Guns of the Old West

Fairfax, VA: Odysseus Editions, 1995. New - reluctantly removed from the original shrinkwrap to photograph the interior contents. Special Edition published for the Firearms Classics Library of the National Rifle Association and its National Firearms Museum; reprinted from the original 1961 edition. Filled with black and white Illustrations. The book is unread and pristine. Bound in red leather with hubbed spine, 22-K gold accents, silk moire endpapers, red satin bookmark, and bright unmarred gilt-edge pages. 306 pages. Measures 9 1/2" x 6 1/4".

Written by one of the foremost firearms experts of the twentieth century, Charles Edward Chapel's Guns of the Old West is an exhaustively researched document that not only boasts a significant collection of antique Western guns but also categorizes the firearms into easy-to-reference sections. Starting with an introductory chapter on the origins of guns and their earliest uses on the frontier, Chapel covers everything from muskets to rifles, pistols to revolvers, and shotguns to martial arms. As much as "Guns of the Old West "is an encyclopedic reference manual, it's also fascinating historical literature that frames the world in which these guns were used. Buffalo guns and hunters are covered, along with martial arms of the post-Civil War era. The gun collection of famous collector and hunter President Theodore Roosevelt is given its own chapter. Illustrated with nearly 500 illustrations, as well as important artwork from the Western period from artists such as Frederic Remington, "Guns of the Old West" is an essential work for gun collectors and American history enthusiasts.