I've just received these two volumes from TOW. I've had them for about three hours, and can't believe I've gone without them! They immediately answer a lot of my building questions - eg showing the prevalence of guns without toeplates, at least among the surviving pieces.
Some complain about the B&W photos, but I wonder whether colour photos would actually distract by highlighting wear and tear rather than the main lines and decorative features.
Although my edition was published in 2002 the date at the end of Shumway's into is 1980, so I'm assuming it doesn't include any update. If so, I'm wondering how many new colonial rifles have come to light in recent years, and how many of his 'unattributables' have now been pinned down. Or does this book, by and large, still represent the sum of rifles known?
He says that in '20 years' a definitive history might be written, ie about now. It would be interesting to see what that would be like. Having also just reread the first, historical chapters of Alexander's Gunsmith of Grenville County, I wonder whether there would now be more emphasis on the very interesting question - to me anyway - of the Indian trade and longrifle development: eg that barrel length may have been a response to the Indian affection for the trade long gun, and the possibility that a much larger proportion of rifles than has been thought went to the Indians (and were buried with them - maybe archaeology is our next big source for early longrifles, if only it was possible to dig up more Indian burials of this period!)
I know this posting could go in the documentation forum, but I bought these books because I'm building a colonial rifle, and I'd be interested to hear builders' perspectives on these books.
Some complain about the B&W photos, but I wonder whether colour photos would actually distract by highlighting wear and tear rather than the main lines and decorative features.
Although my edition was published in 2002 the date at the end of Shumway's into is 1980, so I'm assuming it doesn't include any update. If so, I'm wondering how many new colonial rifles have come to light in recent years, and how many of his 'unattributables' have now been pinned down. Or does this book, by and large, still represent the sum of rifles known?
He says that in '20 years' a definitive history might be written, ie about now. It would be interesting to see what that would be like. Having also just reread the first, historical chapters of Alexander's Gunsmith of Grenville County, I wonder whether there would now be more emphasis on the very interesting question - to me anyway - of the Indian trade and longrifle development: eg that barrel length may have been a response to the Indian affection for the trade long gun, and the possibility that a much larger proportion of rifles than has been thought went to the Indians (and were buried with them - maybe archaeology is our next big source for early longrifles, if only it was possible to dig up more Indian burials of this period!)
I know this posting could go in the documentation forum, but I bought these books because I'm building a colonial rifle, and I'd be interested to hear builders' perspectives on these books.
