BRITISH COMMERCIAL CARBINES 1750 – 1900

Covering the political and economic conditions under which such carbines were made together with a categorisation of the carbines into groups based on the style and operation. The main and most important part of the book, however, is a photo gallery with colour illustrations of carbines from 1750 to 1900.

The photo gallery has been prepared, not with the well-known photos from The Tower, Royal Armouries or The National Army Museum. Instead, the author has searched out the carbines that you will find at Arms Fairs, Auctions, Dealers Catalogues & Private Collections. These are mostly not Museum Quality (although some are exceptional quality) but represent the style and condition of carbines that are available in the real world.

There are seven non Ordnance Paget carbines including rare musket bore variants from Mexico and New Zealand. New to this volume are Portuguese carbines made from imported British parts.
Also included are many percussion carbines together with capping breech loading carbines by Calisher & Terry and Westley Richards and patented CBL actions by Hughes, Prince, Green Bros. and Mont Storm. As well as Snider and Martini Henry carbines there are variant patterns by Alexander Henry, Swinburn and Westley Richards and a 1900 Lee Enfield carbine by the LSA Co.

CONTENTS :
INTRODUCTION
PART 1 Historical Background
Chapter 1 Volunteers
Chapter 2 The East India Company and Indian regiments
Chapter 3 Colonial Conflicts
Chapter 4 The London and Birmingham Gun Trade

PART 2 Carbine Photo Gallery
With photographs of over 100 carbines including:
Flintlock breech loading carbines on the Sartoris and Egg/Crespi principle
Spear carbine by Gully, Eliott style carbines, Paget carbines by Egg, Purdy & others
Rifled carbines by Nock & Baker
Rare patent carbines by Green, Hart, Prince & Hughes
Lovell style, Enfield, Calisher & Terry, Westley Richards, Snider, Martini and many others

PART 3 Carbine Patterns
Chapter 5 Flintlock Carbines
Chapter 6 Carbines of the East India Company and Indian Regiments
Chapter 7 Percussion Muzzle Loaders
Chapter 8 Capping Breech Loaders
Chapter 9 Cartridge Breech Loaders
Chapter 10 Gun Collecting

APPENDIX
1. Non Ordnance Carbine Data Base
2. Irregular Indian Cavalry Regiments
3. Volunteer and Yeomanry Cavalry by County 1794 – 1802
4. Fencible Cavalry formed in 1794
5. List of Light Horse and Mounted Rifle Volunteers after 1860
Bibliography
Index