Tommy Paul Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 (edited) Hello fellow collectors ,, I recently attended a local auction and won two Thompson books, one is an original 1940 owners manual and the other is a 1967 print of Thompson Submachine Guns by The Combat Bookshelf .. The original owner’s manual is not in great condition but all the pages are there and clean .. The other book is in near mint condition ,, my winning bid was $41.00 .. Would someone be kind enough to give me a present value for either of these books, I have included a couple of images below .. Thanks .. Edited February 5, 2012 by Tommy Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalbert Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Tommy Paul, The 1940 Handbook is worth about $20 in that condition, and the Combat Bookshelf book is about $10, maybe $15. David Albertdalbert@sturmgewehr.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD. Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Tommy Paul,David is spot on about the value of your purchase. That said, you picked up two very useful Thompson items. The 1940 Handbook is in a condition that allows you to read it without worry of devaluing a mint condition collector's item. The other book should be in every Board members library. It is a compendium of about 5 Thompson manuals if my memory serves me correctly - all very useful for a Thompson owner and/or enthusiast. I would encourage every Board member to pick up a copy while the price is low. I purchased my copy many years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 I'd be quite happy to have obtained these two items for $41.00. Currently, there is a copy of the Combat Bookshelf book on Ebay and it is has a "buy it now" price of $110.00. My very first Thompson "book" was a copy of the Combat Bookshelf edition. I lent it to a collector friend and it was lost when his business burned down. It was a sporting goods store and he had several of his firearms on display there including a M2 carbine and a MP40. Lots of other neat stuff and it was all lost. I eventually replaced it with a later edition which has a yellow cover and a picture of a British soldier on the cover. The Combat Bookself logo is in the upper right hand corner. I believe the edition you have is the original (Dave correct me if I'm wrong). Desert Publications has also printed these in a slightly smaller format. Perhaps they are a later day Combat Bookshelf, I don't know. The little manual from 1940 is rather neat. I had one .... now I have two. You see Dave Albert will tell you there are different versions ( a New York edition, a Bridgeport edition, etc.) and then you'll start looking for those too. By the way, there is also a copy of the Roger Cox book on Ebay and the buy it now is $849.00!!!!!! It doesn't have a dust cover or the supplement with it. I wouldn't recommend that. I was a teenager when I read a review in "Time" or "Newsweek" that some fellow had written a book called "the Gun That Made the Twenties Roar". I had to make a special order to obtain it then as it wasn't a big seller in Canada, lol. If you see one of those snap it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bug Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 One of the reasons I come to this forum is to learn about the TSMG. I'm seeing a 1940 dated publication with a Bridgeport address and pictures of an M1 Thompson. Were both of these things in existence then?? Bob D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalbert Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Bob D, Ahh, good question. You may notice that the M1 section is green. It was actually added to the original Model 1928 manuals, kind of like a sandwich, with the first 4 M1 pages in front, and the last 4 pages in back. The date of the 1940 Handbook was never changed, even though the M1 content was added in 1942. There's a collector guide that exists, which shows all the differences between the 1940 Handbooks...Here's the link: http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9670 David Albertdalbert@sturmgewehr.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bug Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Thanks Dave, It makes sense now. I thought I had missed a memo or two...... Bob D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Mills Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 I see Bill Helmer's book starts "from $102.00" on Amazon. Hmm, maybe time to put mine up for sale... I still may have my Combat Bookshelf Thompson book around somewhere, that sure is a nice collection of manuals. Haven't seen the 1940 one up close. Cheers, Ron Mills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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