Australian Antique Arms & History
Australian Antique Arms & History
Australian Antique Arms & History by John W. Swinfield FAIHA, edited by Ian Skennerton.
This compilation of forty-three years of John’s columns and articles in shooting and collecting magazines and periodicals, is so much more than just a useful reference and many hours of entertaining reading.
The growth of collector fraternities in the Australian states is recalled, the societies and personalities, the shows and exhibitions, the dealers and collections, as well as the changes to firearms laws in each state, as it all unfolded over the decades.
For the old hand and new chum alike, this book is a journey through time. It will bring back so many memories to long-time collectors and provide many clues and useful pieces of information for more recent collectors and enthusiasts.
Because of the advances made in print and reproduction technology since the 1960s, many of the early illustrations had significantly fewer `dots’ per inch in the screens, This results in much less detail in the photographs. Also, the pulp newsprint used in those earlier issues has resulted in poor copies of the images, because this paper has not archived very well.
Some of the original columns and articles have been edited here, for reasons of space as well as to avoid repetition. Many of the earlier illustrations have also been cropped, scanned again or replaced, and so the monthly record has been updated in some areas.
A comprehensive index is a boon for quick reference and more serious researchers. This book has a detailed index of the hundreds of articles and items here, the personalities and the events, and the Australian arms and their makers that are described.
Other tables at the end of this reference contain proof and viewer’s inspection marks, abbreviations and other suggested references.
This serves to round off a fine compilation and to produce an invaluable reference for antique arms here, along with more general Australiana.
Ian Skennerton editor.
ISBN 978 0 949749 97 0
John Swinfield was an early member of the Antique Arms Collectors Society of Australia, John held various management positions over the years. He was asked to write for `Sporting Shooter’ magazine in 1960 on his favourite subject, research and collecting of antique firearms. He was a prime contributor to the ‘Sporting Shooter’ and `Guns Australia ‘ for 43 years. John is still active with the Returned Services League and was for fifteen years. the president of the Burwood Sub-Branch of the R.S.L.
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