The 1930s was a decade that provided impressive breakthroughs in the field of forensic ballistics, or firearms identification. Following the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929, where ballistic expert Calvin Goddard’s testimony brought attention to the relatively new field, several forensic ballistic books were published. Among these were Burrard’s The Identification of Firearms and Forensic Ballistics and Hatcher’s Textbook of Firearms Investigations, Identification, and Evidence. Burrard introduced forensic examination to the British judicial system; Hatcher applied his considerable knowledge of firearms and ammunition to weapons’ design, manufacture, and testing. Gunthers’ The Identification of Firearms combined the approaches of these volumes into a new book that emphasized both the painstaking scientific methodology vital to firearms identification, complete with ballistics photographs, and its practical use by analyses of several legal cases where firearms identification was used. These include the infamous Sacco-Vanzetti case, the first in American legal history where forensic ballistics played a very prominent role in courtroom proceedings. The Gunther brothers utilized their respective legal and military experience to provide a comprehensive reference volume that is noteworthy for those interested in law enforcement or ballistics as well as gun enthusiasts.

SCOTT (Copy 1): From the John Holmes Library Collection.

First published in Great Britain in 1881 and subsequently revised nine times between then and 1910, The Gun and Its Development traces the fascinating history of weaponry: the obscure, ancient origins of the slingshot and the bow, the invention of the crossbow, possibly around 1000 AD; the introduction of gunpowder into Europe in the fourteenth century; the development of sporting and military guns over the centuries thereafter; and the rise of modern, mass-produced firearms in the early twentieth century. Chapters cover early to modern handguns; gunpowder ignition methods from fuses and flintlocks to percussion fulminates; shotguns; hammerless guns; ejector guns; the history of the firearms industry; manufacturing methods and their development in Britain, America, and elsewhere; how to use and handle different types of guns; ballistics; the development of rifling and smokeless powder; and much more. Copiously illustrated with photographs and marvelous engravings, The Gun and Its Development is the classic, authoritative reference work on the subject, certain to be of great interest to marksmen, hunters, gun collectors, and anyone interested in military or industrial history.