Books about Lugers
 

Hi all!

I am looking to buy some books to read more about Lugers.
Ordered The Luger Book: The Encyclopedia of the Borchardt and Borchardt-Luger Handguns(by John Walter) from amazon - what's your opinion on this one?

Also looking for Imperial Lugers and Accessories (by Jan C Still) - are they truly so rare and high priced? How much would you pay for that book? (As I see them from 300 to 900 $!)

What else should I read? (I am more interested in Imperial era).

Thank you!

Hi Igor,
Imperial Lugers is my favorite Luger reference of all time and it's well worth reaching for. It's a little dated now but it's the most readable of all. For the same money You can buy the Borchardt 3 volume work by Görtz/Sturgess from Simsons for $300.00, it contains everything you need to know, and a lot you don't need. It's a bit of a slog but it's very up to date.
Norm

So you are suggesting to buy Borchardt instead of Imperial Luger? (I can afford only one high priced book...)

You can buy the Borchardt 3 volume work by Görtz/Sturgess from Simsons for $300.00
YES! If you want solid information and a LOT of it. The Jan Still Imperial Luger book is also a classic and a must have..But I would buy Borchardt and save up for Imperial later. You should be able to find a copy for $300 if you keep your eyes peeled.

Hi Igor,
I bought Imperial years ago when it only cost about 60 bucks (not that cheap in those days!) and it really got me hooked on collecting Imperial Lugers in general and Imperial Navy Lugers in particular.
Görtz/Sturgess is a monumental work, it's more up-to-date and contains everything you need to know and even more that you don't need, but it's a textbook and a pretty dry read.
In the end it's your choice
Norm

I would recommend buying both over time. If you want basic good information that will satisfy most collectors buy the Still book. If you want tons of information, and I mean tons buy the Gortz/Sturgess. I have both but must admit I refer to Still's more frequently. Both are excellent. Bill

John Walters's "The Luger Book" is the best single-volume Luger reference book on the shelf. His "The Luger story" is a good overall brief read.

If your interest is specifically the Imperial era, by all means buy "Imperial Lugers." Wait for a good price or see if somebody on the Forum has one to sell for (relatively) cheap.

I recommend staying away from Görtz/Sturgess volumes until you have a working background knowledge of the topic, or until you have developed a specific collecting interest. They are an indispensable resource, but it is long, disjointedly organized, and an excruciatingly tedious as a book to just read.

--Dwight

It also depends on the era and contracts you are interested in.

There are good specialized books that get into more detail when it comes to (for example) police, navy, Simson, Swiss, Mauser, Post war, etc...

John Walter recently published an updated version of his Luger book. Lots of text, but it will teach the basics quickly.

Görtz/Sturgess stops in 1945.
The Mauser Parabellum book discusses the 1930-48 era,
Etc...

John Walters's "The Luger Book" is the best single-volume Luger reference book on the shelf. His "The Luger story" is a good overall brief read.
Not to mention it is inexpensive! Compared.

What is the difference between "The Borchardt & Luger Automatic Pistols" and "Pistole Parabellum - History of the Luger System" ? Both have the same authors and written in 3 Volumes.

$200 considered a good price for Imperial Lugers?

$200 considered a good price for Imperial Lugers? If you know of a copy for that price you better snap it up before someone, anyone, else does!

I am interested more in Imperial era Lugers. I like everything that was made before the end of the WWI.

Interest is sometimes not a fixed entity. Exposure to the complete spectrum through good books could change, or focus your interest. You just never know until you try.

Generally excellent advice all the way around. John Walter's book "The Luger Story" is a very good single volume that covers a lot of ground and the price is right. "Imperial Lugers" is excellent for the period covered. (Check Abebooks.com for used copies that are quite inexpensive)

I recently purchased the three volume set by Gortz & Sturgess and, as Dwight says, it's disjointed and at times difficult to find what you want. However, it comes with a DVD containing the whole set and I find myself using it more and more as I become comfortable with how to best use it. It is, IMO, the best reference available in spite of it's drawbacks.

"What is the difference between "The Borchardt & Luger Automatic Pistols" and "Pistole Parabellum - History of the Luger System" ? Both have the same authors and written in 3 Volumes."

They are the same books. "Pistole Parabellum" is the first edition, called the green set by collectors and is favored by old-fashioned guys like me who like books that lay flat when you open them, are printed on better paper and have bigger and better illustrations. "The Borchardt etc", called the red set, appeals to young fellas who like computers. It comes with a searchable disc that lets you zoom in on the illustrations. It is said to be updated but I have both sets and have only come across one instance where the red set has something extra, a rare accessory that had no illustration in the early set but was illustrated in the later edition.
Norm

So to sum up:
The Luger Book: The Encyclopedia of the Borchardt and Borchardt-Luger Handguns (John Walter) - BOUGHT for $23.95
Imperial Lugers (Jan Still, First Edition) - BOUGHT for $215 with shipping!

So next should be "The Luger Story" and "The Borchardt & Luger Automatic Pistols" ? (Put on wishlist for my birthday).

Anything else you could advise? :)

Thank you for all your replies!
This is the best place for those who interested in Lugers and also I've never met better community than you all guys!

The red set actually has several improvements, mainly on the Swiss guns (I know, because I provided the info after reading the 'green' version and noticing the issues it had).

