Customer Reviews

British Gunmakers: Vol.1, London

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sometimes I wonder how people can devote themselves completely to one task. The making of the OED comes to mind. The two volumes of the British Gunmakers series fit that sort of description. Anyone interested in shotguns or the history of gunmaking will want these books. They will provide information and insight as no other single soure can.

...this is a reference treatise on the london gun trade that should prove useful to actual gun owners or to those involved in the trade (e.g., auction houses, appraisers, trust and estate lawyers, etc.)...

...the author's legal background strongly permeates the book's style, contents, presentation format, etc...

...coffee table tome seekers or casual dilettantes should probably look elsewhere (i.e., any of douglas tate's books, such as the 'birmingham - and, hopefully, someday, london - gunmakers' by safari press)...

...for the former 'info'-seekers: 5 stars; for the latter 'tainment'-seekers: 3 stars...

In this book I have found more information about Britisch gunsmiths than was available until now in my library. It solved some problems and gives a lot of answers to me.

This is a big book in all respects. It measures roughly 9" wide x 12" high and extends 280 pages. It is a quality hard cover with a durable plastic covered dust jacket, 50 historical b&w photos and 32 truly magnificent photos of guns made by the London trade. It is a hard cover printed on heavy mat art paper with an easy to read font size. No expense had been spared in its production. It is a reference work, but it is coffee table quality.
The author, Nigel Brown, has done a truly magnificent job of recording the history, facts and personalities in his 'British Gunmakers' series of books. Volume One deals with London and like the other volumes in this series, it will surely go down in history amongst students and researchers alike as the most respected structuring of British gunmaker information ever.
The book consists of a 17-page introductory section with followed by 4e chapters of true value. Part 1 (p20-p97)contains summarized histories of 48 of the leading London gunmakers. Part 2 provides more historic and biographical information as well as detailed lists and tables of dates and serial numbers of those gunmakers of which records had been preserved. Part 3 (p136-p218)is a comprehensive list of all London gunmakers and related trades. Brown provides names and name changes, trades, addresses and address changes and important dates. The only thing I miss here to have made this book absolutely perfect is the biographical dates (birth-death) of the individuals listed, but that would have been a virtually impossible task to accomplish. Part 4 (p220-p280) contains lists of the industry leaders (presidents, secretaries, etc) of the various bodies and associations, a list of patents, proofmarks (illustrated and defined) as well as a detailed index.
This is not a book for reading. It is a reference work and it is an awesome one. In my respectful view the best ever on the topic.

Prompt international despatch so big thanks to A1BOOKS . Book was very well packaged & in mint new condition . Bought as a present for an old mate who loves his British shotguns . It completes his set so he was very happy indeed . As with volume 1 & 2 it is a wealth of reference knowledge & a must for the serious shot of British smoothbores .