Must-Have Antique Weaponry Books
This article is sponsored by the Heritage Arms Society which has a website here and a YouTube channel here. The Society also publishes the excellent Barrels & Blades Magazine, which is well worth a read!
A wise collector once told me that ten percent of the money that you spend on your antique weapon collection should be spent on the books that describe them.
While more and more information is becoming available online, and for free, the knowledge contained in the most important books often far exceeds that found on forums and websites, and they remain invaluable reference materials for the well-stocked library. Sadly, many of these titles are no longer in print and they had only small print-runs to begin with so their values have sky-rocketed over time as they have become much sought after amongst researchers.
To help both new and existing collectors, I have used Amazon Affiliates to begin to compile a list of those that are considered to be important reading. Some titles span several categories and this list is not exhaustive, though I hope it will become that in future. It is inevitable that I have missed many important titles so please tell me which in a comment below: I am particularly interested in adding African, Asian and Oceanic weaponry titles.
British Weapons
Swords of the British Army by Brian Robson
The British Cavalry Sword by Charles Martyn
The British Cavalry Sword 1788 to 1912 by Richard Dellar
Naval Swords and Dirks by Sim Comfort
British Naval Swords and Swordsmanship by McGrath & Barton
The London Knife Book by Ron Flook
Those Entrusted with Arms by Frederick Wilkinson
Pocket Fruit Knives by Simon Moore
Old Sword Play by Alfred Hutton
British Military Swords from 1800 by John Wilkinson-Latham
Renaissance Swordsmanship by John Clements
Swords for Sea Service by May and Annis
Swords for the Highland Regiments by Darling
The Book of the Sword by Richard F. Burton
The Small Sword in England by J. D. Aylward
British Basket-Hilted Swords by Cyril Mazansky
Boarders Away by William Gilkerson
British Service Sword and Lance Patterns by Skennerton
Bayonets: An Illustrated History by Martin J. Brayley
Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife: Collecting Britain's Most Iconic Daggerby Wolfgang Peter-Michel
Commando Dagger: The Complete Illustrated History of the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife by Leroy Thompson
Socket Bayonets: A History and Collector's Guide by Graham Priest
Socket Bayonet in the British Army 1687-1783 by Erik Goldstein
The Swords and Records of Robert Mole by Henry Wilkinson
British Basket-Hilted Swords by Mazansky
Rules and Regulations for the Sword Exercise of the Cavalry by the Adjutant General’s Office
London Silver-Hilted Swords by Southwick
African Weapons
Kipinga Throwing Blades of Central Africa by Marc L. Felix
African Arms and Armor by Christopher Spring
Waffen aus Zentral-Afrika by Agthe
Islamic and Native Weapons by Tirri
European Blades in Tuareg Swords and Daggers by Briggs
Afrikanische Waffen: Messer, Dolche, Schwerter, Beile, Wurfwaffen by Fischer, Werner and Zirngibl
Paths in the Rainforests: Toward a History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa by Jan Vansina
Ancient Weapons of Morrocco by Hans F. Waelty
Indian and Middle Eastern Weapons
The Indian Sword by P.S. Rawson
The Arts of the Muslim Knight: The Furusiyya Art Foundation Collection by Bashir Mohamed
Hindu Arms and Ritual: Arms and Armour from India 1400-1865 by Robert Elgood
Arms & Armour at the Jaipur Court: The Royal Collection by Robert Elgood
Arms and Armour of Arabia by Robert Elgood
Rajput Arms & Armour: The Rathores & Their Armoury at Jodhpur Fort by Robert Elgood
Islamic Arms and Armour by Robert Elgood
Arms and Armoury of the Mysore Palace by H.T. Talwar
Precious Indian Weapons by Salam Kaoukji
Islamic Arms and Armor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Jambiya by Stephen Gracie
Treasures from India by Archer, Rowell, Skelton
Indian and Oriental Arms and Armour by Lord Egerton
Islamic Arms and Armour by Thom Richardson
The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule by Robert Skelton
Arms and Armour by E. Jaiwant Paul
A Passion for Indian Arms by J. Nordlunde
Splendours of the Subcontinent: a Prince’s Tour of India, 1875–6 by K. Meghani
Islamic and Oriental Arms and Armour by Robert Hales
European Weapons
German Swords and Sword Makers by Richard H. Bezdek
German Knife and Sword Makers by J. Anthony Carter
Blankwaffen (Deutches Klingenmuseum Solingen) by Hanns-Ulrich Haedeke
1000 Marks of European Blademakers by Zygmunt S. Lenkiewicz
The Arms of Greece and her Balkan Neighbours by Robert Elgood
Polish Saber by Richard Marsden.
