THE BRITISH SHOTGUN: VOLUME ONE 1850 - 1870. By I.M. Crudgington and D.J. Baker. Third edition.

(1979) 2011 new edition. Large 8vo (200 x 262mm). Pp256. B/w photographs and illustrations, bibliography. Black boards, spine titled in gilt.

This is a new edition of The British Shotgun Volume One, uniform with the recently published British Shotgun Volume Three 1891 - 2011. The continuing high demand for copies of Volumes One and Two of the British Shotgun series has led to the publication of new facsimile editions to complement the publication of Volume Three (Autumn 2011). All three volumes are lavishly illustrated with contemporary photographs and diagrams, illustrations and patent drawings. Volume One 1850 - 1870 traces the evolution of the shotgun during its formative years in Great Britain. Extensively and painstakingly researched, this highly regarded work gives an invaluable insight into the developments that took place during this innovative period. Chapters include: The origins; The Great Exhibition and its aftermath; John Henry Walsh, The Field and The Field Trials; Inert actions; Slide and drop actions; Side opening actions; Daw, Schneider and the Centre Fire; Sliding bolt single bite snap actions; Rotating bolt single bite snap actions; Multiple bite snap actions; Bizarre actions; The gadgetry of the centre fire; Hammerless actions. Appendices include: Small arms at the 1851 Exhibition; Programme and results of the Field Gun Trials 1858, 1859, 1866; Patent law and specifications; British shotgun patents 1850-1870. All three volumes of The British Shotgun are also available together for the special Coch-y-Bonddu price of just GBP 90.00.