Customer Reviews

Uniform Buttons of the United States, 1776-1865: Button Makers of the United States, 1776-1865; Button Suppliers to the Confederate States, 1800-1865; Antebellum and Civil War Buttons of U.S. Forces

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I do not know of any more comprehensive book on American uniform buttons, and I have been heavily involved in the collecting of Civil War buttons for seven years. I have acquired a number of books on the subject, but I use none more frequently than this one. In this field of study, Alpaeus Albert set the standard with his book, "Record of American Uniform and Historical Buttons". Warren Tice makes a number of notable improvements over Albert's book. Tice's book includes many buttons unlisted by Albert. Tice also often gives a short history of the button, or of the military men known to have worn that specific variety of button. Tice also lists more backmarks, and makes many statements concerning the scarcity or availability of certain buttons or varieties of buttons, this is something that Albert neglected to do. Whereas Albert's book is simply a cataloguing of military buttons, Tice's book is a comprehensive and exhaustive study. At the beginning of the book Tice delves into the history of button making, giving information on all known button manufacturers- including a listing of the buttons each manufacturer produced. He then lists and pictures all known buttons of Federal armed forces 1830-1865- including political, patriotic, and personal image, Confederate armed forces, Militia buttons of the 31 states and District of Columbia known to have produced buttons during this period, and a section on unidentified buttons of the Antebellum and Civil War period. All in all, this is a wealth of information that no military button collector should be without. I would feel as if I were buying and trading blindly without it. It is noteworthy that Tice does not list button values in this book. Tice does sell a seperate book that lists only values; this book is of use only to the collector of non- excavated buttons. If Civil War buttons are your interest, and you collect excavated, as well as nonexcavated I recommend the North South Traders "Civil War Collector's Price Guide. Good luck with your button collecting, I know this book will be a useful and irreplaceable addition to your personal library.

This is a very well written and informative book. The amount of research to write it must have been staggering. I strongly recommend this to anyone interested in the subject. I have had a little problem finding the meanings for all the symbology used by the author, but this is a minor problem.

Nice all around book. Plenty of pics & information. A plus for a collector or investor of Civil War Buttons.

This is an excellent book but I was disappointed with one thing. The title would suggest that it covers all uniform buttons from 1776 - 1865 but that is not true. I needed a reference to help with the identification of a US Naval button similar to Alberts NA31 but the earliest Naval button in Tice's book is Alberts NA92. It is only when you read the Introduction that you find: "All known United States Federal and Confederate buttons made during the 1830-1865 period are discussed." So one star off for a very misleading title on an otherwise excellent book.

This book is really well written, with two major errors from my viewpoint. My gg uncle was William C. Wildt, son of William Wildt of Richmond, Va, who made buttons with the imprint of W. Wildt and Son, Richmond, VA. The correction is that there were two brothers who came from Prussia: Julius and William. William had two children, William C., and Elisa Wildt. Julius had one child, Julius, Jr. Julius, Jr. was a hunchback, and an artist. We have one of his paintings. He manufactured buttons for the Confederate Army with a Mr. Kline, in Columbia, SC. William C. Wildt manufactured buttons with his father, William, in Richmond, VA. After the Civil War, he moved to Rockford City, Illinois, and married a lady named Agnes, who was from Madison, Wisconsin. William C. also served as Vice Consul and Consulate Agent in Honduras for the US in the 1890's, and died in Illinois in 1908. Julius, Jr. and his mother, Elizabeth Wildt, died of Spanish flu in Richmond, VA., in 1918. William C.'s sister, Elisa Wildt, married Numa Robert, divorced him in June of 1865, and married Ernst Kahl. She died in 1941 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. O. F. Ostergren, my grandmother. If anyone knows the web address of Mr. Warren K. Tice, please ask him to contact me.

This book is really well written, with two major errors from my viewpoint. My gg uncle was William C. Wildt, son of William Wildt of Richmond, Va, who made buttons with the imprint of W. Wildt and Son, Richmond, VA. The correction is that there were two brothers who came from Prussia: Julius and William. William had two children, William C., and Elisa Wildt. Julius had one child, Julius, Jr. Julius, Jr. was a hunchback, and an artist. We have one of his paintings. He manufactured buttons for the Confederate Army with a Mr. Kline, in Columbia, SC. William C. Wildt manufactured buttons with his father, William, in Richmond, VA. After the Civil War, he moved to Rockford City, Illinois, and married a lady named Agnes, who was from Madison, Wisconsin. William C. also served as Vice Consul and Consulate Agent in Honduras for the US in the 1890's, and died in Illinois in 1908. Julius, Jr. and his mother, Elizabeth Wildt, died of Spanish flu in Richmond, VA., in 1918. William C.'s sister, Elisa Wildt, married Numa Robert, divorced him in June of 1865, and married Ernst Kahl. She died in 1941 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. O. F. Ostergren, my grandmother. If anyone knows the web address of Mr. Warren K. Tice, please ask him to contact me.

This book is really well written, with two major errors from my viewpoint. My gg uncle was William C. Wildt, son of William Wildt of Richmond, Va, who made buttons with the imprint of W. Wildt and Son, Richmond, VA. The correction is that there were two brothers who came from Prussia: Julius and William. William had two children, William C., and Elisa Wildt. Julius had one child, Julius, Jr. Julius, Jr. was a hunchback, and an artist. We have one of his paintings. He manufactured buttons for the Confederate Army with a Mr. Kline, in Columbia, SC. William C. Wildt manufactured buttons with his father, William, in Richmond, VA. After the Civil War, he moved to Rockford City, Illinois, and married a lady named Agnes, who was from Madison, Wisconsin. William C. also served as Vice Consul and Consulate Agent in Honduras for the US in the 1890's, and died in Illinois in 1908. Julius, Jr. and his mother, Elizabeth Wildt, died of Spanish flu in Richmond, VA., in 1918. William C.'s sister, Elisa Wildt, married Numa Robert, divorced him in June of 1865, and married Ernst Kahl. She died in 1941 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. O. F. Ostergren, my grandmother. If anyone knows the web address of Mr. Warren K. Tice, please ask him to contact me.