New Title "Gunsmiths / Tennessee Kentucky Rifle" by J Whisker

[timM]

A 96 page soft back that I just became aware of.  I found it offered by Mr. Whisker on ebay.  Ebay listing #150403576454

[G-Man]

Thanks for the heads up.  Looks like a brand new title.  I wasn't aware he was working on a book about Tennessee rifles and gunmakers.  I'll have to order it.

Jerry Nobles' books are pretty comprehensive in terms of showing most of the known great mountain rifles, and have been around for a while. 

I'm curious to see what Dr. Whisker has turned up - his books are pretty nice concise collections with decent photographs.  Hopefully a few new ones that have not been photographed before, or maybe even just some additional or good detail photos of some of the well known ones.

Guy

[Sequatchie Rifle]

Sound interesting, maybe.  Could it possibly contain more info on this subject than the Tennessee Department of Conservation Division of Archaeology Report No. 8, "A Preliminary Survey of Historic Period Gunmaking in Tennessee", 70 pages?

[G-Man]

I have not had the chance to read that paper but would like to.  I enjoy anything I can get my hands on regarding southern rifles and gunmakers.

Dr. Whisker's  other books that I have seen usually don't have a lot of detailed text about how gunsmithing evolved in the region, schools/styles within the region, timeframes etc.    They are usually mostly photos, 3-4 per gun, with minimal descriptions or text other than a very brief section of gunsmith bios/ period references for those that are identified.  The photos are usually good quality - not as many detail shots as Shumway, but enough to give you a good introduction to the guns.  Sometimes the attributions of various rifles shown are very loose, but he always makes the distinction of "attributed to"  in the cases where it is uncertain.  I like southern rifles, so I think it sounds like something I would buy.

Guy

[T*O*F]

Looks like a brand new title.  I wasn't aware he was working on a book about Tennessee rifles and gunmakers.

Dr. Whisker has made an arrangement with Cornell Publications to print his works.  So far five or his out-of-print books are available thru them and future works will become available as completed.  Cornell is an "on demand" printer rather than a volume printer;  ie, your book is printed upon order.  This alleviates the "sold out edition" problem.

[scooter]

Purely for what it's worth. Yes, I have a lot more than in the State of TN publication. a lot more. No, this is not a "largely photo" book; rather it's largely text.  In all my work I believe I'm short + to the point. Compare if you wish to some books that have long-winded text on the makers & see if I really miss anything important. And, no, I do not speculate on how gun making developed in an arae. I rarel;y have seen such an essay that tole me anything I cared to know. In short, my books are what they are. No more but no less.

[G-Man]

One of the things I really like about your books is that fact - there is not a lot of over-speculation about the things that are uncertain - you stick to what is known and documented with regard to the gunsmiths and rifles included in the book, so they do get to the point nicely.  When you read through the biographical information on the gunsmiths in there, you realize that there is a wealth of insight within that information. 

There are so many great longrifles and gunmakers that were not included in the RCA and Kindig books, and your books have done a great job of getting them out into the public to study.   Especially in the area of rifles made in the south.  Thanks for doing so.

Guy