Discussion The history of identifying relics.

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Forum Host
Joined
Aug 25, 2012
I was sorting some copies of the Military Collector & Historian Journal of the Company of Military Historians from the early 1950s. There are often articles in these showing dug relics and what they might be. Some articles show a photo of a relic and asked what it was. This made me wonder how much reference material about dug relics was available in the early 1950s. I know that Francis A. Lord brought out his Civil War Collector's Encyclopedia in 1963. Prior to this, where did relic hunters go to identify relics they found?
 
Thats what started CW shows. We would all get together and show off our stuff, trade lies and in general discuss unknown items. Then some enterprising fellows would start asking if the could photo some of your items and put them into a book.
 
When I looked at the Journal of the Company of Military Historians magazines from the late 1940s to mid 1960s I can see some real progress in the study of relics and the study of uniforms. I see less progress in arms, cannons and such. Some of the cannon, muskets, and sword articles from the late 1940s to early 1960s are not really that outdated.
 
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