Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms. . .and their prices. 9th Edition. By Norm Flayderman. 800 Pages, Softcover, 1800 b&w photos, 16 page color insert, 8-1/2 x 11, Price: $39.95. Order this book online from Krause Publications, Dept. BNP, 700 East State St., Iola, WI 54990-0001. (800) 258-0929 ISBN-10 #0-89689-455-X (Please tell them Bullet 'N Press sent you!)
Many people who are involved with antique arms have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this brand new 9th edition for the last few months. Friends, I am happy to report that this book was well worth the wait! Mr. Flayderman has expanded the guide by roughly 20% in page count so that it now includes far more information on antique American arms than ever. There is also an intriguing 16 page full-color insert showing some exception examples, as well as cased sets.
Flayderman's Guides have long been thought of as the standard by which all other firearms price guides are judged. . .and well they should be. Although we were not able to get an up-to-date sales count from the publisher, Krause Publications tells me that over 600,000 copies of Norm Flayderman's Guides have been sold and circulated and I have no doubt that statement is true.
At first blush, as far as I can see that about everything has been noticably and thoughtfully revised from the 17th right up through the early-mid 20th century. Collectors will be happy to see the price revisions in many areas that more closely reflect the state of the antique arms market today and where it has gone in the last several years. There is also a good deal of very valuable new collector material spread throughout the book. The images in this latest 9th edition are once again somewhat clearer than they have been in earlier editions, another excellent aid to the collector.
The newest edition of Norm's famous price guide covers over 4,000 antique American arms. One great feature of Flayderman's Guides is that everything is so well described. As a friend just conveyed to me in an e-mail "the new edition is fantastic. I started on the chapter of dueling pistols just to pass a little time, and I ended up reading the whole thing, which made me late for my Sunday brunch." Original markings and so many details are listed for each model (where possible) that he really has taken much of the guesswork out of identifying antique American guns and as nearly as is possible, he has turned the ID process into a science. Himself: Norm Flayderman is probably the best known and most respected antique arms collector/dealer alive today. To my thinking, the amount of work and effort it takes to produce such a work is really off-the-charts. How he ever finds the time to write these wonderful, all-encompassing antique arms guides in addition to his normal work is nothing short of mind-boggling.
Flayderman's massive volumes have formed the start of my personal price-reference and historical background shelf since 1977 when the first edition was published. Is the information in this book valuable? Well, I have personally seen the information from these guides pull many the "fanny out of the fire" at gun shows and auctions, including yours truly's! For me, because of the nature of my work every day I am asked to answer many and varied questions from arms collectors involving antique American weapons; this has taught me to keep a copy of Flayderman's next to my desk at all times, it's truly the one book that provides the best, most thorough and professional reference on antique American weapons at a glance.
A note for antique arms collectors: Whether you are just a beginner or you have been doing this for years; I encourage you to read carefully Norm's introduction as well as Chapters I through IV (I-Collecting Firearms, II-Values & Condition, III-Restoration and fakes and IV-The Arms Library.) Yes, it is a sad commentary that in today's fast-paced world many of us just don't feel like we have the time in our busy schedules to "read" serious material. What this reviewer is suggesting to the reader is; the first four chapters of this book are the single most important gathering of "serious material" you will ever read regarding the collecting of antique firearms. Read it, absorb it, get know it by heart and your skills as an arms collector will grow by bounds.
In past years reviews I have noted "that if a person wanted to start collecting antique American arms and they could only have one book to work with; then it should be a copy of Flayderman's Guide". I not only stand on that statement, but more, this the one guide book that no serious antique gun collector or antique arms dealer should ever be without. It's that good.
Thank you Norm for yet another awesome job!