All Ben wants is a Mongolian fighting fish. He's saved his allowance for weeks and finally has enough to go to the pet store. But instead of his fish, he comes home with a talking cat from Eidolon, the Secret Country. Ben learns that this is just a small piece of the magical creature smuggling that is going on and that with each creature taken from their home, the magical land grows weaker. And so does Ben's mom, the long-lost queen of Eidolon. Ben exposed Mr. Dodd's vile pet emporium in The Secret Country, but that was not enough to put a stop to his evil scheme. In The Shadow World, Queen Isadora goes back to her homeland to help the magical creatures overcome the dog-headed Dodman. Ellie, Ben's sister, follows and lands in a trap. The Arnold children are destined to save the Secret Country, but first they must save each other. The battle continues in The Dragon's Fire, but the magical creatures under Queen Isadora's guide are not fairing so well. Before Ben and the others ride to her rescue, she is captured by the Dodman and taken to the castle for a wedding ceremony. Her wedding ceremony. But first the Dodman must get rid of Ben's father. It is a fight to the finish when baby sister Alice goes through the most extraordinary transformation, vanquishes the Dodman, and reunites her family for good.

In recent years, the art of gun engraving has become increasing important to collectors of best guns and rifles crafted by the great British gunmakers. This book charts the history and development of gun engraving and includes an important section on its contribution to the value of guns and rifles today.

In the nineteenth century there were thousands of British gunmakers plying their trade the length and breadth of the land building all qualities of gun and rifle. Gunmakers have dwindled to a very small number today but the nature of the trade has changed from volume production to exclusive best guns only. British gunmakers have embraced the new technology on offer and by using a combination of CNC machining and new steels allied to traditional gunmaking skills, they are building superb quality guns and rifles to the highest standards. Unlike their competitors, British guns are not entirely built by machine and there is a large element of hand craftsmanship in every example built. Not content to rest on their historical laurels, they have introduced new designs and brought their creations right up to date for twenty-first century requirements. Guns and rifles are all built to the exact specifications of the customer and no two are alike. Each gun is individually made yet designed to embrace modern requirements such as high pheasants, steel shot and so on. This book shows the great variety of guns and rifles on offer entirely built in Great Britain today and how British gunmakers still continue to lead the world in best quality guns and rifles.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2018 BY THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE AND SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE By a prize-winning young historian, an authoritative work that reframes the Industrial Revolution, the expansion of British empire, and emergence of industrial capitalism by presenting them as inextricable from the gun trade "A fascinating and important glimpse into how violence fueled the industrial revolution, Priya Satia's book stuns with deep scholarship and sparkling prose."--Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies We have long understood the Industrial Revolution as a triumphant story of innovation and technology. Empire of Guns, a rich and ambitious new book by award-winning historian Priya Satia, upends this conventional wisdom by placing war and Britain's prosperous gun trade at the heart of the Industrial Revolution and the state's imperial expansion. Satia brings to life this bustling industrial society with the story of a scandal: Samuel Galton of Birmingham, one of Britain's most prominent gunmakers, has been condemned by his fellow Quakers, who argue that his profession violates the society's pacifist principles. In his fervent self-defense, Galton argues that the state's heavy reliance on industry for all of its war needs means that every member of the British industrial economy is implicated in Britain's near-constant state of war. Empire of Guns uses the story of Galton and the gun trade, from Birmingham to the outermost edges of the British empire, to illuminate the nation's emergence as a global superpower, the roots of the state's role in economic development, and the origins of our era's debates about gun control and the "military-industrial complex" -- that thorny partnership of government, the economy, and the military. Through Satia's eyes, we acquire a radically new understanding of this critical historical moment and all that followed from it. Sweeping in its scope and entirely original in its approach, Empire of Guns is a masterful new work of history -- a rigorous historical argument with a human story at its heart.

The period 1850 to 1900 witnessed the most far reaching changes sporting gun and rifle design had ever experienced. Prior to this, changes had been pedestrian and the muzzle-loader still ruled the day in 1850 as it had done for previous centuries. In this major work the author details the many changes that occurred. He describes at length the pinfire, centre-fire and hammerless developments along with all the ancillary changes made to sporting guns. Likewise with rifles he outlines the many developments such as the superseding of the two groove muzzle-loading Express rifle by the multi-groove, breech-loading rifle of smaller calibre.

This iconic company was founded in the late 19th century and traded into the 1960s. Midland produced 1000s of guns during this time, many still in service today. They also produced a huge range of accessories & equipment for virtually every type of shooter. A selection of products feature in this book along with photographs, drawings and diagrams.

Symbolic ornamentation inspired by ancient Greek and Roman art is a long-standing Western tradition. The author explores the designs of 18th century English gunsmiths who engraved classical ornamental patterns on firearms gifted or traded to American Indians. A system of allegory is found that symbolized the Americas of the New World in general, and that enshrined the American Indian peoples as "noble savages." The same allegorical context was drawn upon for symbols of national liberty in the early American republic. Inadvertently, many of the symbolic designs used on the trade guns strongly resonated with several Native American spiritual traditions.

The continuing high demand for copies of Volumes One and Two of the renowned British Shotgun series has led to Quiller issuing new facsimile editions to complement the long-awaited publication of Volume Three. Both of these important works are lavishly illustrated with contemporary photographs and diagrams, illustrations and patent drawings. Volume One 1850-1870 - traces the evolution of the shotgun during its formative years in Great Britain. Extensively and painstakingly researched, this highly regarded work gives an invaluable insight into the developments that took place during this innovative period. Volume Two 1871-1890 - the authors continue to unravel the intricate and fascinating story of the evolution and development of the British shotgun. AUTHOR: Ian Crudgington ran a successful gunmaking business and served for many years on the Council of the Gun Trade Association, and has been Chairman of the organization. In 1960 he was elected to the Livery of the Gunmakers Company of the City of London, to the Court in 1969 and served as Master from 1974 to 1975 David Baker has had a life-long fascination with the evolution of the sporting gun. With his writing career now in it's fourth decade, he has produced hundreds of magazine articles and numerous books including The British Shotgun Volume One and Two; The Royal Gunroom at Sandringham and The Heyday of the Shotgun ILLUSTRATIONS: b/w