New Book on North Carolina Longrifles

[G-Man]

I ran across this on the web the other day which indicates that Bill Ivey's long-awaited book is out(?).  It looks fantastic.  I need to add it to my wish list along with the Moravian book:

http://www.northcarolinalongrifles.com/

Guy

[mbriggs]

I have this book and think it is great.  It will be a great addition to any collectors library.  Bill will have them for sale at the KRA Show in Winchester this weekend.

Michael

[JTR]

Yahooo!
Gadler and I just ordered it! On my paypal account,,, tightwad that he is!
None the less, I'm looking frward to it!
John

[WElliott]

It is a great book and a wonderful addition to the longrifle library.  Bill has raised the bar on longrifle books.

[mr. no gold]

Looking forward to getting this book and reading it front page to back page. It has been in the works for years and Bill has the justifiable reputation as a consumate researcher: so the book will be worth every penny. 
Yes, John did order my copy on his playpal account, (Playboys' version of Paypal) so that he could get Bunny Club 'benefits'. I didn't mind until he said that my copy would be $200; didn't realize that he gets a markup on everything.   
Gadler

[Dennis Glazener]

I bought one of Bill's NC books today and its great, well done. Hated to pay the toll but its all color and I can tell you from past experience that an all color hard cover book is expensive to publish and that makes it expensive to buy!
Dennis

[Mark Tyler]

I picked up a copy this weekend in Winchester. It is a well thought-out book with great color photographs. Highly recommended.

[flintriflesmith]

The only knock on this book that I have heard from several people is that there are no measurements -- not even caliber and barrel length.

I can understand that this book was not intended for builders in the way RCA was but ... looks like even a collector would want some sense of scale.


Gary

[James Rogers]

The only knock on this book that I have heard from several people is that there are no measurements -- not even caliber and barrel length.

I can understand that this book was not intended for builders in the way RCA was but ... looks like even a collector would want some sense of scale.


Gary

That's exactly the only thing that kept me from going home with one this past weekend.

[mr. no gold]

Just received my copy of the long awaited study of North Carolina Long Rifles and immediately sat down and read it cover to cover. What a splendid book it is, and though we have heard complaints that there are no numbers in it, that is a minor reason not to acquire it, in my opinion. We need to keep in mind that this book will never be printed again with the same display of rifles, as they will change owners, or some other event will take them out of public viewership. This has been in the works for some 28 years, so it is no hasty effort. And, inclusion of dimensions would have increased the cost greatly; thus the author made a decision to present the rifles only.
There are avenues around that "shortcoming", (if indeed it is one?); if a particular rifle is appealing, contact the author to see if it is possible to get measurements. Most seasoned builders should be able to approximate them, anyway. But, I would be happy to furnish numbers on the one rifle that that is mine, (#144, P. Yost) if anyone asks. 
The book itself is a work of art with the finest in design, layout, photography and color printing. It surprised me that the selling price is not much higher, and like many fine arms books, this one will zoom in value in just a few years. Bivin's book is hugely expensive now.
Let me urge all of you to make the stretch and buy a copy of this great book. Aside from the rifles, there is a wealth of maker biographical data, and the schools. I fully expect this one to speedily sell out and leave many wishing they had decided differently.
So, there is JTR on the boat in the middle of nowhere, and I have both copies of the book, his and mine. I have already started to tantalize him over his not having a copy and won't for several weeks to come. Everyday, some new thing to needle him about it.
Dick
 

[timM]

I also recently received my copy of Mr. Ivey's excellent book, and to be honest?  It completely bowled me over.  Don't hesitate to purchase a copy, I'm positive that it will NOT disappoint! tim

[dannybb55]

It sounds like I should wait for the 2nd ed. with proper RCA measurements and bore.
                      Danny

[mr. no gold]

As I understand it, there won't be a second edition; this is it. The RCA measurements can be a big help admittedly, and Kindig (and Shumway) were the first to include them, but the appeal here, in this book, is to serious collectors who go for the rifles, and are less concerned about the numbers. It all depends on where your interests lie. If you are a builder only, then this book is probably not for you, but odds are that if you build an NC gun, you will, at some point in the process, need to refer to it. Why not have it in reach rather than go without,or have to chase a copy down?
Dick

[Arnie Dowd]

Gentleman - Simply put, we all owe Bill Ivey a debt of gratitude for presenting us with this incredible book.  The quality of the photography is unsurpassed and 95% of us would never have the educational pleasure of seeing these outstanding NC Longrifles and the few pistols included which in their own right are incredibly rare proportionately.  Anyone who would criticize the book has not read Bill's preface.  The primary purpose of this book is to present these pieces as examples of ART to be visually appreciated and studied, each on its own merit and in the context of the area where it was most likely produced and if possible by whom.  I've know Bill for some 25+ years and have hoped and prayed that I would be around to see this effort completed for all of the students and collectors of NC Longrifles and Pistols.  Many advanced and knowledgeable collectors have gone to their grave without ever sharing their life long accumulation of knowledge.  Thank You Bill on behalf of all of us.

[G-Man]

As Arnie pointed out, there are so many great longrifles out there, especially when it comes to southern guns of the later flint era, that have not made it into any of well known books published in the past.  This book gets quite a few more of them out there for us to see. 

Ditto on the thank you to Mr. Ivey

Guy

[Sequatchie Rifle]

I just ordered my copy and am excited about having such a fine reference in my personal library.  I am a collector of Tennessee Rifles.  I know of no other published work that shows rifles in such fine detail as this book.  My hat is off to Mr. Ivey.  Thanks for documenting these rifles.

[WElliott]

I was fortunate to be able to attend Bill Ivey's presentation on North Carolina Schools of Longrifles 1765-1865 this past Saturday January 29 at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.  Bill made a masterful presentation, illustrated with pictures from his outstanding book, and there were opportunities to ask questions and handle (with white gloves) some of of the N.C. rifles from MESDA's collection.  MESDA's encouragement of research on Southern rifle makers, particularly prior to 1820, is wonderful to see.  If only more museum curators and staff understood the importance and significance of the American longrifle!

If you don't have a copy of Bill's book yet, ask for one for your birthday (or buy yourself one)!

[copdoc]

The presentations at the MESDA were great.  The book is great.  The photographer did a fabulous job also.  It is so good the my wife looked at it cover to cover.  I would like to see info on caliber and lengths also but you can only cover so much.

Thanks to Bill Ivey for signing mine and for his bonus presentation on NC Confederate arms.

[G-Man]

Got the chance to talk to Mr. Ivery this weekend at the CLA mini-show at Lake Cumberland - also picked up a copy of the book.  The scope of this book, in terms of the number of great longrifles that have never been published before is amazing.  If you have any interest in southern longrifles rifles - whether plain, fancy, iron, brass, flint, percssion, I cannot recommend the book highly enough.  Some really suprising things, all documented with great photographs. 

Guy