This fascinating volume explores the relationships between the technology and history of gunmaking. Covering the period from 1720 to 1950, it sees the mechanical engineering technology of the "lock, stock and barrel" firearm change significantly. David Williams, an engineer and academic, has studied the battle between the manual processes of assembly and the clumsy but tireless machine, and here examines this complex relationship in gunmaking, paying particular attention to military firearms manufacture and the growth and decline of the Birmingham military and sporting gun trade.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2018 BY THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE AND SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE By a prize-winning young historian, an authoritative work that reframes the Industrial Revolution, the expansion of British empire, and emergence of industrial capitalism by presenting them as inextricable from the gun trade "A fascinating and important glimpse into how violence fueled the industrial revolution, Priya Satia's book stuns with deep scholarship and sparkling prose."--Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies We have long understood the Industrial Revolution as a triumphant story of innovation and technology. Empire of Guns, a rich and ambitious new book by award-winning historian Priya Satia, upends this conventional wisdom by placing war and Britain's prosperous gun trade at the heart of the Industrial Revolution and the state's imperial expansion. Satia brings to life this bustling industrial society with the story of a scandal: Samuel Galton of Birmingham, one of Britain's most prominent gunmakers, has been condemned by his fellow Quakers, who argue that his profession violates the society's pacifist principles. In his fervent self-defense, Galton argues that the state's heavy reliance on industry for all of its war needs means that every member of the British industrial economy is implicated in Britain's near-constant state of war. Empire of Guns uses the story of Galton and the gun trade, from Birmingham to the outermost edges of the British empire, to illuminate the nation's emergence as a global superpower, the roots of the state's role in economic development, and the origins of our era's debates about gun control and the "military-industrial complex" -- that thorny partnership of government, the economy, and the military. Through Satia's eyes, we acquire a radically new understanding of this critical historical moment and all that followed from it. Sweeping in its scope and entirely original in its approach, Empire of Guns is a masterful new work of history -- a rigorous historical argument with a human story at its heart.
This iconic company was founded in the late 19th century and traded into the 1960s. Midland produced 1000s of guns during this time, many still in service today. They also produced a huge range of accessories & equipment for virtually every type of shooter. A selection of products feature in this book along with photographs, drawings and diagrams.
One of the most important aspects of the British Gunmakers series of books has been the compilation of the past and existing records of the many gunmaking firms and the setting down of the historical facts known about them before they get lost in the mists of time. No such collection, just like a cartridge collection, can ever be complete but this volume in conjunction with the first two is undoubtedly the best printed source of such historical record information available anywhere in the world. --
In the nineteenth century there were thousands of British gunmakers plying their trade the length and breadth of the land building all qualities of gun and rifle. Gunmakers have dwindled to a very small number today but the nature of the trade has changed from volume production to exclusive best guns only. British gunmakers have embraced the new technology on offer and by using a combination of CNC machining and new steels allied to traditional gunmaking skills, they are building superb quality guns and rifles to the highest standards. Unlike their competitors, British guns are not entirely built by machine and there is a large element of hand craftsmanship in every example built. Not content to rest on their historical laurels, they have introduced new designs and brought their creations right up to date for twenty-first century requirements. Guns and rifles are all built to the exact specifications of the customer and no two are alike. Each gun is individually made yet designed to embrace modern requirements such as high pheasants, steel shot and so on. This book shows the great variety of guns and rifles on offer entirely built in Great Britain today and how British gunmakers still continue to lead the world in best quality guns and rifles.
First Published in 1967. This is a series of reports on the resources, various products and industrial history of Birmingham and its Midland hardware district. They were collected by the local Industry Committee of the British Association in 1865. The volume gives an idea if not full details, of the extent and variety of the local trades within the radius of thirty miles of Birmingham. The coal and iron of Staffordshire, the chemical products, glass and alkalis and soap of Smethwick, the metal works from the costliest plate and jewellery down to common gilt toys, the engines and machinery exported to all parts of the world to name a few.
Guns had an enormous impact on the social, economic, cultural, and political lives of civilian men, women, and children of all social strata in early modern England. In this study, Lois Schwoerer identifies and analyzes England’s domestic gun culture from 1500 to 1740, uncovering how guns became available, what effects they had on society, and how different sectors of the population contributed to gun culture. The rise of guns made for recreational use followed the development of a robust gun industry intended by King Henry VIII to produce artillery and handguns for war. Located first in London, the gun industry brought the city new sounds, smells, street names, shops, sights, and communities of gun workers, many of whom were immigrants. Elite men used guns for hunting, target shooting, and protection. They collected beautifully decorated guns, gave them as gifts, and included them in portraits and coats-of-arms, regarding firearms as a mark of status, power, and sophistication. With statutes and proclamations, the government legally denied firearms to subjects with an annual income under £100—about 98 percent of the population—whose reactions ranged from grudging acceptance to willful disobedience. Schwoerer shows how this domestic gun culture influenced England’s Bill of Rights in 1689, a document often cited to support the claim that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution conveys the right to have arms as an Anglo-American legacy. Schwoerer shows that the Bill of Rights did not grant a universal right to have arms, but rather a right restricted by religion, law, and economic standing, terms that reflected the nation's gun culture. Examining everything from gunmakers’ records to wills, and from period portraits to toy guns, Gun Culture in Early Modern England offers new data and fresh insights on the place of the gun in English society.
