Smith & Wesson Hand Guns

A very informative history of Smith & Wesson firearms from the origins of the company in the 1850's until 1945. I was particularly pleased by the information about Smith & Wesson firearms (and imitations made by other companies) during the Civil War period and the subsequent period of Western expansion. I had assumed that few metallic cartridge handguns were used in the Civil War. The book indicates that, while they were not military issue weapons, they were widely purchased by officers and soldiers as personal weapons. I was also interested in learning that Smith & Wesson brought out a large caliber metallic cartridge revolver, the 1870 American model, three years before the famous 1873 Colt Single Action Army, and that this and other Smith & Wessons were used by gunfighters like Jesse James. (Replicas of period S&W's are finally showing up in Western movies, something which was overdue.) The book is a real bargain on Kindle.

Smith and Wesson, among my favorite mechanical devices, wheel devices are fun, and adequate. this is a good addition to my mechanical library. CC46

I’m half way through this book and it’s a wealth of information I must admit, it does have an annoying feature however. There are numerous plates / pics/ renderings ,etc… in the back of the book but he almost never refers to them during the text making it difficult to get a visual of what’s being described. I also found the chronological order of things a little difficult to follow. Finally I found it odd that he didn’t go deeper at the beginning of the book on the specific talents of Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson. Having said all of that…the detail in the book is rather amazing, especially the connection to the cartridge side of the story as the firearms are being developed. . Solid book overall.

Had hoped for.more detailed info, but nice book.

Great reference, covers all models - from the first to current,

Just finished reading this! It's a great book on the subject, especially for novice collectors, such as me. It was first published in 1945, so real recent guns are not discussed and the reader must bear it's age in mind as many references to 70 - 80 year old guns are in the present tense, so seem odd. Great read and reference, though!!

Written in 1944, therefore, language is a bit archaic but the conversational style narrative is a refreshing break from dry technical volumes. Although the title says. "Smith & Wesson" there are numerous mentions of and comparisons with other brands. Plenty of tech info and illustrations for technophiles..

Interesting, but no where close to the catalog

Smith & Wessonの、１９４５年頃までのモデルを紹介している本。初版は１９４５年だが、この本は１９９７年の復刻版である。イラストに時代を感じるが、Hand Ejector Modelのダブルアクションのイラストが、最近日本の本で紹介されるものと違う（おそらくこれがオリジナルだろう)のに注目すべし。

Interesting book reprinted from a much older copy. Full of good information and not tarnished by incorrect references and statements.

Per chi vuole approfondire la storia della famosa fabbrica americana

I recently bought my first S&W revolver: a New model #1½ Tip-up .32 cal. rimfire revolver in excellent condition, and wanted to learn more about the company and the early revolvers they designed. This book did not disappoint!

A1