Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Herb Houze
Dennis. Blue Book of Airguns. Minneapolis, Minn: Blue Book Pubs., 2001. Background of history and development; coverage essentially those of the post-1900 era (over 50 mfrs. and their products listed and valued).
Akehurst, R. Antique Weapons For Pleasure And Investment. New York: Arco Publishing Co., 1969. Advice on where and how to buy, points that affect values and hints on restoration.
Akehurst, R. The World Of Guns. London: Hamlyn Publishing Group, 1972. A broad general survey of all types of antique guns.
Amber, John T. (Compiler) Ten Rare Gun Catalogs 1860-1899. New York: Greenberg Pub., 1952. Exact reprints of ten famous American makers, including: “Winchester, 1875 & 1885 editions; Whitney Arms Co., 1878; S & W c. 1882; Wm. Wurfflein, Phila 1889; Parker Bros. c. 1899 and arms dealer G. W. Clafin & Co. 1886; J. H. Johnston, 1895.”
Bailey, D. W., Hogg, I., Boothroyd, G. and Wilkinson, F. Guns And Gun Collecting. New York: Crown Publishing, 1972. Very fine color plates illustrating seven articles on various aspects of collecting.
*Baldwin, John. Indian Guns, Spears and Shields of the American Frontier. W. Olive, Mich. Early American Artistry Pub. Co., 2002.
Barnett, J.P. The Life Saving Guns of David Lyle. South Bend, Indiana: Town & Country Press, 1976.
Bennett, S. and Worthen, W.B. Arkansas Made 1819-1870 Volume I. Fayetteville, Ark: University of Arkansas, 1990. Highly important, well-illustrated chapter on history of gunmaking and gunmakers in that state.
Bilby, Joseph G. Civil War Firearms…Their Historical Background, Tactical Use and Modern Collecting and Shooting. Conshohocken, Pa.: Combined Pub. Co., 1996. Merges technical data with details of their use on battlefield; a unit-by-unit study and how their performance and employment differed from popular conceptions.
Bingham, R.W. Early Buffalo Gunsmiths. Buffalo, N.Y.: Buffalo Historical Society, 1934. Monograph.
Blackmore, H. L. Guns And Rifles Of The World. New York: Viking Press, 1965. An excellent history of antique guns by an highly acclaimed author. Heavily illustrated with guns of all countries.
Blair, C. European And American Arms c.1100-1850. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1962. Very broad scope and coverage by a noted authority. Blair, C. Pistols Of The World. New York: Viking Press, 1968. An important treatise on the handgun; covers all types of all countries 16th to 20th centuries. Heavily illustrated.
Boddington, C. America: The Men & Their Guns That Made Her Great. Los Angeles, California: Peterson Publishing Co., 1981. Sixteen respected historians and firearms experts discuss how the development of weapons technology shaped American history in some famous as well as some little known incidents.
Boehret, P.C. Arming The Troops 1775-1815: Arms Makers & Comments. Easton, PA: Hobson Printing Co., 1967.
*Boorman, Dean K. Guns of the Old West; an Illustrated History. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press, 2002. An overview of the significant types of firearms used on the Western frontier beginning with Louisiana Purchase to c. 1890s.
Boothroyd, G. The Handgun. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1970. A massive sized study of the evolution of handguns from matchlocks to automatics. Illustrating guns of all countries.
Bowman, H. W. Famous Guns From The Smithsonian Collection. New York: Arco Publishing Co., 1967. Informative text and illustrations on patent legislation, inventors, unique weapons and a wealth of historic detail, anecdotes, legends from this famous National collection.
Bowman, H. W. Famous Guns From The Winchester Collection. New York: Arco Publishing Co., 1958. One of America’s most noted collections, the author has selected a group of outstanding specimens from flintlock to repeating rifles.
*Browning, J. and Gentry, Curt. John M. Browning, American Gunmaker. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1964; Browning Company, 1987. Biography of this famed inventor and his guns.
Buehr, W. Firearms. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1967. Written for the novice; a quickly and easily read survey of history of guns, from handguns to cannon.
Butler, D. F. United States Firearms-The First Century 1776-1875. New York: Winchester Press, 1971. Account of design evolution of American small arms.
Byron, D. Gunmarks. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1979. Tradenames, codemarks and proofs from 1870 to the present.
*Canfield, Bruce. U.S. Infantry Weapons of the First World War. Lincoln, R.I: Andrew Mowbray Publishers, 2000.
Carey, A. M. American Firearms Makers. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1953. Listing of makers from Colonial period to end of 19th century with data on each. Widely used reference.
*Carman, W. Y. A History of Firearms from Earliest Times to 1914. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Pub., Inc., 2004. Reprint of earlier 1955 work. Contains some useful references and entertaining anecdotes.
Chapel, C. E. The Complete Book Of Gun Collecting. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1939, 1947, 1960. Answers a great many questions about collecting; especially useful to the new collector.
Chapel, C. E. The Gun Collector’s Handbook Of Values. New York: Coward-McCann & Geoghegan, Inc., 1940, 1947 and numerous later revised editions. A pioneer work in the field of antique gun collecting. The first major attempt to codify, list and value a great many antique guns.
Chapel, C. E. Guns Of The Old West. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1961. History and details of American firearms 18th and 19th centuries which opened the frontiers beyond the Alleghenies to the securing of territory to the West Coast.
Chinn, Col. George M. The Machine Gun; History, Evolution & Development of Manual, Automatic & Airborn Repeating Weapons. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Ordnance, U.S. Navy, 1951. Vol. I of multi-volume set important for coverage of Gatling and other early U.S. types.
Cook, Grafton. A.W. Spies: Importer, Outfitter & Fireman. Niles, Mich.: Privately printed monograph, 1999. History of well known N.Y. arms dealer c. 1820’s-1870’s.
*Curtis, Chris C. Systeme Lefaucheux: Continuing the Study of Pinfire Cartridge Arms [and] Their Role in the American Civil War. Santa Ana, Calif.: Arms Lore Press, 2002.
*Demeritt, D. P., Jr. Maine Made Guns And Their Makers. Hallowell, Maine: Maine State Museum, 1973. Well researched and illustrated treatise on all types of arms produced in Maine. Revised, enlarged, 1997.
Dexter, F. Theodore. Thirty-Five Years’ Scrapbook of Antique Arms. Topeka, Kansas: published by author, 1947. Two volumes. Includes many illus. and details of American and European guns including values as of 1947. Informative; interesting.
Dexter, F. Theodore. Forty-Two Years’ Scrapbook of Rare Ancient Firearms. Los Angeles, Calif.: W. F. Lewis Publisher, 1954. Profuse photo illus. includes many rare American and European arms and their market values.
Deyrup, F. J. Arms Makers Of The Connecticut Valley. Northampton, Massachusetts: Smith College, 1948. Study of the economic development of the small arms industry 1798-1870.
*Dorsey, R. Stephen Guns of the Western Indian War. Eugene, Oregon: Collectors Library, 1995. Illus. & details of the many and various used by the “hostiles” and U.S. issued.
duMont, J. S. Custer Battle Guns. Ft. Collins, Colorado: