United Kingdom. Pictorial History of Swords & Bayonets

Hardcover, emerald green cloth cover, with dust jacket, the text on the spine in silver-coloured ink, entitled "Pictorial History of Swords & Bayonets", by Robert J. Wilkinson-Latham, copyrighted by the author in 1973, published by Ian Allan Limited of Shepperton, Surrey in 1973, printed in the United Kingdom by Morrison and Gibb Limited of London and Edinburgh, dust jacket design by Ian Allen Studio, ISBN 0 7110 0394 7. As noted on the dust jacket: "This book traces the evolution of swords, bayonets, dirks and daggers from their beginning until 1918. The detailed text describes and follows the history of the sword, from the bronze and iron swords of the years before Christ, through the Roman, Viking and Saxon weapons; the swords of the Crusades; the elegant thin bladed rapier and the gentleman's 'Town' or small sword of the 18th century. The military sword is described in detail from the time of the formation of the first professional armies in Europe, through the various improvements and changes in style until the technically designed weapons of the 20th century. Each type, whether infantry, cavalry or navy is discussed and the various patterns of some of the leading powers traces until 1918, when the sword was no longer regarded as an effective weapon of war and relegated to ceremonial occasions. The evolution of the bayonet is traced from its uncertain beginning, and the large variety of locking devices and patterns of sword bayonet of some of the leading powers are followed in detail. The knife, dirk and dagger are also fully discussed. Native and non-military swords and daggers are included and the main types and styles described. Photographs and drawings illustrate some 400 swords, 170 bayonets and 165 dirks, daggers and knives, all of which have been selected to complement the text. Line drawings show makers' marks and typical examples of blade decoration. Many of the weapons are here illustrated for the first time. This pictorial history is the ideal work of identification and reference to the collector and provides the general reader with a fascinating survey of the evolution of some of man's oldest weapons." The first half of the book is text and line drawings. It begins with an Introduction by the author, the book itself divided into three sections, each with multiple areas under subheadings: 1 - Swords (Evolution and History up to 1750; Swords of Europe 1750-1918; Swords of America 1770-1918; Swords of Asia Including Russia 1800-1918; Swords of India 1850-1918; Non-Military and Native Swords); 2 - Dagger, Knives and Dirks (Evolution and History up to 1750; Scottish Dirks; Naval Dirks; Other Daggers and Knives); 3 - Bayonets (Evolution and History up to 1750; Bayonets of Europe 1750-1918; Bayonets of America 1770-1918; Bayonets of Asia Including Russia 1800-1918). It concludes with a two-page Appendix, a List of Illustration Credits, a Bibliography and a four-page Index. The second half of the book features 300 plates of black and white photographs, each with an identification tagline. The book contains 96 pages of text and line drawings, printed in black ink, on a white paper stock, while the 128 pages of photographic plates are printed in black ink, on a semi-coated paper stock, a total of 428 pages of text and photographs, measuring 155 mm (w) x 235 mm (h) x 20 mm (d). Near extremely fine.

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