BOSS and CO: BUILDERS OF BEST GUNS ONLY. By Donald Dallas. First edition.

1995 1st edition. Large 4to (206 x 292mm). Ppx,262. Colour plates, b/w photographs, illustrations, bibliography. Fawn boards, spine titled in gilt.

"The gunmaking firm of Boss and Company has been in continuous existence for two centuries. Throughout this period, unlike many of its contemporaries, it has remained a family firm. Its logo "Builders of Best Guns Only" was conceived without any arrogance and perfectly describes both the firm and its founder, Thomas Boss (1790-1857), who built sporting guns and rifles of the the highest quality only. This tradition was carried on after his death and today the firm produces best guns to exactly that same standard. [In addition] they have been responsible for major technical innovations in gunmaking. John Robertson, the proprietor at the turn of the century, produced the first reliable single trigger that won universal acclaim. He also invented an over-and-under gun that is generally agreed to be the lightest, strongest and most handsome over-and-under ever produced. [The author] has undertaken considerable research into the history of the family and the guns they built. He charts the changes, fortunes and misfortunes of the business throughout its history." Chapters include: Family origins; Thomas Boss gunmaker; 73 St. James's Street; The guns and rifles of the muzzle-loading era; The Scottish connection; John Robertson, proprietor of Boss and Co., 1891; Chattels and chocolates; The 'Young Governors'; Horse Shoe Alley and beyond; Building a best gun only; The guns and rifles of the Robertson era. Many appendices give between them a mass of information such as the Boss family tree, the Paddison family tree, barrel wording, trade labels, chronologies of the firm, breakdowns of gun production covering the nineteenth century to 1950, the dating of Boss guns, patents, and gunmakers employed by Boss and Co.