An esteemed staple among the US Artillery officer and serviceman of the Civil War was the “Hand Book of Artillery”.  First published in 1861, this pocketable book served as a concise guide to the use of artillery to include projectiles, charges, sea-coast guns, field guns, mortars, carriages, doctrine, and theory.

This copy is in a nice condition with no overt damage or missing pages.  The red cover is pressed stock covered in a red woven fabric that has been glued and pressed into patterns. The gold title reads “HAND BOOK OF ARTILLERY” over a gold crossed cannon motif. The publisher’s name embossed at bottom reads “Van Nostrand”.  The inside cover and first and last leaves have a period marbling pastedown pattern, while the front leaf is stuck to the inside cover with a piece of clear tack at low left (which appears to have removed a small piece of marbled layer).  After the cover and first two leaves, the title page reads “THE HAND-BOOK OF ARTILLERY FOR THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES. (ARMY AND MILITIA) BY CAPT. JOSEPH ROBERTS, 4^TH REGT. ART. U. S. ARMY SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED. NEW YORK: D. VAN NOSTRAND. 1861.”  The copyright page lists the entry by JOSEPH ROBERTS ‘in the year of 1861’ and the printer is credited as “JOHN F. TROW PRINTER, STEREOTYPER, AND ELECTROTYPER, 46, 48, & 50 Greene Street, New York.” The hinge still tightly holds all pages and the spine shows one typical but minor crease down the center.  The back cover is embossed with the same crossed-cannon motif and geometric pattern as the front, but features no hold highlights.  The page edges are mostly unworn and still show a nice marbled pattern, though there is some very minor fraying and separation along a few edges of the fabric cover.

An excellent and uncommon addition to any Civil War and artillery-specific collection or display.  [cm][ph:L]

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