Munitions of War
by Norton & Valentine
reprinted by Lindsay Publications

The full title reads: "Report to the government of the United States on the munitions of war exhibited at the Paris Universal Exposition, 1867 with eighty illustrations." Written in 1867, this rare book appeared in 1868.

A great circular exhibition hall was built in Paris two years after the end of the American Civil War to house a great world's fair. Armaments, always a money maker for industry, were exhibited by many nations. Here you get details of state of the art as it was in '67.

Chapters include cartridges, breech-loading small arms, field ordnance, heavy ordnance, projectiles, army accoutrements, sanitary equipments, fortifications, and iron-clad ships.

You get details on American cartridges, Needle gun cartridges (and others), the Spencer rifle, Albini, Braedlin, Sharp's, Chassepot rifle, the Electric gun and others. Learn about Armstrong and Whitworth muzzle loaders, twelve-pounder field guns, Krupp's guns, Krupp's wrought-iron carriage, Dutch guns, Gatling Battery, Cannon-destroyer, the Mackay gun and more.

Explore the Imperial Arsenal at Ruyelle. Learn what materials were used in heavy guns. Examine the Rodman gun, a British 600-pounder, a Shunt gun, French rifling, the Armstrong 12-ton gun, Krupp's 1000-pounder, the guns aboard the Kearsarge and Alabama, and more.

Learn about the shells being used at the time: Palliser's, shrapnel and segment shells, the parachute light ball, explosive rifle bullets and more.

Then imagine you're back in the army having to erect one of the tents shown, a soldier's cloak tent, or rig an army telegraphy set. See what a MASH unit would have looked like (it t'aint pretty...).

Then discover the architecture and science behind heavy fortifications like French armour, Russian thick plate, Thorneycroft bars, a 13-1/2 inch shield, the arguments of iron versus granite and more.

And then take a thorough look at the newest technology in naval warfare: armored ships. Discover "La Gloire" armor, "Warrior" and "Minotaur" armor, Box-battery iron-clads, French iron-clads, "Bellerophon" six-inch plate, French marine engines, the "Monarch", the "Captain", the "Hercules", Confederate Rams, Brazil gun-boat, Mitchell's monitors, Halsted's turret-ships and more.

You get a unique snapshot at armaments with technological and historical details not commonly found. Great woodcuts. This should be of value to historians, Civil War re-enactors, model builders, and techological buffs. No, it has no detailed plans to build a mortar so you can blow up everything in your neighborhood. This will appeal to CONstructive men, not DEstructive little boys. It's plain interesting reading. Rare book. Get one! 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 softcover 286 pages

No. 23454 ... $14.95