of Art, New York: “I also recommend your book to the public for its very practical discussion of condition and restoration as they affect the historical and monetary values of firearms.”
And that brings me to the man and his credentials (as if the book is not enough!): One of the best-known antique arms dealers in the world, Flayderman has personally catalogued and described more firearms of all types than anyone else in gun collecting history. His own sales catalogs (issued from 1954 to 1998) were the most widely read and cited throughout the hobby. The 120 editions published over those years enjoyed the longest consecutive run of any ever issued and have become worthy collectors items in their own right! Collectors worldwide recognize him as a serious student in many specific fields and know him to freely share his knowledge.
In his years as a dealer Norm Flayderman has appraised and purchased some of the largest firearms collections in America. His expertise is often sought by well-known museums, historical societies and government agencies; his many formal appointments to their staffs being a fine measure of competence. There is more, but the point is obvious: Norm Flayderman is the right fellow to have produced this book. We are fortunate he has brought the same conscientious accuracy and insightful judgment to this Ninth Edition.
KEN RAMAGE, EDITOR GUN DIGEST
Introduction
STAYING THE COURSE
This 9th edition marks the anniversary of 30 years in-print for this Guide! The continuous enthusiastic manner in which the preceding eight editions were accepted by my fellow collectors and dealers in this ever-fascinating hobby has been highly gratifying. The realization that all those many years sped by so swiftly cannot help but elicit a few personal remarks (with the reader’s indulgence) for the excitement and pleasure afforded me by the provocative challenge of assembling, composing and editing these nine editions. Surveying the bustling, often changeable pace of the marketplace has proven a continual cause for attention. Along with that lively action, keeping an eye on the unceasing flow of newly published works, with its added bounty of freshly revealed data for this hobby, have managed to keep me on my toes and not allow for many dull moments. The mere quantity of that literature, embracing everything from major studies of firearms not previously examined to the minutiae of manufacturing details and variances (often the very essence of collecting), is amply affirmed by the bibliographies throughout this Guide.
The practice established with all prior editions of adding new information brought to my attention and reporting ever-changing collecting trends, has continued to make these Guides credible and useful tools for the collector. As originally anticipated when preparing the first edition of this Guide over three decades earlier (and since), it was inevitable there would be gaps in data or omissions for some models cataloged here, while numerous variants were certain to be lacking for many other entries. It was also recognized then, that with gradual maturing of the hobby, the future years held many changes in store for previously unrecognized American firearms to qualify as antique and gain admission to the ranks of the long-established, venerable arms collectibles. For many American firearms, that time decidedly arrived during the intervening years. They are noted by the inclusion of numerous previously overlooked and unstudied makes, models and variations. Chapter VIII (Cartridge Handguns) bears particularly valid witness to that observation. It is just such information that is proven worthy for addition to this 9th Edition and portends the future for other specialty fields of arms collecting.
An increasingly visible trend noticeable over the years, and one which may be reasonably accepted as an accurate barometer, has been the ever-increasing emphasis focused upon detail and manufacturing minutiae which continues to dominate numerous areas of collecting; especially the series of firearms made by major manufacturers such as Colt, Winchester, Remington, Smith & Wesson, etc. Recent decades have also seen greater, justly deserved, significance accorded to antique firearms directly associated with many historic eras and outstanding events of America’s past as well as firearms identifiable to individuals that owned and carried them. Commensurate with that heightened appreciation has been a noteworthy advance in comparative values, not a few reflecting unprecedented gains based on great historical import.
IMPARTING NEW INFORMATION; INCURSIONS ON VIRGIN TERRITORIES
This updated 9th Edition is the largest and most extensive yet undertaken with over 1,200 revisions, modifications and an unprecedented wealth of significant new data and illustrations. Making use of every bit of available space in the 8th Edition for that profusion of fresh material, it was still necessary to increase the length of this work in excess of twenty percent. That detailed, practical information along with numerous entries never previously included are to be found throughout every chapter of this Guide, accompanied with a reevaluation of over four thousand individual firearms. Once again, Chapter VIII American Metallic Cartridge Handguns continues among those sections reflecting an especially notable increase of information to include salient detail about handguns never previously catalogued and others that are finally placed in a proper perspective (such as the innocuous little revolvers known as “Saturday Night Specials” and the un-American named “British Bulldog” which has assumed a startling role in American arms collecting). Among other chapters noteworthy for the large numbers of new entries and additional factual data are those classifying the firearms of Ethan Allen (V-A); Colt Firearms (V-B); Remington Firearms (V-E); Smith & Wesson (V-G); all the subsections and categories of percussion handguns of Chapter VII; American Military Longarms (IX); and the numerous sections of Chapter XVIII Miscellanea (revealing reliable information on the once-questionable air rifle carried by Meriwether Lewis on the historic Lewis and Clark 1803 Exploring Expedition). Just about all bases have been covered.
As for those “INCURSIONS ON VIRGIN TERRITORIES” inferred in the caption above: I must admit to yielding to a personal fixation for challenging the subjects of Dueling in America and Dueling Pistols (Chapter VII-F). It appeared the time was right and long overdue to inject a note of skepticism and disbelief at the manner in which both subjects have been accepted carte blanche by collectors, historians and the public at large. Having examined the subject at reasonable depth for my recent study of the folklore, legend and myth of the Bowie knife (to refute a misconception that some American duels were actually fought with those knives), I became acutely aware that the entire subject was one fraught with misconceptions, distortions and outright fallacies. It was invariably treated in an utterly simplistic manner. Many of those same misrenderings of dueling practices were transposed directly to “Dueling Pistols.” At first glance a simple, unassuming explanation was envisioned. However, with ever-increasing curiosity, as the topic was examined that doubtfulness heightened accordingly. Ostensibly there has been a general acceptance, across-the-board (lock, stock and barrel) of just about everything ever printed about those subjects for the past two centuries. It appears that no discernible voices were ever raised in disapproval or objection to even the most blatant distortions and delusions. I harbor the hope that my disputation and polemics might inject a note of rationality and logic into both subjects of “dueling” and “dueling pistols.” Optimistically the gauntlet, thus thrown down, will not be found unmerited or irrelevant, but rather, will serve as a spark to motivate an enterprising historian, student or collector to accept that challenge to investigate the subjects at greater depth. They are deeply embedded in arms tradition as well as American folklore and deserve better treatment and judicious attention!
A persistently overlooked subject also due the attention of collectors is the relevance of early catalogs of firearms manufacturers and the merchants who sold those same guns. Others equally pertinent, are long outdated auction and other sales catalogs of notable American gun collections, many of which played historic, as well as informative roles in the story of antique American arms collecting. Quite a few of them continue to serve as important references to the present-day. Their significance has not been merely underrated, but entirely disregarded. A few are particularly worthy of veneration and are discussed in Chapter I (Collecting Firearms). Equally relevant have been the numerous periodicals devoted to antique firearms that have come and gone over the length of the 20th