THE SHOTGUN: HISTORY and DEVELOPMENT. By Geoffrey Boothroyd.

(1985) 1993 1st US edition. 8vo (160 x 240mm). Pp240. B/w photographs, illustrations, decorative end-papers. Red boards, spine titled in gilt.

Geoffrey Boothroyd was a frequent contributor to The Shooting Times over decades. "For this, the first of two books on the shotgun, a selection has been chosen from well over 800 articles dealing with the history and development of the sporting shotgun." Most of the photographs are the author's own. Chapters include; A brief history - early history, the flintlock perfected, the detonator, the early breechloaders, the development of the breechloader, successes and failures, the breechloader perfected, new ideas, repeating shotguns; Flint guns - double flintlock shotgun, a detached lock, "hammerless flintlock", "tin box" gun; The percussion gun - more about Forsyth and his lock, the development of the detonator, percussion locks, the conversion, a converted Manton, Scott percussion shotgun, the percussion hammer, Charles Jones patent locks, William Greener's muzzle loader, a late muzzle loader; Shooting the muzzle loading shotgun - the early breechloaders, the pinfire; Lefaucheux, modified Lefaucheux; After Lefaucheux - a Purdey pinfire, the Adams pinfire, those cunning craftsmen, the lock fast action, the Westley Richards pinfire, the Jones action, a lump to each barrel, sliding barrels, a sliding Egg, slide forward barrels, Rees L. Lloyd of Belper, pinfires are fun, Gasquoine and Dyson of Manchester, the Birmingham gun trade in 1868, the central-fire hammer breechloader; Miscellany - Schneider of Paris, central-fire conversions, the Westley Richards patents, a double double pinfire, odds and ends, Charles Lancaster's breechloader, Pape of Newcastle, Pape's extractor system, the Purdey bolt, Wiggan and Elliott shotgun, self-cocking hammer guns, Perkes' patent self-cocking guns, Stephen Grant sidelever, Stephen Grant underlever, hammers, Chassepot shotgun, a pair of Lancasters, H. Holland London, Holland and Holland Paradox No. 15629, tracing a gunmaker.