Gun and Its Development, The

New York: Bonanza Books, no date (circa 1967), Hardbound, about 8.75 inches tall by 7.25 inches wide, 804 pages. Index. Over 700 black and white illustrations. This work was first published in 1881; this Bonanza edition is a facsimile reprint of the Ninth Edition, which was rewritten with many additional illustrations in 1910.

First published in Great Britain in 1881 and subsequently revised nine times between that date and 1910, The Gun and Its Development traces the fascinating history of weaponry from the obscure, ancient origins of the slingshot and the bow and continuing on to the invention of the crossbow, possibly around 1000 a.d.; the introduction of gunpowder into Europe in the 14th century; the development of sporting and military guns over the centuries thereafter; and the rise of modern, factory-mass-produced firearms in the early 20th century.Individual chapters cover early to modern handguns; gunpowder ignition methods from fuses and flintlocks to percussion fulminates; shotguns; hammerless guns; ejector guns; the history of the firearms industry; manufacturing methods and their development in Britain, America, and elsewhere; how to use and handle different types of guns; ballistics; the development of rifling and smokeless powder; and much more.Copiously illustrated with photographs and marvelous engravings, The Gun and Its Development is the classic, authoritative reference work on the subject, certain to be of great interest to marksmen, hunters, gun collectors, and anyone interested in military or industrial history. (6 x 9, 846 pages, illustrations, charts)William Wellington Greener (1834-1921) was a world-renowned expert on the history of guns, and a pioneer in both the development of modern firearms-especially choke barrels for shotguns-and in the metallurgy and machining processes used in their manufacture.