My wife does a bit of voluntary work for a local charity sorting donations etc and she rang me and said that a (quote) 'toy soldier book' had come in and did I want it !? . She sent me a photo and I immediately replied 'YES' ! . I have the reprint paperbacked copy but have always wanted a original hardbacked edition . I remember borrowing a copy from the library in my early wargaming days but was put off by the large 60+ units and so favoured Featherstone's 20 figure units and rules.
The charity have a chap that evaluates books and other potential valuable items and he looked up current prices which was in the £50-£60 price on eBay , however for cash and seeing she was a volunteer he said £30 ! - a bargain ! - he thought it would be unlikely to sell in their shop (being a bit obscure) . It is a first edition (I don't think there was a second?) and cost 55/- shillings back in 1969 , rather expensive the following year my first take home pay was £5 ! , so I'm rather chuffed at the moment !
An excellent book, inspirational to a whole generation of wargamers even if not very easy to copy in gaming terms. I also have a first edition hardback and its one of my most treasured books.
ReplyDeleteYes the sheer number of figures was offputting , but a classic book.
DeleteAt the risk of sounding immodest, my Portable Charge! Wargame, which you can find in Bob Cordery's Fourth Portable Wargame Compendium - available now on Wargame Vault - uses bases instead of individual figures to resolve musketry and close combat and a gridded battlefield. It reduces both the number of figures and the number of die rolls considerably, whilst retaining much of the atmosphere of the original.
DeleteThanks for the info
DeleteExcellent pickup, and well done to your wife for spotting it.
ReplyDeleteI have train her well 😁
DeleteThat's great news Tony! It's a lovely book. Kudos to your wife.
ReplyDeleteIm pleased with my purchase , been on the look out for a copy for a while .
DeleteAn excellent find and score for this gem!
ReplyDeleteKind Regards,
Stokes
(Michigan, USA)
Sometimes you just get lucky !
DeleteSuperb find, you lucky so and so!!
ReplyDeleteThe right person in the right place !
DeleteGreat find - this is what being married is all about!
ReplyDeleteThat is very true , two sets of eyes are better than one !
DeleteTONY- It is an excellent book and one that is iconic- you'll be very happy with the original book - well done to your Partner for spotting 'CHARGE' .
ReplyDeleteNice to hear from you again Kev, yes I got lucky , he does keep her eyes open for suitable books.
DeleteThat was a very lucky find! It's a classic of it's genre. I found mine many years ago in a secondhand bookshop in Salisbury. It was acquiring this that finally kicked off my SSM collection.
ReplyDeleteI also have some reprints so I can keep the original in good nick.
I have the paperback reprint (Terry Wise ?) , but have been on the lookout for a hardback copy for years , in my early wargaming years the unit sizes was intimidating so I came late to it .
DeleteI had the book for some time before I took the plunge with my SSM project. It was still in its infancy in 2007 so it's not that old, and at that point I only had enough to re-stage Blasthof as described in my blog:
Deletehttps://cabinettewars.blogspot.com/2024/10/he-battle-of-blasthof-heath-refought-40.html
A great spot or find, a new appreciative home for a classic book and all for charity too!
ReplyDeleteSerendipty !
DeleteYou're a lucky man Tony, to have such a caring wife! Good karma for a deed well done! She should be praised for her volunteer work, and still thinking about you too!
ReplyDeleteShe has instructions to keep an eye out for "his toy men" books .
DeleteWell done Tony and Mrs T! I found my hardback copy very soon after arriving in NZ in 2008. There were a lot of excellent 2nd hand bookshops in Wellington back then which seemed to be full of old wargaming treasures. It turns out there was quite a big wargaming scene In NZ in the 70s,
ReplyDeleteThere seem to be quite a few of the paperback edition about but an affordable hardback is rarer .
Delete