American Police Collectibles : Dark Lanterns and Other Curious Devices (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

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

Product Description

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.

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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 (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,244,909 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 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 (FERNANDINA BEACH, FL USA) - See all my reviews

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.