Hardcover, beige cloth cover, the text on the front cover and the spine in gold-coloured ink on a forest green background, entitled "English Guns & Rifles", by John Nigel George, copyrighted by Thomas G. Samworth in 1947, world copyright outside the United States by Miss K. George of Chislehurst, Kent, England, published by The Stackpole Company of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, printed in the United States of America by The Telegraph Press of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The book features in-depth descriptions, complemented by intricate line drawings of the numerous features of the various rifles and their markings, plus a collection of black and white plates throughout. It begins with a Table of Contents, followed by a Foreword by the author. The book is divided into twelve chapters: 1 - Introduction of Firearms into Tudor England; 2 - Firearms of Stuart England and the Civil Wars; 3 - The Commonwealth, Restoration and Revolution; 4 - Smooth Bores of the Early Eighteenth Century; 5 - The Sporting Gun of the Late Eighteenth Century; 6 - The Flint-Lock Rifle: 1700-1780; 7 - The Flint-Lock Rifle: 1780-1820; 8 - The Sporting Smooth-Bore; 9 - The End of the Flint-Lock; 10 - The Detonating System; 11 - Sporting Rifles: 1830-1860; 12 - Service Small Arms and the Coming of the Breech-Loader. It concludes with an Appendix of British Gunmakers of the Flint-Lock Period, a Bibliography and a six page Index. The book contains 356 pages, the text and line drawings printed in black ink, on an off-white paper stock, the twenty-five black and white plates (consisting of the frontispiece; one of the author, George, after page viii; along with twenty-three plates interspersed throughout the book) printed in black ink, on a white coated paper stock, the previous owner's name stamped on the inside front cover, measuring 162 mm (w) x 239 mm (h) x 36 mm (d). It exhibits foxing on the top edges of the pages and on the first few pages at the front and back of the book, along with wear on the identifying text on the front cover and the spine, however, the majority of the pages within remain pristine and unaffected. Better than very fine.
Footnote: John Nigel George, the author of this book, was born in 1903, the son of Stanley Beardsworth George and Grace Muriel George of Chislehurst, Kent, England. As stated in his biography written by K. George on page viii, he intended the book "to be a companion volume to his earlier work, "English Pistols and Revolvers". He wrote the first eleven chapters and made the headings and notes for the twelfth chapter. He drew all the line drawings and illustrations and planned the photographic illustrations reproduced here. In March 1939, George joined the 5th Royal West Kent Regiment of the British Volunteer Territorial Army and was ready when the Territorial Army was merged into the British Army upon war being declared on Germany by Great Britain on September 3, 1939. It was agreed to delay the publication of this book until hostilities were ended, and that should George not survive the war, one of his many friends, Mr. S.B. Haw, should write Chapter 12 and draw up a bibliography and an index. George lived through Dunkirk and recovered from a severe head wound he had received during the Belgian Flanders campaign. He served for a period in England, and following strenuous training, went to Egypt with the 8th Army. On the long journey from the Cape, he wrote of new friends and interests. Following an action in North Africa on September 3, 1942, he was killed by an enemy sniper". His death date is acknowledged as September 4, 1943, his age at death as 38, on the Commonwealth War Graves website. 6345315 Corporal John Nigel George, 5th Battalion, Queen's Own West Kent Regiment is buried in Al Alamein War Cemetery, XXI. C. 22.
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