--- product_id: 8126793 title: "Firearms: An Illustrated History" price: "£39.31" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/8126793-firearms-an-illustrated-history store_origin: GB region: Great Britain --- # Global firearms coverage Expert-curated historical insights 400+ vivid color images Firearms: An Illustrated History **Price:** £39.31 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 📖 Unlock the legacy of firearms—where history meets art and passion. ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Firearms: An Illustrated History - **How much does it cost?** £39.31 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/8126793-firearms-an-illustrated-history) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Curated Expertise:** Compiled with input from four seasoned firearms consultants for authoritative content. - • **Visual Masterpiece:** Over 400 stunning color photos that bring firearm history to life. - • **Collector’s Pride:** Ranked #3 in Firearm Collecting—an essential addition to your library. - • **Conversation Starter:** A perfect coffee table book that sparks curiosity and admiration. - • **Comprehensive Timeline:** From matchlocks to modern artillery, trace the evolution of small arms. ## Overview Firearms: An Illustrated History is a visually rich, expert-assembled reference book featuring over 400 color images and detailed coverage of small arms and artillery from early matchlocks to modern weapons. Highly rated and a top choice for collectors, it offers a European-biased but comprehensive timeline, making it a must-have for enthusiasts and professionals alike. ## Description Firearms: An Illustrated History [DK] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Firearms: An Illustrated History Review: Worthwhile addition to a firearms library - Something of a coffee table picture book, which is not a bad thing. This book includes beautiful color pictures of small arms and artillery from matchlocks to modern firearms. I bought this book because I wanted some information about the change over from flintlock firearms to percussion cap weapons; this book answered my questions. For sure, it is a very useful reference work. Particularly beautiful are the pictures of the elaborately inlayed and engraved “Ottoman” rifles from the 17th and 18th centuries. Perhaps it’s nit picking, but I may as well point out a few of the books weaknesses. To begin with, the book was assembled with the expert assistance of four consultants. Three of the four are Brits; Henry, Rimer and Smithhurst. Now, I have nothing against our British friends and they are true experts in their field, but this does give a bias to the entries. American contributions to firearms design as well as descriptions of weapons of interest to American gun enthusiasts have been “thinned” a bit in favor of a more European bias. No doubt, an aspect of this issue is that there is a LOT of ground to cover, but that leads to my second criticism. The book includes artillery. This is surely interesting, but the focus could have been maintained on small arms; small arms alone is a plenty big enough subject area to cover and this would have allowed a more comprehensive treatment of the relevant area of primary interest. And the artillery entries are particularly thin, perhaps because the authors recognized that with this addition, they were wandering a bit out of the main subject area. Notable in being absent from comprehensive discussion are (in no particular order); the M16/AR-15. This is a true oversight as this weapon was ground breaking in the late fifties when it was originally developed. And it is also an excellent example of weapon’s modularity that has been an important development in small arms as they are now a mature technology. There is NO mention what-so-ever of Ronnie Barrett’s contributions to rifle (especially sniper rifle) technology. This is truly unfortunate as his interesting and intimidating rifles have made serious contributions on the modern battlefield. Gas seal revolvers are discussed (the Joseph-Lang; 1855) but little to no mention is made of probably the most famous gas seal revolver of them all; the Belgian designed Nagant. It would have been nice if some of the experts from the NRA National Firearms Museum could have been included on the consultants list. But perhaps that would have led to “too many cooks in the kitchen”. I don’t know. “Firearms: an Illustrated History” is a beautiful book and well worth owning. The subject of firearms is such a large subject area that perhaps is it inevitable that no one book could ever hope to cover everything. Review: Impressive Reference - Even if you’re not a big fan of guns (like me), you’ll enjoy this book. Lots of excellent photos display the incredible ingenuity, craftsmanship and artistic embellishment of firearms throughout history. There’s a reason for the immeasurable time and effort devoted to them. “God create men and Sam Colt made them equal!” — Old West Adage Did you know that back in the day, dueling among gentlemen was so common that pistols came in sets (two identical, see pages 106&107) just for that purpose? This was an honorable way to assure there was no advantage. This realization lends to understanding of just how serious the subject of guns can be. The “Great Gunsmiths” write-ups that cover the influence and design history of various people throughout the book is very cool too. Basically, Firearms: An Illustrated History is an outstanding example of all that an excellent history book is. