Albania A new book on Albanian awards!

[Bob]

Just saw this, it is written by a forum member!

http://www.albaniancorner.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=651

Can hardly wait to get it! :)

[Eric Schena]

Just saw that on eBay and the postings here - next paycheck, I'm putting in my order! I am absolutely thrilled to see such a comprehensive work on these decorations. I can now retire my modest book to the archives :-)

[Zaim Qyteza]

Dear Eric and friends,

Finally I finish my book about the Albanian Medals

Here enclosed some informations about it.

ALBANIAN MEDALS HANDBOOK, VOLUME I AND II, BY ARTAN LAME.

The book is in English and Albanian. The edition Albanian Medals in two volumes, includes all Decorations, Orders, Medals and Titles given by Albanian State from 1914 when it was issued the first Albanian Medal, until 2002 when the last one was issued.

First Volume 1914-1944 (175 pages, 40 Euro), is divided in three parts:

I Period 1912-1925, the Monarchy of Prince Wied.

II Period 1925-1939, the Republic and Monarchy of Ahmed Zog.

III Period 1939-1944, the Monarchy of Vittorio Emanuele III.

Second Volume 1945-2002 (267 pages, 50 Euro), is divided in two parts.

IV Period 1945-1990, the Communist Republic.

V Period 1991-2002, the Parliamentary Republic.

[Zaim Qyteza]

Continue

[Zaim Qyteza]

Continue

[Zaim Qyteza]

Continue

[Zaim Qyteza]

Continue

[Zaim Qyteza]

Continue

[Zaim Qyteza]

Dear Bob,

I prefer to continue here our discussion about the book.

I find this german medal bar with Prince Wied medal, two years ago in an other Forum. I don’t remember the forum’s name.

Regards

Artan

[Elmar Lang]

I'm also in the number of those waiting for the pleasure of reading this new, comprehensive work!

Best wishes,

Elmar Lang

[Zaim Qyteza]

Just saw that on eBay and the postings here - next paycheck, I'm putting in my order! I am absolutely thrilled to see such a comprehensive work on these decorations. I can now retire my modest book to the archives :-)

Dear Eric,

You are “wrong” about the valuation of your book. Your book “The Decorations of Socialist Albania”, was very useful for me during the work for my book, specially about the organization structure and to convince me to including all the variants.

Regards,

Artan

[Elmar Lang]

Hello,

now, I'm the proud owner of the 2-volumes set of Artan Lame's work. I've started to read it and each page is full of precious and highly interesting data and details.

I would recommend it to any friend collector!

Best wishes,

Enzo

[Herr General]

Is there info in the book about the albanian medals to Dutch soldiers?

[Eric Schena]

Dear Eric,

You are “wrong” about the valuation of your book. Your book “The Decorations of Socialist Albania”, was very useful for me during the work for my book, specially about the organization structure and to convince me to including all the variants.

Regards,

Artan

Artan,

Thank you very much for your kind words - I am honored.

I received my copy this past weekend through an extraordinarily generous gift of a fellow Forum member (a Gentleman among Gentlemen) and I cannot endorse this book highly enough - it is simply wonderful. I spent most of Sunday reading it. I'll be the first in line when the volume on badges and foreign awards is out!

Cheers,

Eric

[Ed_Haynes]

Sorry to intrude (where I'm not welcome) . . . but . . . .

I posted this review over at the OMSA website -- http://www.omsa.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5098

===============================

After some delay with the post office, these two volumes are now in hand. From the looks of things, they delayed the shipment so they could allow large toothy animals to chew on the package (bears, maybe?). At least the books came through intact, mostly.

Artan Lame, Medaljet Shqiptare / Albanian Medals, 2 vols. (Tiranë: [botimet Toena], 2010; ISBN 978-99943-1-593-2 for both volumes)

The first volume deals with awards of the monarchy through the Italian occupation. Personally, this is not a period that much interests me, so I shall leave it to others to comment in detail. It will be immensely useful, for example, in sorting out changes in design in the orders, for example, throughout Albania's unhappy political history of this period.

The second volume deals with the awards of the socialist period and, very interestingly, with the awards of the post-socialist era (the Order "Mother Theresa"!?).

The images provided of awards, documents, and of the awards in wear (especially interesting!) are of the highest quality, as is the overall standard of printing and production (the problems with the binding in my copy I must attributed to the postal bears). Some very rare things can be seen here.

The text, however, is very narrowly numismatic and extremely limited information is provided. Moreover, the book is bilingual (in Albanian and English). I must assume the Albanian text is clear and literate. The same, alas, cannot be said for the English text. It is a true shame that the author never had an English-language speaker and reader go over this text. The problems with the often jumbled English will sadly limit the value of this book for most (many?) of us.

I had expected that this would allow me to retire, with honor, the privately circulated work on Albanian awards by Eric Schema to a lower shelf. This is not going to be the case. Schena's work (with is quite strangely completely ignored in Lame's bibliography) will remain prominently on my shelf, next to these two volumes. For the time being, I cannot say which one I'll be consulting more frequently.

Neveretheless, despite these problems (and a rather hefty price of admission), these volumes are an important and valuable contribution to the under-documented field of Albanian awards.

[Megan]

Thanks, Ed... and you are always welcome with your thoughtful and erudite contributions :D

[Bob]

Speaking of books, just received "A Royal Exile - King Zog and Queen Geraldine of Albania" - looks fascinating and with many pics - probably not new to some of you... but here's a surprise which will be new and may be of immense interest:

http://www.bol.com/nl/p/nederlandse-militairen-in-albanees-wespennest-1913-1914-kroniek-van-hachelijke-vredesmissie/9200000027564089/

I.e. "Dutch military personnel in an Albanian hornets nest - 1913-1914, chronicles of a precarious peace keeping mission"

The book is in Dutch and has 10 years of research in Dutch archives and chronicles in detail the individual 'biographies' of every Dutch peace keeper in Albania (incl e.g. Thomson, de Veer, etc.) - 1000 pages covering a half a year of Dutch involvement and with tons of photographs. I have ordered the book and look forward to reviewing it once I receive it!

 

[Kallarati Heroik]

I HAVE BOTH VOLUMES. THEY ARE A STRONG SUPPORT FOR MY ALBANIA AWARDS COLLECTION.

ALSO THEY HAVE MANY ERRORS OR MISTAKES.

HAPPY COLLECTING.

[Bob]

Several books recently come out on the Dutch gendarmerie - posted pics of a big book a few months ago and here's another one focusing on Major Tiddo Reddingius. The small book was written by the husband of his grand daughter. Still need to read it but it looks like a nice (Dutch language) book for vacation by the pool.