I am always looking for books to buy & I was wondering about which of the Roy Ehrardt books would be useful to have, searching this web site I have seen his Vol 1 & Vol 2 Illinois books mentioned. How many of these series did he make? Is there one that covers Elgins? So far in my search I have noticed some of his books seem to go for very high prices so I want to make sure I get one that is worth having. I am looking for those that help with identifying movements & helping me learn more as a collector.

Thanks for any info., also from what I can find I would guess the Heart of America Press, seems to be out of business?

Tom,

Yes there is an Elgin, Ehrhardt, Heart of America Identification and price guide.

If I were only buying one book for multiple watch companies, I would buy American Pocket Watches, Serial number and Grade book, Heart of America Press with 1993 prices. It came in two versions that I am aware of. A pocket book and a tablet size book. For us blind guys, the tablet size was better.

You can never have enough books.

Bill Kapp

Tom, firstly, there is an incredible store of detailed information in the Complete Price Guide to Watches available from IHC 185. Then (in my opinion and also available from IHC185 I hope) you need a copy of "American Watchmaking, A technical History of the American Watch Industry, 1850 -1930” which is the "family history" of the greatest watchmaking industry ever created by man, never to be equaled again!
With those two books “in Hand”, I strongly recommend Ehrhart's; "American Pocket Watches" BECAUSE "American Pocket Watches" lists 90% of the "names" used for US made and distributed watches, and includes organized easy to find illustrations of ALL THE Movement’s with a ID system that allows you to research each movement very accurately and in more detail than the "Complete Price Guide" can.

Finally, Ehrhart's Vol. 1 which is a general; coverage of many watchmakers, followed by his Vol 2 which is an incredible work solely focused on Illinois, are extremely valuable reference volumes. Ehrehardt also distributed separate highly detailed albums on Elgin, Hamilton, and Waltham, just to mention a few.
It is my understanding (because I failed in my bid) that Erhardt's family has licensed the copyrights to reprints of these books which should be available soon if you can't find them on eBay.

Thank you both for the information, I have already pushed teh 2008 guide & bothe the books IHC185 has, I will start looking for the others, also the photo helps, so many of the titles seem the same.

Tom