mantua SOLD!		Mann	1938	XL	PB Approx 40 pp + multiple photographic plates. Fantastic info and pics of a hoard of 15th C Italian armor discovered in the early 20th C.		A +	$70
		Illustrated History of Arms and Armor SOLD!		Auguste Demmin	1877	XL (Professionally library re-bound)	HB 595 pp. Illus with almost 2000 line drawings, a very ambitious work, though dated. A lot of good info still.		B	$55
		Europaische Helme (European Helmets) SOLD!		Muller/Kunter	1984	XL/VG	HB 314 pp. German text. Complete history of European helmets-fantastic book, packed with illus and photos.		A+	$75
		European Arms and Armor SOLD!		Ashdown	1995 re-print	XL/XL	HB 384 pp. Another old standard, packed with info, though some is dated. Illus throughout with drawings and plates		B+	$10
		Deutsche Plattnerkunst (German Armorers) SOLD!		Bruno Thomas	1944	Fair-G (Cover of spine separated but present)	HB 124 pp./55 plates. Catalog text all in German, so no comment on that. ;) It does have genealogies of some famous armorer families, and armorer's marks. The 55 large plates have detailed B/W photography and basic information on each piece pictured. Many armors not usually seen in English books.		A+	$55
		Die Innsbrucker Plattnerkunst (Armorers of Innsbruck) SOLD!		Tiroler Landesmuseum	1954	Fair-G (Bumped, section of loose pages at front)	PB 106 pp./96 plates. German text catalog. Includes armorer's marks. The plates are good quality B/W photos, both of full harnesses and detail shots. Many armors not usually seen in English books.		A +	$55
		Arms and Armour SOLD!		Howard Blackmore	1965	VG	PB 160 pp. Nice little book-often overlooked. Brief overview of European armor with chapter on Eastern A & A. Nice B & W photography-well illus.		A	$20
		Armor and Arms City Art Museum of St. Louis, MO SOLD!		Thomas Hoopes	1954	G	PB 43 pp. 64 B/W photos. Guide to the City Museum of St Louis collection, showing specimens of A & A not usually seen in other books. Some interesting notes on the pieces shown.		B	$16
		Armour of Imperial Rome SOLD!		Robinson	1975	VG/G	HB 200 pp. Large format. The best resource available on Roman helmets. Most extant examples are shown in multiple views. Also covers body armor, though in less detail than the helmets. Large B/W photos throughout.		A +	$160
		Arms and Armor (Cleveland Museum of Art) SOLD!		Fliegel	1998	XL/XL	HB 181 pp. Showcases many pieces from the great CMA collection. Great color photography throughout. Text is general overview of development of A & A.		A	$36
		Arms and Armor of the Crusading Era 1050-1350 2 Vol. Western Europe and the Crusading States Islam, Eastern Europe and Asia SOLD!		Nicolle	1988/1999	XL/XL	HB Vol. 1: 480 pp. 1600 Illus. Vol. 2: 640 pp. 2000 Illus. These books are an excellent resource on armor development and distribution. 3600 line drawings taken from contemporary art, each entry numbered and with a corresponding detailed description.		A +	$65
		The Book of the Medieval Knight SOLD!		Stephen Turnbull	1985	XL/G	HB 192 pp. 200 Illus. Not specifically on armor, but a thorough and very readable history of the knightly class. I read this book cover to cover.		A	$20
		The Hever Castle Collection-Arms and Armour SOLD! (Sotheby's)		Sotheby's	1983	XL/Missing	HB 148 pp. Includes copies of estimates and prices realized sheets. Catalog format. Detailed descriptions and nice color photography of most of the pieces sold. Primarily 16th-17th C. Includes some very nice pieces.		A	$60
		Japanese Sword SOLD!		Sato Kanzan/ trans: Joe Earle	1983	VG/VG	HB 210 pp. An excellent primer/history of the Japanese Sword. Beautiful B/W and color photography. Focuses on sword history, appreciation, blades, and mounts.		A+	$32
		Leibrustkammer 1 & 2 (Kunsthistoriches Museum Catalogs) SOLD!		KHM	1990	New	HB Vol 1: AD 500-1530; 264 pp, 140 B/W plates, Vol 2: AD 1530-1560 256 pp, 150 B/W plates. Catalog format. Text in German. Great catalogs of KHM's fantastic armor collection. Full harnesses as well as individual pieces and related items shown. Includes makers marks.		A +	$70
		Medieval Siege Warfare Osprey Elite Series SOLD!		Gravett/Hook	1993	XL	PB 64 pp. Good overview including offense, defense, engines, fortifications, etc.		A	$15
		Ritter-Rustungen (English title: The Iron Guest SOLD! )		Dario Lanzardo (Photography)	1990	XL	HB 231 pp. German text, but not much of it. B/W photos are stupendous and plentiful! Medieval/Ren era.		A +	$45
		Roman Legions Recreated in Colour Photographs Europa Militaria Special #2 SOLD! )		Peterson	1998	XL	PB 96 pp. Superb living history photographs throughout with emphasis on arms and equipment. Traces Roman Legions from 5th C BC to the height of the Empire.		A	$22
		Shoes and Pattens Museum of London SOLD!		Grew/Neergaard	1988/2002	XL/XL	HB 145 pp. Excellent book covering London finds from 1100 to 1450. Photos, drawings, patterns, construction, fastenings, size charts, etc.		A +	$30
		Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction-14th C (TOMAR) SOLD!		Brian Price	2000	New in wrap	HB 508 pp. The only real How-To armor book on the market. 1000 B/W step-by-step pics showing tools, materials, and construction techniques. A bit conceited at times and occasionally a little narrow-minded, it is nonetheless a superb resource.		A +	$55

More books will appear on this page at regular intervals

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