Email this page
Print this page
del.icio.us
digg
FeedThe L.C. Smith Legend Lives On
Great gun books are unusual, but as many gun- library bibliophiles can attest, as a group they're not quite rare. There is a coffee-table book, it seems, for every British gunmaker who ever built a firearm; Marco Nobili has written extensively on all things Italian gun; and there are books on Spanish gunmakers, and German and American as well . . . .
But L.C. Smith-"The Legend Lives," by John Houchins, is a rarity, even among gun books of unusual quality. It is a comprehensive reference work on the guns and the company. Its focus is on one of the few truly noteworthy American shotgun makers that had the guns and the history-and the contemporary enthusiasm-to make the story worth telling. It is 700 pages, with more than 500 high-quality photographs, including many made by frequent SSM contributor Terry Allen. And on top of all of that, it is the second definitive work on "Elsies"-although the first, L.C. Smith Shotguns, by Lt. Col. William S. Brophy (1977), is out of print and fetching collectibles prices on Amazon.
"The Legend Lives," indeed. The book is self-published by author Houchins, a gun-collecting lawyer who envisioned the project many years ago. He has spared little in labor and expense, including the primary research to uncover information not available to Brophy and a complete new assessment of serial numbers based on shipping records now held at the Cody Fire-arms Museum. The photography is extraordinary, not just for the quality of the images and their reproduction but also for the amazing variety of models and grades gathered in the process.
A limited edition of 300 signed and leather-bound copies of L.C. Smith--"The Legend Lives" were about two-thirds sold at press time but available for $175 plus shipping. A book from the first-edition run of 2,500 cloth-bound hardcovers costs $120. For more information, contact The L.C. Smith Book, 422 N. Trade St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101; 800-235-8358; newlcsmithbook@bellsouth.net.
Do you like what you read? Subscribe to Shooting Sportsman»
