Arming the West: Schuyler, Hartley & Graham's Arms Shipments to the American Frontier, 1868-1886

The title on the cover is misleading since the contents are far more restrictive than one is led to believe. However the subtitle on the title page clarifies the matter, indicating it contains a detailed listing of New York dealer Schuyler, Hartley & Graham's arms shipments to the trans-Mississippi frontier between 1868 and 1886. These detailed shipping records are recorded by date and dealer to whom the various arms were shipped. The majority of arms listed are long guns; one finds only a limited number of Colt revolvers, mostly M1860 .44s. One surprise is the large number of foreign and U.S. muskets, rifles, and carbines which came from government surplus stores. Almost 4,000 British .577 rifles, nearly 1,100 Austrian .54 percussion rifles, and close to 9,000 percussion M1822 and M1842 U.S. muskets were shipped. The smoothbore muskets would be well suited as "farmers' guns" for hunting small game by cash-poor homesteaders in Kansas and Nebraska, for example. Another intriguing entry was the only sale listed to prominent Miles City, MT dealer A. D.McAusland and was for 900 "Plain Amber glass balls" in three barrels indicating that in 1882 trap shooting was becoming a local sport. Another section of the book entitled "Cash Sales 1868-1878" gives one a comparison of prices of various firearms. 1869 sales included a pair of M1866 Winchester carbines and 400 rounds of ammunition for $73, a Sharps four-barrel pistol $8.50, and Remington revolvers with two cylinders (one in percussion form and the other capable of firing .46 rimfire ammunition) for $20. For the serious researcher, this is a valuable source of detailed information within the scope of one large dealer's western sales.

This is an excellent book. Very informative, very factual and and well researched and very interesting to read. Well illustrated.