A Catalogue of Early Pennsylvania and Other Firearms and Edged Weapons at

Shoemaker, Henry W., 1880-1958Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0

Word count: 55K words
Chapters: 6

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. A Catalogue of Early Pennsylvania and Other Firearms and Edged Weapons at Author: Shoemaker, Henry W., 1880-1958, Language: English, Class: U: Military science, Release Date: Jan 25, 2007

Editor's review

This is a catalogue of early Pennsylvania and other firearms and edged weapons, compiled by Henry W. Shoemaker, a longtime student of local history and culture. As a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, its core value lies in cataloguing the types, forms and collecting information of early firearms and edged weapons, making it a useful reference for military science, local history and object studies. It is not a continuous popular narrative but a lookup tool: readers can check names, types and background clues entry by entry. It is best used as a reference collection rather than a storybook, and works best alongside knowledge of military history or museum collections.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Military history and material-culture enthusiasts researching early firearms and edged weapons
Readers interested in Pennsylvania local history and collecting culture
Museum or archive staff needing catalogue-type material for lookup and comparison
Self-learners who read English and are comfortable with reference books

Not a good fit for

General leisure readers expecting a continuous narrative or storyline
Readers not interested in weapons who want an introductory book
Practical collectors needing high-resolution plates or hands-on authentication guidance

Reading tips

Start with the table of contents, identify the firearm or edged-weapon category you care about, then look up specific entries.
Keep notes on entry names and types for cross-checking against other sources.
Read alongside background material on Pennsylvania local history and military science.
No need to read cover to cover; browse by interest and focus on one category at a time.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this catalogue suitable for authenticating antique firearms?

It is mainly a catalogue, useful for learning about types and name clues, but it is not a modern authentication manual. For hands-on authentication, combine it with professional catalogues, physical examination and expert opinion; do not draw conclusions from this book alone.

What background knowledge is needed to read this book?

Basic knowledge of military history and early firearms and edged weapons helps. Without it, learn some Pennsylvania local history and early firearms classification first, then use the book as a lookup tool.

Is it in English or Chinese?

It is an English public-domain eBook classified under military science. Chinese readers need some English reading ability; weapon names and catalogue terminology may require a dictionary or reference material.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Shoemaker, Henry W., 1880-1958 Author

Henry W. Shoemaker (1880-1958) is an American author about whom relatively little is publicly known; his nationality, education, and professional career are not clearly documented. Three of his works are currently held in the collection, all centering on local history, natural history, and hunting culture in the United States. Among them, Allegheny Episodes gathers observations and anecdotes from the Allegheny region and has the flavor of local chronicles and essays; The Black Moose in Pennsylvania concerns the distribution of and observations about black moose in Pennsylvania, falling within natural history and wildlife writing; and A Catalogue of Early Pennsylvania and Other Firearms and Edged Weapons at is a catalogue of early Pennsylvania firearms and edged weapons. His writing thus tends to revolve around Pennsylvania's local memory, natural products, and collected artifacts, combining historical documentation with natural-history record-keeping and offering some reference value for understanding the region's history and folklore.