I know of several other experts who provided additional info after the green edition was published.

Did I mention that "The Parabellum Is Bacķ! 1945-2000" is also a wonderful and well researched book? ;)

READ the reviews here on the forum

http://forum.lugerforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=133

see above in the stickies

Also what's your opinion on "World of Luger: Proof Marks" by Sam Costanzo?

To Edward Tinker - thank you, I have read all pinned posts but in my post I've got slightly different answers as I am focusing mainly on Imperial era right now.

"World of Lugers"? It was the only game in town back in the day, but the day was 1977. Save your money.
Norm

For the most part I agree with Norm. But, "save your money" is a bit overstated. Even with the few minor errors, there has never been a better compendium of Luger markings. It should be one of the cornerstones of a comprehensive Luger library.
Ron

Ron, what would you advise? By your signature under each post I see you also interested in Imperial Lugers :rolleyes:

I am also interested in Imperial, commercial, and contract guns like Ron. His advice was the Gortz and Sturgess volumes. He even sold them to me as he had a spare set of volumes lying around. The knowledge gained from these volumes has been worth every penny of my investment in them.

What can you say about Imperial Lugers by Jan Still?

Unfortunately, nothing. I have not read it nor had the chance to. I have been rather fortunate to not get burned really bad on my purchases, mostly because I have gotten 3/4 of my Lugers from here on the forums.

What can you say about Imperial Luger's by Jan Still? Classic reference, beautifully done. get a copy and you will have hours if not days of enjoyable reading/viewing not to mention studying and information. Can't go wrong. It will be your menu for the tasty experience of finding that dream imperial Luger.

Agree 100%. I have three of Still's volumes and they are well worth owning.

If you get into truly researching, thenI think Costanzo is a good book - otherwise it just sits on the shelf.

Depending on what I am looking up - I go to different books.

For me, Weimar Lugers by Jan Still was my favorite, because I collected police lugers and simson lugers.

Walters the Luger story is an excellent read, as is the old, old Datig book. I don't think of the other Walters book as being so wonderful, will have to look, or I am not sure.

Ed

Igor,

From your earlier post (#16 in this thread) you indicated that you have already acquired Walter’s and Still’s books, so you are off to a proper start IMO.

When you feel you need additional resource material and the budget permits, Görtz & Sturgess is a good investment. If you want to get back to the roots of Luger books, I still enjoy sitting down with an adult beverage and perusing once again Fred Datig’s “The Luger Pistol” and Harry Jones' “Luger Variations”. Those two guys were pioneers in documenting Luger information. Datig actually talked to still living early Luger historical individuals such as Georg Luger Jr. and DWM’s August Weiss. I enjoyed a number of conversations with Harry Jones over the years (I still frequently contact his son Mike Jones who continues to run Harry’s shop “Collector’s Gallery” in Torrence, CA). And I would be remiss if I didn’t repeat my continued affinity for Costanzo’s book, Norm’s advise notwithstanding. :)

Ron

So now I have on hands both books, started to read The Luger Book and just checked Imperial Lugers book - slightly disappointed... I have model 1906 commercial with grip safety and there is no info in both books... Also can't find info about BUG proofs and etc. Am I blind? :)
Imperial Lugers book almost has no info about commercial guns.

So I was trying to find more info on 1906 Lugers

Briskspirit, "Imperial Lugers" is a wonderful work on the Lugers of the Imperial German military. That starts with the Navy in 1904 and the Army in 1908. The commercial pistols are not a major focus.
I actually do not know what reference is best for commercial issue lugers other than this forum and the Jan C Still forum, under the commercial Luger sections. Also search here on FAQs and "commercial"

Heinz is spot on..It's a military book. There is NO commercial book published that I know of.

So I won’t find more info in Gortz and Sturgess book on my subject?

I suspect there will be more in Gortz and Sturgess but there is no specific book on commercials. It's a very small subject compared to military Luger's.

Ok thank you, ordered. Will take a look.

I also like the 1906 Lugers. Information is out there but you have to kind of read between the lines. For instance, Gortz & Sturgess often refer to the 1906 as simply the "new model".

The 1906 was made as a commercial with no chamber markings and with the American Eagle over the chamber. I don't know if other chamber markings may exist that were meant for other commercial markets.

The 1906 was adopted as a military sidearm by Switzerland, Portugal and Brazil to name three. The serial numbers followed the commercial pattern although the Swiss varied just a little. The Portuguese designated their 1906 as the M/909 because they adopted it in 1909.

The "U" was applied after a visual inspection before and after proof firing. The "B" was applied after the gun in finished form mechanically (not necessarily blued or completely finished at that point) had been proved and the "G" designated a rifled barrel. They followed the German 1891 proof laws.

Most of the information above came from Gortz & Sturgess which I see you've ordered. The three volumes are impressive although I use the DVD more than the books.

Doubs, thank you.

So on the DVD you have a full copy of the said book? Or just some parts/info?

It's the whole book. I find it very convenient to research information using my computer vs using the printed index and then going to the correct volume.

Walker, Doesn't Simpson's sell just a DVD, no book?

On Jan Still's forum I've found that they also sell the DVD for $50 with shipping... Too late I think :)