Maurice Bottet / John Forrest Hayward - L'arme blanche et l'arme à feu portative des armées françaises / Les armes à feu anciennes 1500-1830 - 1967-1970

- Maurice Bottet. Monograph of the blade arm of the French land and sea armies 1789-1870. Monograph of portable firearms of the French land and sea armies from 1718 to present. Paris, F. de Nobele, 1968, 89 pp. and 16 plates; 107 pp. and 5 plates

A copy in quarto (225x140 mm), grey publisher’s hardcover. Very good overall condition. Interior very fresh, no foxing.

Reprint of 1968 limited to 300 copies

Maurice Bottet is a specialist in the history of French armaments. In these two complementary studies, he traces the evolution of bladed weapons and of the portable firearms regulated for the French land and sea forces. The first part is devoted to sabers, swords, bayonets and other bladed weapons used from the Revolution to the end of the Second Empire; the second examines portable firearms, from the early flintlock weapons to the models of the late 19th century.

- John Forrest Hayward. Early Firearms, 1500-1660. Fribourg, Office du Livre, 1967, 422 pp.

A copy in quarto (240x170 mm), full cloth with illustrated dust jacket. Very good overall condition. Interior very fresh, no foxing.

Second edition

John Forrest Hayward, curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and specialist in the history of weapons, presents in this work a historical and technical study of portable firearms of the Renaissance and early modern era. He traces the evolution of arquebuses, muskets, pistols and other weapons with antique mechanisms, examining their ignition systems, manufacturing, decorations and the traditions specific to the main European armouries.

- John Forrest Hayward. Early Firearms, 1660-1830. Fribourg, Office du Livre, 1970, 368 pp.

A copy in quarto (240x170 mm), full cloth with illustrated dust jacket. Very good overall condition. Interior very fresh, no foxing.

Third edition

John Forrest Hayward continues in this second volume his study of the evolution of portable firearms. Covering the period 1660-1830, he analyzes the technical and aesthetic transformations of European arquebusiery, from the development of flintlock weapons to the advent of percussion systems. The work examines the productions of the major gun-making centers and national traditions, particularly in France, England, Scotland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.