The Book of Colt Firearms, in this fresh new edition, improves dramatically upon the work universally accepted as the finest firearms book ever published.

This carefully scoped, no-expense-spared landmark work is a necessary volume for the collector, the researcher, the historian, the curator, the shooter or hunter, the arms dealer, or the interested layman. In one 616-page volume is the fascinating story of the gunmakers and engravers, promoters and industrialists who made and sold the products which have met the needs of the armed forces and peace officers, miners and explorers, gamblers and gunfighters, cowboys and ranchers, and the good, the bad and the ugly from the old West - as well as hunters and target shooters, wild west show performers, and the shooters of the silver screen and TV.

Here in one unequaled volume is the romance and adventure, history, artistry, and craftsmanship of the most famous gunmaker in history: Colt.

Author R. L. Wilson has delivered to Blue Book Publications a completely re-done first section, with several superb new color illustrations, a fresh foreword, and updated acknowledgments. New black 6~ white and color illustrations have also been added within the body of work, improving on the original volume. The bibliography has also been updated, as has the historical chronology. Seven new color illustrations appear at the back of the book. Further, the end-papers are fresh, and in full color. Over 50% more color appears in this new edition than in the classic 1971 First Edition - the book which has sold for as much as $3000 amongst dedicated collectors.

The Book of Colt Firearms is a complete Colt library in a single volume. In over 1,250,000 words, over 1,250 black h white and 67 color photographs, this mammoth work tells the Colt story from 1832 through the present: a comprehensive study of Colonel Colt and his company, yet tailored for readability, with human interest for the layman.

All Colt revolvers, pistols, longarms, and even automatic weapons, and countless items of memorabilia, are described and reviewed in prodigious detail, in an authoritative text of unsurpassed scope.

This lavish and unprecedented work presents thousands of facts, drawn from the author's years of specialized research, even featuring serial number sequences by year for all percussion and cartridge hand and longarms. Standard production arms, variations, experimentals, prototypes, and a variety of engraved guns, are explored in minute detail. Markings, calibers, barrel lengths, finishes, and a panorama of other features ate thoroughly presented in an easily used reference format.

The Colt company's factory records are but one of the many sources for the text. Colt firearms in major museums were researched and recorded. Numerous private collections were thoroughly studied. Catalogues, correspondence, ledgers, and patents from over 150 years of source material were examined.

The result is the most comprehensive pictorial and textual work ever published on any of the world's gunmakers.

Book measures roughly ~9-3/8" by ~12-3/8" (portrait); ~1-1/2" thick; 616 wonderfully illustrated and informative pages.

The many strange and freakish gun fabrications that are shown in this book are a tribute to man's inventive energy as applied to the development of arms. From days just past and from days long gone, Lewis Winant has selected over 300 pieces as representative of the oddities that have been constructed to utilize the propelling force of gunpowder.

There are pistols in knives and canes; pistols in flashlights, purrs, ploughs, whips, bicycle handlebars, stirrups, keys, pipes, belts, sundials, and other contrivances. In addition there are other types classified as oddities, such as squeezers, knuckle-dusters, alarm and trap. There are combination weapons, turret, chain and harmonica pistols, guns using superposed loads and other variations from the norm. These remarkable firearms come from more than fifty collections. Some of the most interesting rarities have never before been illustrated in any publication, and their existence is unknown to most collectors.

Collectors of Colt revolvers and Elgin pistols will find items of special interest to them.

Firearms Curiosa will delight the serious collector and will entertain the many who have little knowledge of firearms but who will be fascinated by the singular and sometimes fantastic products of man's creativeness. Those with an inventive turn of mind will treasure the book. Both professional and amateur inventors will find stimulation in the variations in employment and technical functions of the weapons.

Firearms Curiosa will be very welcome to students and collectors, for previously there has existed not one single compendium of reliable information covering odd firearms.

Book measures roughly ~5-3/4" by ~8-1/4" (portrait); ~7/8" thick; 281 pages; no tears or folds in pages; binding fully intact; light shelf-scuffing and wear (mainly to dust-jacket); original owner's name written in blue ball-point on front free-end-paper. Book and dust-jacket are in otherwise good to very-good condition.

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The American West has long been associated with adventure and romance. The vast expanses of land, the strong heroes, and the excitement of conquering new lands continue to inspire a sense of freedom unparalleled elsewhere. Yet, along with the novelty of staking new ground came the threat of danger, which made the role of firearms on the American frontier paramount.
In FRONTIER PISTOLS AND REVOLVERS, Dominique Venner has collected full color photographs of the classic firearms of the period. From the pioneering Colt to the classic Smith & Wesson to the pocket-size Deringer, the significant guns of the era are discussed, their histories relayed, and their special features highlighted. There are anecdotes of the legendary men and women associated with different guns, such as Jesse James, John Wesley Harding, Calamity Jane, and Billy the Kid, as well as the fascinating stories of the gun-makers themselves. A special chapter is devoted to the Civil War and the role of revolvers in the battles. For the gun enthusiast, budding historian, or Civil War buff, this book offers a rare look at the guns whose histories have become part of America's legendary landscape.

Book measures roughly ~9-3/4" by ~11-1/4" (portrait); ~3/4" thick; 141 wonderfully illustrated and informative pages.

Today Mauser collectors worldwide are eager for an updated, comprehensive reference that will become the new "classic" on Mauser weapons. This is it!

No other book so extensively and accurately relays the production details, workmanship, and historical impact of Mauser weaponry throughout the world. And it's all presented in an orderly format that makes information easily accessible,

Novice and experienced collectors alike will undoubtedly refer to these pages again and again. There's technical information for the gunsmiths, background information for the historians, rarity information for the investors, and facts and figures that will answer thousands of questions Mauser enthusiasts have asked over the years,

Book measures roughly ~8-3/4" by ~11-1/4" (portrait); ~3/4" thick; 265 pages.

This volume details the development of the Martini-Henry rifle from its origins as a weapon presented for consideration by the British government after the decision was made in 1864 that the army and navy should be armed with a breech-loading rifle.

The basic Martini then progressed through selection trials and emerged as a service prototype, before final adoption in 1870 as the service arm; a position it retained until the advent in 1888 of the .303-bore magazine rifle.

initial service use brought to light several minor problems with the arm, and how these were solved, and the subsequent design and issue of the carbine variations is fully discussed - as is the story of the original selection trials in both text and comprehensive appendixes.

The research for this treatise included the study of original documents and actual specimens of arms involved, so that most of the information presented is publicly seen for the first time.

The result is a coverage of the subject never before attempted as a single work, and as such, will be of interest to both historians and collectors of British military weapons.

Book measures roughly ~8-1/2" by ~11" (portrait); ~7/8" thick; 246 pages; no tears or folds in pages; binding fully intact; minor shelf-scuffing and wear to dust-jacket. Book and dust-jacket are in otherwise very-good to fine condition.

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