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As a collector of Canadian military equipment I would like to see specific items researched and documented like gas masks as well as other worthy items to cover.For a collector to have a reference book on what he collects is worth it's weight in gold when an item can be properly identified.
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Incoming rant
Well, I thought that was what I was doing? I have published over 50 titles in the past 15 years. All of this has been done with no public money, no government grant, no bank loans, nada. Often, the sales haven't recouped the production costs but I felt that the it was important to document the topic as a significant item in Canada's material culture. At times I have seen my work copied without so much as a simple acknowledgement and I very seldom get any recognition for the books that I have either written or published. The same goes for my authors, all of whom are collectors or amateur historians also. In fact, I often get armchair quarterbacks who deny or denigrate facts that I have discovered, preferring instead to repeatedly quote the 'veteran's' story or the gun-show wisdom of collectors who have never done a day's worth of original research in their lives.
Occasionally I get a letter or e-mail from a reader who thanks me for the titles that Service Publications has released. Although I don't do this for the recognition I would be a liar to say that I don't get some encouragement from these rare accolades.
I am fortunate that I have a decent job that allows me to spend my dollars subsidizing my 'hobby-business' (surely the ultimate oxymoron) and a grown-up family that frees up the 6 hours required every evening to run the business.
Rant over
Derk, I have made the offer and I hope that Dennis follows up. I agree that a book on gas-protective equipment would be a valuable resource for collectors. To other niche collectors. If you have the knowledge I have the editors. As it stands I have 6-8 Weapons of War booklets either promised or in the pipeline. I also have 2 'specialty' titles and 8 hard cover books in the works - many of which are already in my PC or close to completion.
Clive