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

1979 1st edition. Large 8vo (157 x 240mm). Pp256. B/w photographs, illustrations, photograph end-papers. Brown cloth, spine titled in gilt.

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.