Sunday 23 September 2012

Book That Launched A Thousand Wargaming Armies.



There is a book which a certain generation of wargamers must all have , coming from an era without the Internet and the gaming press, which must have inspired so many wargaming armies with its bright illustrations and thumbnail descriptions of wars -
 
 
I bought my copy from Henry Roberts Bookshop (still on the go, but a sad shade of its former glory) in 1969 for the sum of 30 shillings* - quite expensive as my starting wage at work a year later was only £7 10s 0d - before tax etc. From its pages one learnt about the 2nd Schleswig war and the Mexican Adventure, the hours I  must have spent looking at this book don't bear thinking about  ( and the money spent on metal figures that formed the armies it generated !) . Not sure if Blandford's are still publishing but they where a major force in the early 70's in providing uniform information to the gamer/modeller . So I'm going to sit down with it and a cup of tea ( and biscuits of course) to wallow in nostalgia and hope it does not weave its old magic again and cost me money for more lead . 
*younger readers must forgive my lapse into pre decimal old £ s d
 
 

5 comments:

  1. I borrowed this book from my local library several times. The memories.

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  2. This was a library book for me too. Enjoy the trip down memory lane.

    Cheers
    PD

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  3. I bought this book in a library sale when I was 15!,I used to keep a list of my favourite uniforms from this book, and still at number one is the Grenadier officer of the Neopolitan 7th Africa regiment.
    There was one error in the book if I remember correctly,I think mine had a print of a cuirssier figure for the french napoleonic period listed as a foot chasseur or suchlike.
    But still a great book.
    Thanks Robbie.

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  4. This with the sister volume by Saxtorph on Ancients came with me to Military College in '72 and helped keep me sane as well as feeding my dreams. Its a bit tattered now, too late for sanity but it still feeds dreams and gets used as a reference.

    -Ross

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    1. The Saxtorph Ancient book was if I remember rightly a bit odd in places - Romans in leather 'Hot Pants'!? , but all there was at the time .

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