The Hungarian Hussar Sabre and Fokos Fencing by Russ Mitchell
Imperial Austria: Art, Arms and Armour from the State of Styria by Krenn and Karcheski
Imperial German Regimental Marks by Jeff Noll
Russian Military Swords 1801 to 1917 by Eugene Mollo
The German Bayonet 1871 to 1945 by John Walter
European Swords by Anthony North
Collecting the Edged Weapons of Imperial Germany by Thomas M. Johnson
Svärdet Och Värjan Som Armévapen: The History of the Swedish Army Sword 1500-1860 by Heribert Seitz
Storia dell’Arma Bianca Italiana by Cesare Calamandrei
Lame del Risorgimento from the Comune di Scarperia
La Sciabola by Matthew Forde (This is the only English language resource for Italian swords of the 1800s.)
The Sword and Bayonet Makers of Imperial Germany 1871-1918 by John Walter
Poland: Edged Weapons, 16th Century to 20th Century by Koslowski, Martin and Skoviera
Armes Blanches: Symbolisme, Inscriptions, Marquages, Fourbisseurs, Manufactures by Lhoste and Buigne
Des sabres et des épées: Troupes à cheval, de l'Empire à nos jours by Petard
Swords of the Viking Age by Ian Peirce
American Swords
The American Eagle Pommel Sword by Andrew Mowbray
The American Sword by H.L. Peterson
William Glaze and the Palmetto Armory by Jack Allen Meyer
The Ames Sword Company Catalog by Stuart Mowbray
Weapons of the Civil War by William C. Davis
American Swords and Makers’ Marks by Don Furr
Confederate Edged Weapons by William Albaugh
American Socket Bayonets, 1717-1873 by Donald Blake Webster
American Swords and Sword Makers by Richard H. Bezdek
Swords of the American Civil War by Richard H. Bezdek
Nathan Starr: Arms Maker, 1776-1845 by Major James Hicks
Swords and Blades of the American Revolution by George Neumann
Swords and Sabers of the Armory at Springfield by Burton A. Kellerstedt
U.S. Naval Officers: Their Swords and Dirks by Peter Tuite
Japanese Swords
The Japanese Sword: The Soul of the Samurai by Gregory Irvine
Military Swords of Japan, 1868 to 1945 by Fuller and Gregory
The Samurai Sword, a Handbook by John Yumoto
Samurai Swords - A Collector's Guide: A Comprehensive Introduction to History, Collecting and Preservation by Clive Sinclaire
Encyclopedia of Japanese Swords by Markus Sesko
Study of Japanese Swords: Chronological Study of Japanese Swords and Japanese History by Yurie Endo Halchak
Japanese Arms and Armour (Arms and Armour Series) by Ian Bottomley
Art of Japanese Sword Polishing by Setsuo Takaiwa and Yoshindo Yoshihara
Arms and Armor of the Samurai by Bottomley and Hopson
The Japanese Sword by Kanzan Sato
The Art of the Japanese Sword by Yoshindo Yoshihara
The Connoisseur’s Book of Japanese Swords by Kokan Nagayama
The Arts of the Japanese Sword (The Arts of the East) by B. W. Robinson
General
Oriental Armour by H. Russell Robinson
Swords and Daggers: The Victoria and Albert Museum by John Hayward
The Rapier and Smallsword by A.V.B. Norman
Small-Swords and Military Swords by A.V.B. Norman
Hunting Weapons from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century by Howard Blackmore
A Collectors’ Guide to Swords, Daggers, and Cutlasses by Gerald Weland
Naval Edged Weapons In the Age of Fighting Sail, 1775 to 1865 by Sarah C. Wolfe
The Sword in the Age of Chivalry by Ewart Oakeshott
Records of the Medieval Sword by Ewart Oakeshott
The Archaeology of Weapons by Ewart Oakeshott
European Weapons and Armour by Ewart Oakeshott
Swords and Hilt Weapons by Coe
Arms and Amor in the Art Institute of Chicago by Walter Karcheski
Sword Collecting for Amateurs by James Henderson
A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: in All Countries and in All Times by George Cameron Stone
The Book of the Sword by Richard Francis Burton
Daggers and Bayonets by Logan Thompson
Treasures from the Tower of London: Arms and Armour by Norman and Wilson
Collins Machetes and Bowies by Daniel Edward Henry
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