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US ARMY CHIEF OF ORDNANCE REPORT 1873 – ONE OF THE
MOST SIGNIFICANT OF THE INDIAN WARS – INCLUDES THE 1872
TRIAL GUNS AND ACCOUTREMENTS: An original
printing of The Report of the Chief of Ordnance,
printed here as Volume III of the Report of the
Secretary of War to the 43rd Congress for
the year 1873, printed at the Government Printing
Office, Washington, consisting of 481 pages and numerous
tables, illustrations and plates. This particular
annual Report from the Chief of Ordnance is likely one
of the most significant and the most interesting of this
series of reports that were published during the Indian
War period, as it includes detailed information
regarding the weapons and accoutrements issued for
testing during the 1872 Equipment Trials.
Included in this printing are detailed descriptions,
illustrations and fold out plates of all the different
firearms that were submitted to the 1872 Trials – some
forty different firearms - as opposed to the five
normally recognized by collectors, the Springfield,
Sharps, Spencer, Remington and Ward-Burton.
In addition to the 1872 Trial information, this volume
contains the normally reported material to include
equipment production reports, issues of equipment to the
regular army and militia, and development and production
of heavy ordnance weapons. There is also coverage of
the development of the Gatling gun, as well as the final
decision to commit to ordering the Colt Model 1873
pistol.
This copy has seen some use and shelf wear, however the
binding is still intact and maintains its integrity, and
all the pages and tables present and attached. There is
some wear to the top and bottom of the exterior of the
spine as can be seen in the photographs, however the
gilt title information is still legible. There is only
very minor wear to the original cover boards’ edges and
corners, and there is “U.S. GOVERNMENT BINDERY” embossed
on the front and rear covers, parallel to the spine.
This is certainly one of the scarce editions of the
Chief of Ordnance Reports and one that is very
historically significant in the development and trial of
weapons for the Indian War army, as well as providing
the best compendium of technical information on those
different systems. $650
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