American Police Collectibles : Dark Lanterns and Other Curious Devices [Hardcover]

Matthew G. Forte (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0966593839 | ISBN-13: 978-0966593839 | Publication Date: October 1998 | Edition: 1st

This intriguing and meticulously-researched book examines police equipment of yesteryear. The curious will find it a readable and nostalgic link with the past. Serious collectors will find a wealth of information to identify the age, maker, history, and value of numerous pieces of equipment. The historian will find a trove of new research and original source documents including early patent drawings, advertisements, and more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...certainly one of the most informative, in the relatively small genre of books dealing with the evolution of police..." -- William J. Bratton, former police commissioner - NYPD

From the Publisher

For the first time a book has been written about the equipment carried by police officers of our grandfather's day. Modern handcuffs hadn't been invented and any number of restraining devices were patented to help the officer subdue his prisoner. Flashlights didn't exist so the police carried lanterns to light their way. Billy clubs and nightsticks were invented which had built into them whistles, knives, rattles, handcuffs, tear gas dispensers, and almost everything but the kitchen sink.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Turn of the Century Publishers; 1st edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966593839
• ISBN-13: 978-0966593839
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,807,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best, most useful book on the subject, November 10, 2000

By 

JACK TANIS - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Police Collectibles : Dark Lanterns and Other Curious Devices (Hardcover)

It's more than a collector's guide. It's more than a reference work. It's a comprehensive, thorough, meticulously researched historical chronicle of the evolution of law enforcement in America, as enabled by and resulting from the technological advances made in the equipment available to police officers.

Utilising the archives of the United States Patent Office, the custodian of inventive progress, author Matthew G. Forte has compiled and assembled an orderly, systematic record, divided into logical categories, of the development of the devices upon which police relied on a daily basis. The categories include billy clubs and night-sticks, handcuffs, mechanical nippers, chain nippers, rattles and lanterns. Beginning with illuminating and informative comments, explanations and observations, each chapter reproduces an abundance of, including the more and most important, actual patent design drawings, as well as reprints from period catalogues.

This fully indexed book also contains a fine section of representative photographs of many items from each category. Printed on thick gloss stock, the quality of the illustrations is superb, as is the literary quality of the written text.

"American Police Collectibles" is as immensely interesting as it is an essential resource tool. It stands as the definitive work of its kind, by one of the leading experts, if not the leading expert, in this fascinating field.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A most excellent guide to Police Memorabelia, February 3, 2010

By 

Joseph M. Reed Jr. "Fire Hazzard" (Kansas City, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Police Collectibles : Dark Lanterns and Other Curious Devices (Hardcover)

I recently acquired this book and have found it to be the most detailed, complete, accurate and interesting guide on the topic of American policing equipment. It is full of historical information, and helps you identify the details that make one police relic valuable where as a similar one may be common-place. I cannot express enough the value of this tome to a collector in this genre, or even just to someone interested in early american history.

My highest recomendations asside, I don't know that I could condone spending the more than one thousand dollars that the booksellers on Amazon are currently asking for this precious volume. I was able to purchase it at a price much closer to it's $24.95 cover price, and I belive it is an absolute steal.

Happy hunting!