Germany, Third Reich; Slovakia, Republic. A Lot of Three Books

1. Germany, Third Reich: "Signal" Magazine Second War Bound Volume 1942: hardcover, with a greenish-black paper covering on the card front and back covers, green cloth tape binding, handmade, containing the "Signal" magazines that were published in 1942, beginning with issue Number 1 of January 1, 1942 and concluding with issue Number 23-24 denoted as December Notebook. The magazines are diverse, featuring everything from news items to fashion articles, soldiers to civilians, in action and at rest and/or play, complemented with many advertisements, the text in German, the photographs as dual-tones in black and cyan inks, as well as in colour. The volume measures 260 mm (w) x 350 mm (h) x 58 mm (d), exhibiting extensive fraying and wear on the green cloth binding tape, along with slight undulation and soiling on the pages from having been exposed to moisture but the pages have not adhered to one another;   

 

2. Slovakia, Republic: "Od Tatier Po Kaukaz" (From the Tatras to the Caucasus), hardcover, maroon board cover with maroon cloth tape binding, the Slovakian Army eagle above wreath bearing crossed swords insignia on the front cover and the text on the spine in gold-coloured ink, published by the Ministry of National Defense in 1942, all rights reserved, arranged by Jozef Cincik, the text written by Captain Ján Doránsky, printed in Slovakia by Slovenska Grafia of Bratislava, the text throughout in Slovak, German and Italian. The first section of the book, pages 5 to 46, deals with the period before General Ferdinand Čatloš gave the order to invade the Soviet Union. Slovakia did not participate in the start of the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, which began on June 22, 1941. Although Hitler did not ask for help from Slovakia, the Slovaks decided to send an expeditionary force. The second section of the book, pages 47 to 222, deals with the Slovak Army's invasion into Soviet territory after the order was given. Each section incorporates black and white photographs, each of the photographs with descriptive captions, with blocks of text inserted at various locations throughout. It has a fold-out three panel map at the back of the book that features a map documenting the expedition and the battles encountered along the way. The book contains 224 pages of descriptive text and multiple photographs, the text and photographs printed in black ink, the map printed in black, cyan and red inks, measuring 240 mm (w) x 306 mm (h) x 24 mm (d). It exhibits sunning, discolouration and warping on the maroon board cover, fraying and wear on the maroon cloth binding tape, fading of the text on the spine, with soiling present on the inside front and back cover and their respective endpapers, separation evident of the front cover versus its endpaper and exposing the underlying mesh support, with foxing present on the edges of the pages, however, the pages within remain unaffected; 

3. Slovakia, Republic: "Česko-slovenská Armáda" (Czech-Slovak Army), hardcover, reddish patterned cover, with maroon cloth tape binding, the text on the spine in gold-coloured ink, re-covered with the original card cover of the publication still inside, issued by the Ministry of National Defense, Czechoslovak Union of VOK Officers Publishing House in Prague in 1938. The text on the lead page is in Slovak, with the majority of the book with photographs illustrating soldiers of the various divisions of the Czech-Slovak Army in training, operating their mechanical equipment, many of which are artillery pieces and tanks, in formations, during mock battle sequences, with accompanying captions in Slovak, English, German and French. The book contains 88 pages of text and multiple photographs, the text and photographs printed in black ink, on an off-white paper stock, measuring 210 mm (w) x 295 mm (h) x 9 mm (d). The cover exhibits wear at the edges, along with white paint residue on the back cover, the pages inside remaining pristine.  

 

Ranging from fine to very fine.