Remarks On Rifle Guns; Being The Result Of Upwards Of Fifty Years' Practice And Observation; With Specific Remarks On Fowling Pieces, The Percussion Lock, And Fire Arms In General. To Which Are Subjoined Descriptions Of A New Bullet Mould And Clipper, Various Improvements In Gun And Door Locks And Spring Bolts, A Description Of Fire-Arms Deposited In The Royal Arsenal At Woolwich, Including All The Improvements And Inventions For Which Three Silver Medals Have Been Awarded By The Society Of Arts, Together With Tables Of Weights Of Balls, Descriptive Plates Etc.,

Ezekiel Baker

Published by Joseph Mallett, London, 1829

About this Item

The apparently original binding has marbled paper on boards, with black leather to spine and outer corners of boards. The paper on the covers is heavily rubbed, as are the leather corner sections, with much loss to the leather and subsequent 'show through'. The front board is loose but still attached.The spine is decorated with gilt lettering and lines, with losses to the head and tail. The book would benefit from a re-bind. Internally, the book appears to be lacking a front end page, starting with a text page, in a different type setting to the main book and thicker paper, referring to 'further and important improvements in the Lock of the Gun'. This page is loosely sewn in and is practically detached from the main book. The main title page has a hand coloured frontis of 'Rifleman Presenting'. Traces of this illustration have transferred to the title page. The next page shows a hand coloured royal coat of arms surmounting reproductions of three six inch targets (not to scale) said to have been shot at by the then Prince of Wales, later King George Fourth in 1805., followed by a printed dedication to King George IV. Opposite page 188 a single unpaginated page entitled 'Stocking of Guns' has been inserted, together with a tipped-in hand coloured diagram showing how the rifle/gun should be aligned to prevent under shooting. At the rear of the book are five further hand coloured illustrations, three showing 'Rifleman Presenting' positions and two illustrating likely 'hits' on a human form from 24 and 34 yards, using the Baker Rifle. Also at the rear are seven pages of diagrams and recorded data of tests of Baker's rifles. A remarkable volume highlighting the production of the Baker Rifle, brought to modern fame by way of Bernard Cornwell's series of Sharpe novels. 251 pages plus plates and data pages.

Seller Inventory # 001558

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Remarks On Rifle Guns; Being The Result Of Upwards Of Fifty Years' Practice And Observation; With Specific Remarks On Fowling Pieces, The Percussion Lock, And Fire Arms In General. To Which Are Subjoined Descriptions Of A New Bullet Mould And Clipper, Various Improvements In Gun And Door Locks And Spring Bolts, A Description Of Fire-Arms Deposited In The Royal Arsenal At Woolwich, Including All The Improvements And Inventions For Which Three Silver Medals Have Been Awarded By The Society Of ...
• Publisher: Joseph Mallett, London
• Publication Date: 1829
• Language: English
• Binding: Half Leather
• Edition: Tenth Edition
• Condition: Fair
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket