Kentucky Gunmakers Three-Volume Set

About the Kentucky Gunmakers Three-Volume Set
The Kentucky Gunmakers three-volume set is the most comprehensive work available on early Kentucky rifles and related firearms. The large-format 9x12 pages are printed on premium 105 lb. coated paper with a matte finish. This set features high-quality hard-cover bindery and book covers with attractive dust jackets. This work is a thorough study that documents the gunmakers who shaped Kentucky’s gunmaking traditions and the attractive southern-style guns they made. Many never-before seen rifles are illustrated as the story of Kentucky’s gunmaking is told, from Kentucky’s earliest gunmakers to its last holdouts who clung to the ‘old ways’ in the state’s southeastern hill county area. Epilogue, the third volume, presents new discoveries that ensure that this book set offers today’s most accurate and detailed information on early Kentucky gunsmiths and firearms.

Volume 1 – Gunmaking History is 289 pages. It’s an illustrated narrative that begins with the first pioneer gunsmiths to walk on Kentucky soil. The state’s early rifles were utilitarian ‘working guns.’ During Kentucky’s ‘golden age’ of gunmaking around 1800, seven primary schools of gunmaking are identified and revealed. The percussion era from 1835 to 1900 saw the gunmaking industry blossom as Kentucky sold thousands of rifles to settlers heading west during the great western expansion. Superb target rifles appeared during the percussion era, with Benjamin Mills’ rifles being among the best not only in Kentucky, but in the nation.

Volume 2 – Biographies is 322 pages. It contains over 1,100 biographies of Kentucky gunsmiths during the muzzle loading era. Kentucky’s most notable gunmakers and their training are documented, along with the familial migration patterns that help explain the final styles found in Kentucky’s major gunmaking schools. Readers will learn about the Bryan and West families of Lexington, Jacob Rizer and David Weller of Bardstown, Moses Dickson and Joseph Griffith of Louisville, Benjamin Mills of Harrodsburg, John Shell and Pleasant Wilson of the southeastern hill county, and others whose-high quality work is sought after.

Epilogue : Ongoing research identified gaps that required Epilogue. It is not a stand-alone volume, but a complement to the first two volumes. It presents new discoveries and wraps up loose ends in the first publication. Epilogue also identifies two new schools of Kentucky gunmaking and adds over 250 new names to the list of early Kentucky gunmakers. It is likely that the vast majority of Kentucky’s gunmakers are now documented and all major schools of gunmaking identified.

For years, Kentucky’s gunmaking was often overlooked by collectors and researchers due to the assumption that its guns were merely lesser quality ‘mountain rifles’ or ‘hog rifles.’ Kentucky’s higher quality firearms were often attributed to southwestern Virginia. Thanks to the research in this publication, many misidentified early rifles have now been correctly identified as Kentucky products. This comprehensive work has helped Kentucky take its rightful place among the states where early gunmaking was revered for not only its artistry, but also for its social and economic impacts.