Feldgrau.net

GaryD wrote:Some people crave a new Ferrari; we're just happy with dusty pieces of colored paper!

I dunno, I'd probably react the same if offered an Audi TT...especially a ragtop!

Ah well, maybe not as exciting as a car but, unpublished original source maps of Normandy, Caen, German Air Attacks on the Normandy beach head and operation of SS and other units moving against Tito seem to have a bit of interest... at least I hope or this may be the last grouping I offer.

A general note to all interested in certain maps, dates, units, regions, battles, ect. I have gotten a fair amount of PMs wanting to know when I will have certain maps scanned in, or if I can do certain maps sooner than later.

The process for this is... I have to take a day off work (meaning using my limited leave, which generally is a far less in the US than other wonderful nations such as France... Sweden... ect) drive 45 minutes in wonderful Washington DC traffic, hauling in a large heavy scanner and laptop, requesting the maps by 10am which hopeful come to me before 11am, then start to scan. Then trying to get out of NARA before the traffic turns a 45 minute drive to a 75 minute drive (by 330pm). Then organize the maps, put them on two backup drives, contact Jason Pipes to let him know I have another set, and then he puts them on the site. From there orders come to Jason, he sends them to me, I fill them and ship them out.

So enough about the process, but I can simply say there is a good deal of time and effort I put into this. The prices are low in my opinion for original primary source, unpublished maps and do cover my costs, but does not come close to replacing my "day off work". I do enjoy this hobby though, and glad to help the community get these maps which would be nearly impossible to get otherwise. It has taken me close to 3 years to scan in the 1500 or so maps I have now of the 5,500 plus maps at NARA, so this will take a long time.

So it isn't that I won’t do certain maps, but I have to balance this hobby of mine, which I hope benefits others on this forum.

As a side note, I recently found out that senior members of another similar site didn’t know about these maps and never bothered to see what they are about. Sad as if there was more interest I could probably do more!

Abicht,
I'm sure there are alot of follow forum members out there that really appreciate you making these maps available at what ever schedule you can manage. I for one am more than prepared to be patient and wait till my relevant time period of interest arrives - how many more sleeps till Christmas?

Cheers

Thanks donwhite... good to know folks are our there waiting for more maps... now I feel guilty...well sorta... . Out of curiosity what period maps and region are you after? I am trying to decide what to do next, Italy, or Battle of the Bulge... or something else.

Eastern Front!!

Gary... that might be a tiny bit broad.. how about date ranges or areas? The next Ost areas I was thinking was Kurland or AG Nord.

OK, how 'bout AG South, August-November, 1943

Abicht,
My main interest is in anything around Jan'45 for East Prussia & Poland (Army groups 'Mitte' and 'A'). However Like GaryD I like anything from the eastern Front!

Cheers

Abicht,

I’m bit ashamed because I’m one of the persons who bothered you with PM
I really appreciate what you’re doing for us in your free time. At first glance on this topic I wondered, if scanning maps is your work, but soon I realized, that person doing this great work and demanding so low price is rather “altriustic maniac” than “businessman”
So don’t be angry on me, I wish you (and your scanner) all the best!

If I could “vote”, my vote is the same as donwhite:
Eastern Front, Army Group "A"/"Mitte", around January 1945, or, in historical overview, defending against Vistula-Oder offensive, Jan/Feb 1945.

donwhite: Could you PM me, why this period is interesting for you? You are making research or sth? Maybe we could cooperate

Very best,
Piters

For what its worth, my interests lie in the Western front, 1944. Situation maps for late August and Early September would be very interesting - if you can find them. Things were moving pretty fast about then.

Mad Dog

Ah fellow member.. I am not cross with anyone.. nor do I hold any position or post worth needing to defend a PM or post. This is the greatness of being able to express ones self and having myself being open to PMs. My post was only to let members know the process of scanning maps and I cant do everything I or others wish to do. My goal is to win the lottery, quit the US government, and scan and copy everything realted to German WWII records I can... needless to say I have not won the lottery

I will continue to scan maps as my time and two small children permit, and ask Feldgrau host them or possibly another site for exposure to a wider market.

Finally, I started scanning these maps and thought they are of great value to others and should be offered up. I looked at a few different sites and went with Feldgrau. At my idea, Jason Pipes spends his time and efforts crafting his site to offer the maps, and in return I offer him a portion of the sales to keep the site running and pay him for his time. If I was savy enough and had enough time I would have my own site offering maps and aerial photos... but obviously I am not . I thought about Ebay to, but I think I prefer to keep this on these types of sites. I think I will open the maps up to other sites in the near future to increase the exposure and benifit many more researchers .

Abicht, I applaud your efforts. I cant remember where I saw it, but the phrase "information not shared is lost" seems very appropriate. By making your work available, you are providing information that 99.9% of the people out there would be otherwise unable to obtain.

Mad Dog

Hey guys, the new maps sets have been posted!!

Also, some exciting news to share, an entirely new section of the site showcasing these map sets will be released very soon.

Brilliant news, Jason!

Thank you so much!

Take care and good luck
Jason Petho