A used book in excellent condition. Stock photo shown. This is more than just a gun book about one of the most famous rifles of the Civil War, it is also a biography of C.M. Spenser, on of the most important mechanical inventors of the 19th century. The book describes, in word and pictures, the development and use of the first effective repeating breech loading military rifle. Also covered are spencer's other firearms including the Roper rifles and shotguns and pump-action Spencer sporting shotgun.

This book is profusely illustrated with large black and white photos, line drawings, and historical photos. Hardcover 8-1/2" x 11" format with 316 pages.

The Table of Contents includes the following:

• Prologue: C.M. Spencer: The Boy, The Young Inventor, and His Prototype Rifles
• The Early Years
• Rifle Prototypes and Experimentation
• PART ONE: SPENCER REPEATING RIFLE COMPANY RIFLES AND CARBINES
• Chapter 1 Military Trials, Initial Orders, and the Formation of the Company
• Navy Trials and Contacts
• Initial Army Trials
• Hartford Experiments Continue
• The First Army Contract
• The Company is Formed
• The Ordnance Commission of 1863
• Chapter 2 Model 1860 Spencer Navy Rifles
• Navy Rifles; Ready for Delivery
• Spencer the Inventor Becomes Salesman
• Additional Navy Contracts
• Chapter 3 Model 1860 Spencer Army Rifles
• The Spencer Repeater; An Initial Trial by Fire
• Deliveries of Spencer Army Rifles
• The Massachusetts Breechloader Trials of 1863
• Trial by Combat: Hoover's Gap
• Spencer Rifles at Gettysburg
• Spencer's Slide-Action Patent of May 26, 1863
• Lincoln's Choice?
• Chapter 4 Model 1860 Spencer Carbines
• The First Carbine Contract
• Governor Andrews Releases the Massachusetts Rifles
• Deliveries of Spencer Carbines
• Spare Parts for Spencer Repeaters
• A Revised Carbine Contract
• Spencer Army Rifles Again
• Unprecedented Production from Boston
• Ordnance Department Inspections
• General Dyer Assumes Command of the Ordnance Department
• Private Armory Security During Wartime
• Spencer Carbine Field Evaluations
• The John Wilkes Booth Spencer Carbines
• First Civilian Use of the Spencer Repeater
• Chapter 5 Model 1865 Spencer Carbines and Rifles
• The Model 1865 Carbine
• Edward Stabler's First Patent: a Spring Assist for the Blade Extractor
• The Stabler Magazine Cutt-Off
• The Final Days of the War
• Post-War Disposition of Spencer Repeaters
• Wartime Procurements Cease
• Model 1865 Spencer Army and Navy Rifles
• Chapter 6 Burnside Model 1865 Spencer Carbines
• The Burnside Company Retools to Produce Spencer Carbines
• Cartridge Alterations
• Delivery Problems
• Chapter 7 Army Ordnance Boards of 1865 and 1866
• The Laidley Board of 1865
• The Hancock Board of 1866
• Chapter 8 Spencer Sporting Rifles
• Early Spencer Sporting Rifles
• Spencer Sporters: 1865 to 1868
• Cased Spencer Sporting Rifles
• Chapter 9 Springfield Armory Conversions and Repairs
• Spencer Carbine Repairs
• Recognizing Spencer Carbines Repaired at Springfield Armory
• Springfield Armory Rifle Musket Conversions of Spencer Carbines
• Recognizing Springfield Armory Rifle Musket Conversions
• Chapter 10 Post-War Sales, Experimentation and Problems
• Spencer Repeaters for Canada
• The Lane Extractor
• Publicity in the Army and Navy Journal
• Spencer Repeaters for the State Militia
• Kirk and Sneider's Loading Tube Improvement
• Sales Dwindle while Experimentation Continues
• Spencer Cartridge Limitations
• Technology Overtakes the Spencer Repeater
• Spencer New Model Carbines and Rifles
• The Company Fails
• Spencer Potpourri: Frequently Asked Questions about Spencer Repeaters
• Chapter 11 Cartridge Boxes, Bayonets and Other Accessories
• The Blakeslee "Quickloader"
• The Six-Tube Blakeslee Box
• The Ten-Tube Blakeslee Box
• the Thirteen-Tube Blakeslee Box
• Army Tests of the Blakeslee Box
• The Blakeslee Box After the War
• The Spencer Cartridge Pouch
• The Spencer Cavalry Cartridge Box
• The Howlett Cartridge Box
• The Bryan and Bigelow Cartridge Box
• The Schneider Cartridge Box
• Bayonets for the Spencer Army Rifle
• Bayonets for the Spencer Navy Rifle
• Combination Tools for the Spencer Repeater
• Chapter 12 Spencer Rimfire Cartridges
• Spencer's Earliest Cartridges
• No. 38 Cartridges: The .38 Long Rimfire
• No. 44 Cartridges: The .44 Long Rimfire
• No. 56 Navy and Infantry Cartridges: the 56-56 Spencer
• Ammunition for Spencer Navy Rifles
• Crittenden and Tibbals
• C.D. Leet & Co.
• D.C. Sage: Sage Ammunition Works
• Sharps and Hankins
• Jacob Goldmark
• Fitch, Van Vechten & Company
• Springfield Armory Cartridge Trials, 1864 and 1865
• Springfield .50 Caliber Carbine Ammunition: the 56-50 Spencer
• No. 46 Cartridges: the 56-46 Spencer
• The 56-46 Long Cartridge
• Springfield Cartridge Trials Continue
• No. 52 Cartridges: the 56-52 Spencer
• Spencer Ammunition Manufactured at the Springfield Armory and at the Frankford Arsenal
• American Metallic Cartridge Company
• Dominion Cartridge Company LDT
• French Arsenal Ammunition
• Union Metallic Cartridge & Cap Company
• United States Cartridge Company
• Winchester Repeating Arms Company
• Miscellaneous Manufactures
• PART TWO: ROPER REPEATING RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS
• Chapter 13 The Roper Repeating Rifle Company
• Christopher Spencer Joins a New Venture
• The Mechanical Operation of Roper Arms
• Roper Ammunition
• Chapter 14 The Roper Sporting Arms Company
• Spencer and Billings Form Another Company
• Roper Arms Proves Unsuccessful
• The Mysterious "Cloverleaf" Ropers
• Interim:
• The Billings & Spencer Company
• Spencer's 1872 Single Shot Rifle
• Spencer's Automatic Screw Machine
• The Hartford Screw Machine Company
• PART THREE: SPENCER'S FINAL FIREARMS VENTURE
• Chapter 15 The Spencer Sporting Arms Company
• Prototype Slide Action Shotguns
• The Vertical-Action Spencer-Lee Military Rifle
• A Company is Formed
• The Horizontal-Action Spencer-Lee Military Rifle
• The Model 1884 Spencer Shotgun
• The Model 1886 Spencer Shotgun
• Springfield Armory Tests the Spencer Shotgun
• The Model 1887 Spencer Shotgun
• Chapter 16 Bannerman's Spencer Shotguns
• The Model 1890 Bannerman-Spencer Shotgun
• Competition From Winchester
• The Final Models
• Epilogue
• Appendix

ISBN: 0-9707608-2-5