2019 Reprint of 1944 Edition.  Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition software.  Illustrated with 110 photographic plates.  This is one of the most important books written on the semiautomatic handgun. It covers all the important pistols developed prior to 1935. What makes this book so useful is that is gives a complete description of exactly how each weapon functions in detail.  It is a history of the development and functioning of the modern military self-loading pistol, its special ammunition, and their evolvement into the sub-machine gun, together with a supplementing chapter on the light machine gun. 1884-1935.  Still a valuable reference.