2000

BF -- Applied Arts

The first two volumes of this handbook were reviewed in RREA 4:127. The original plans for completion of volumes 3 and 4 by 1999 were delayed, but this is acceptable in light of the mass of solid information they cover (volume 4 was due to appear at the end of 2000). Since organization and indexing methods were discussed in the earlier review, they will be dispensed with here. Volume 3, with its cumulative entries 2,854-4,156, commences with Saxony (taking up a good two-thirds of the volume) and includes Schleswig-Holstein, Schwarzburg, Thurn und Taxis, Trier, and Waldeck, before offering the first few installments of Württemberg (to be completed in volume 4). The majority of decorations cited, especially for Saxony, were conferred prior to 1919, as the practice of awarding medals and decorations diminished markedly in subsequent years. Although this handbook is aimed principally at serious collectors, it differs from most medal catalogs due to its historical introductions, its beautifully executed full-size reproductions, and its extensive bibliographic citations. The latter will form the basis for a bibliography of "phaleristics" (the study of medals and decorations) due to appear after the completion of volume 4. With this handbook, Nimmergut has shown the way toward his dream of elevating the cultural-historical study of medals and decorations to an auxiliary field of history. [sh/rdh]
 
 

Both of these catalogs are designed for collectors and are in obvious competition with each other. While the first publication listed above offered a second edition in 1999, significantly augmented from its 1993 first edition, its competitor presented its first, still incomplete, edition in the same year. There are only minor differences in the chronological presentation. The first publication includes some of the accessories of the medals business--the accompanying award certificates, miniatures and cases. The second catalog is more systematic in presenting the entire range of accessory objects, often including as well annotations concerning the medal or number of honorees. There are major differences in price listings between the two catalogs, with the first catalog most often being higher. Without coming down in favor of either catalog, the first is at present much more complete, but the second, with its supplemental objects and annotations, is potentially a serious competitor. [sh/rdh]
 
 

While both military and political insignia exist, the military variety is not included in the price catalog under review here. The coverage is not of political parties alone, however, as the catalog extends to non-military organizations of all types. The varieties of insignia include those meant to distinguish membership, honors, rank, and accomplishments. This fourth edition since the catalog's 1982 inception is divided into German organizations at the national level, German organizations outside the German Empire, and foreign national organizations. Listed are a grand total of 9,998 insignia, all of which are depicted in small photos. There are separate indexes for the various sections. An extensive appendix includes tables of insignia that have been identified but are not described in the main part of the volume, as well as some that have not yet been identified; photos of membership cards; and a bibliography. [sh/rdh]
 
 

As much as the military liked medals and honors, the identification discs worn around the neck--called "dog tags" by soldiers--were despised: despite constant admonitions, they were not always worn as prescribed for the identification of those wounded or killed in battle, or taken prisoner. Since everything in the realm of the military seems to be worthy of collecting nowadays, these tags have also become fair game. Hence this volume is included as an addendum to the previously discussed reference works on medals of honor. This work identifies and illustrates 700 different identification tags, divided into those of the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS, police, and other groups (e.g., Wehrmacht helpers and the Todt organization), and gives interpretive aids for pinpointing their organizational derivation. There is an introduction on the historical origins of identification tags, and appendixes that offer tips for collectors, general information about branches of the military, a list of abbreviations, and a bibliography. [sh/rdh]

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