Front cover: Texas Rangers armed with the ubiquitous Colt revolvers and Winchester rifles. The rifle shown is a factory engraved and pearl inlaid Winchester Model 1873, owned by Charles Goodnight.

 

The History of Winchester Firearms

by Dean K. Boorman
with preface by R. L.Wilson

The History of Winchester Firearms is a captivating and wonderfully illustrated chronicle of one of the most famous and legendary names in history. Oliver Winchester, the founder of the company, was an astute businessman who hired the best designers and gunmakers and acquired companies and patents in order to create a full range of longarms. These beautifully crafted arms were produced in the hundreds of thousands during his lifetime. Later production was expanded and further evolved by his descendants and eventually the Olin industrial dynasty. Winchesters were the favorites of cowboys, lawmen, outlaws, and pioneers of the West, and are now highly sought-after -- and often extremely valuable -- collectibles throughout the world. The company's line of contemporary arms for sporting and military use continues to this day under the aegis of Winchester licensee, U.S. Repeating Arms Co.

The History of Winchester Firearms describes in magnificent detail all the models, including the most popular longarm in the Old West, the phenomenally successful Winchester '73. Complete with more than 150 full-color photographs of the guns and of various associated artifacts, designers' drawings, and fascinating photographs of the original users from both sides of the law. Winchester Firearms is a perfect addition to the library of Wild West buffs, historians, and lovers of firearms. $29.95

Back cover: From the top, a Model 1866 "Yellow Boy" rifle in .44 caliber with 24 inch octagonal barrel and sling swivels under the front and rear stocks; a Carbine version of 1866 with a round 20 inch barrel and saddle ring; another Model 1866 rifle made on special order; a Model 1897 shotgun, the World War I "trench gun," also used as a police riots gun (National Firearms Museum Collection, photo by NRA staff)

 

The Author

Dean K. Foreman is president of the prestigious Armor and Arms Club of New York, formed in 1921 and believed to be the "oldest club of collectors in the Western Hemisphere." His great uncle, Dr.Bashford Dean, founder and first president of the club, was also founder and first curator of the Arms and Armor Hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the finest collections in the world. Bashford Dean came from a family traced back to pre-Revolutionary War days; in fact it was his great-grandfather, Sergeant John Dean, who, with other members of his squad, captured the infamous British spy, Major André, who was carrying the plans for West Point supplied by Benedict Arnold during the Revolution.

Boorman is also a member of the American Society of Arms Collectors and of the Visiting Committee, Department of Arms and Armor, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. A collector of Colts and Winchesters, he has written for both the American Society and the Armor and Arms Club of New York. He is author of the companion volume to this book entitled The History of Colt Firearms.

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF THE CHRYSALIS PICTURE LIBRARY