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | 1465416056 | | Best Sellers Rank | #31,439 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #2 in Firearm Collecting #9 in Military History Pictorials #16 in Antiques & Collectibles Encyclopedias | | Customer Reviews | 4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars (1,476) | | Dimensions | 9.57 x 1.02 x 11.38 inches | | Edition | Reprint Ed. | | ISBN-10 | 9781465416056 | | ISBN-13 | 978-1465416056 | | Item Weight | 3.8 pounds | | Language | English | | Print length | 320 pages | | Publication date | March 17, 2014 | | Publisher | DK | | Reading age | 1 year and up | ## Images ![Firearms: An Illustrated History - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/810JuNk-T4L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Worthwhile addition to a firearms library *by F***Y on July 5, 2016* Something of a coffee table picture book, which is not a bad thing. This book includes beautiful color pictures of small arms and artillery from matchlocks to modern firearms. I bought this book because I wanted some information about the change over from flintlock firearms to percussion cap weapons; this book answered my questions. For sure, it is a very useful reference work. Particularly beautiful are the pictures of the elaborately inlayed and engraved “Ottoman” rifles from the 17th and 18th centuries. Perhaps it’s nit picking, but I may as well point out a few of the books weaknesses. To begin with, the book was assembled with the expert assistance of four consultants. Three of the four are Brits; Henry, Rimer and Smithhurst. Now, I have nothing against our British friends and they are true experts in their field, but this does give a bias to the entries. American contributions to firearms design as well as descriptions of weapons of interest to American gun enthusiasts have been “thinned” a bit in favor of a more European bias. No doubt, an aspect of this issue is that there is a LOT of ground to cover, but that leads to my second criticism. The book includes artillery. This is surely interesting, but the focus could have been maintained on small arms; small arms alone is a plenty big enough subject area to cover and this would have allowed a more comprehensive treatment of the relevant area of primary interest. And the artillery entries are particularly thin, perhaps because the authors recognized that with this addition, they were wandering a bit out of the main subject area. Notable in being absent from comprehensive discussion are (in no particular order); the M16/AR-15. This is a true oversight as this weapon was ground breaking in the late fifties when it was originally developed. And it is also an excellent example of weapon’s modularity that has been an important development in small arms as they are now a mature technology. There is NO mention what-so-ever of Ronnie Barrett’s contributions to rifle (especially sniper rifle) technology. This is truly unfortunate as his interesting and intimidating rifles have made serious contributions on the modern battlefield. Gas seal revolvers are discussed (the Joseph-Lang; 1855) but little to no mention is made of probably the most famous gas seal revolver of them all; the Belgian designed Nagant. It would have been nice if some of the experts from the NRA National Firearms Museum could have been included on the consultants list. But perhaps that would have led to “too many cooks in the kitchen”. I don’t know. “Firearms: an Illustrated History” is a beautiful book and well worth owning. The subject of firearms is such a large subject area that perhaps is it inevitable that no one book could ever hope to cover everything. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Impressive Reference *by K***I on March 27, 2024* Even if you’re not a big fan of guns (like me), you’ll enjoy this book. Lots of excellent photos display the incredible ingenuity, craftsmanship and artistic embellishment of firearms throughout history. There’s a reason for the immeasurable time and effort devoted to them. “God create men and Sam Colt made them equal!” — Old West Adage Did you know that back in the day, dueling among gentlemen was so common that pistols came in sets (two identical, see pages 106&107) just for that purpose? This was an honorable way to assure there was no advantage. This realization lends to understanding of just how serious the subject of guns can be. The “Great Gunsmiths” write-ups that cover the influence and design history of various people throughout the book is very cool too. Basically, Firearms: An Illustrated History is an outstanding example of all that an excellent history book is. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent book, beautifully illustrated but it does have errors. *by O***L on October 15, 2014* This is a great book that should provide any firearm enthusiast hours of enjoyment. The photography and illustrations are beautiful and detailed. I won't go into all the good things about this book because it would just repeat what others have said but I do have to mention something that is pretty funny. Although the book is very accurate for such a large and detailed effort, there are some minor errors. I'll just mention two that appear on a single page. On page 95, the text mentions that the Colt Single Action Army was introduced in 1973 and then goes on to say that, among who used that revolver were the "forty niners" of the gold rush. Think about that. After gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in January of 1948 the Gold Rush really took hold by 1949. Most historians define the gold rush as spanning the seven years from 1849 to 1856. Now, how could a forty-niner have a revolver introduced in 1873 Then, at the top of the same page, the text states that the Colt Single Action Army was introduced in 1863. I see errors like this as being funny unless there are too many of them. I am only through about 1/3rd the way through the book so I don't know how many, if any, errors are to follow but, so far, the book has been very accurate as far as I can tell with a couple exceptions like those mentioned above. ## Frequently Bought Together - Firearms: An Illustrated History - Tank: The Definitive Visual History of Armored Vehicles (DK Definitive Transport Guides) - Weapon: A Visual History of Arms and Armor --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/8126793-firearms-an-illustrated-history](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/8126793-firearms-an-illustrated-history) --- *Product available on Desertcart Great Britain* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-04-24*