Remembering a Great Acquisition...

As I have recently set about to organize my painting area and workbench--as well as my wargaming library, I had to stop a moment to reconsider some of the good luck I have enjoyed while trying to assemble a collection. One of the most memorable discoveries was this like-new copy of Bob Bard's 1957 classic, Making & Collecting Military Miniatures.

Of primary interest to me was Chapter 3, in which the author discusses historical wargaming with miniatures, and gives some general outlines on how to approach the hobby. While the book does include a lot of great information on painting and collecting, it's also notable from the point that 1957 was n important year in the hobby; Jack Scruby began publishing Wargames Digest and All About Wargames; SAE started producing 30mm painted figure sets; and Scruby Miniatures began producing 30mm figures.

As for this like-new copy, the real wonder is that I found it in an old second-hand bookstore (or maybe an antiques shop) in a full shipping carton of brand-new Bard books. It was as if they had just been dropped off from the publisher--all clean, bright and tight in their crisp white dust jackets. I'm sure this was at least 10 years ago or more, and I'm sure I posted about my find on whatever wargames board I might have been on at the time. I doubt that I paid much more than the $5.00 cover price.

So, here's to a classic, and also to keeping your eyes open...you never know what you might find when you're wading thorough an old antiques or second hand store.