Tuesday 25 February 2014

An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the American Wars of Independence 1775-1783

I haven't seen this book - any of you have it?

7 comments:

  1. Yes. It's a great book for painting and gaming the AWI.

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  2. I have it. Around 30% of the plates have mistakes. I can't really suggest it as a good research. Nice photos but take them careful and check with other sources before you paint figures.

    cheers
    uwe

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  3. This was available from Amazon for a number of months. It makes an admirable addition to muy uniform library. It is worth the price of the investment.
    Jerry
    A/K/A The Celtic Curmudgeon

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  4. I have it and it's fantastic! There's no point worrying about any inaccuracies. There's more than enough to help us get some wonderful looking armies on the table. Great book, great price. Oh yeah and an excellent blog Sir ;)

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  5. Uwe has it just right. The book has a high percentage of inaccuracies. Just looking at the thumbnail with the cover you can spot the pioneer with the Napoleonic period beard. Not worn by any Brits in the AWI period. Or any Americans with the possible exception of the Over the Mountain Men.

    I am speaking as both a collector of Rev War figures for the last 40 years, and a reenactor with about 25 years experience in this period.

    It is an interesting book to add to the collection for a good price. But rely more on Mollo & McGregor and other sources like Don Troijani and Stuart Reid. Though best reliance should be on primary sources, like the facing and lace samples that Roy & Debra Najecki have at their site, diaries, letters, orders, the Royal Warrant of 1768, and so forth.

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  6. It has a lot of useful information on the French and Spanish armies of the period -- not something that is easily found in other books. I would recommend it soley for that.

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  7. I have it and enjoy it as much as any of the other uniform books that I own. I think that the 30% error factor is way overblown. Unless there are surviving uniforms, then who is to say what is absolutely correct. Kiley's book gets a bum
    review from a select few who claim to know better.
    It's nonsense. There are no photographs and certainly no survivors, so we rely on second, third and worse accounts supplied mainly by deserters who had every reason to lie.

    There is nothing uiform about the AWI.

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