ORIGINAL HARDCOVER BOOK No dust jacket - COPYRIGHT DATE OF 1979, 216 Clean Pages and in Good or Better condition considering it 42 years old.   INSCRIPTION: From a retired Captain to his nephew on Christmas 1979. IMPORTANT NOTE: There is a small white spot on the front cover. See pictures. The book is titled as follows: THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF 19TH CENTURY FIREARMS   - AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORLD’S MILITARY FIREARMS DURING THE 19TH CENTURY  by MAJOR F. (FREDERICK) MYATT MC - PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRUCE SCOTT - DRAWING BY JEFF BURN   The book was published by Crescent books, a division of Crown Publishing by arrangement with Salamander Books, London, England.  Printed in Belgium Henri Proost et Cie, Turnhout.  The ISBN # is 0517227867 Text from original dust jacket: (dust jacket not included in sale) This lavishly illustrated volume charts the complete history of military firearms during the19th century, a period when gun design progressed at unparalleled speed.  Within the compass of  three generations the cumbersome  muzzle-loader has given way to the breechloader, the machine gun and magazine rifle had evolved, an the technological revolution that ushered in the highly efficient weaponry of today’s armed forces been achieved. Major Myatt explores the history of small arms development with consummate skill, and writes with insight and affection about the classic weapons of this age and the high standard of craftsmanship that governed their manufacture.  He sets his narrative against the backcloth of the principal campaigns and battlers of the time, illustrating just how and why new firearms altered the face of war.  He also shows how advances in ballistics complemented the progress made in the field of gun design.  His text is accompanied by an exceptional selection of color and black and white photograph’s, paintings and engravings, diagrams and full color cutaway drawings.  Notable features of the book are the series of specially commissioned color photographs which illustrate the important breech mechanisms in close-up, and  an 8 page fold-out which incorporates superbly detailed color artwork of rifles and military uniforms. Note the 8 page foldout is in book. See pictures. This is truly an outstanding book, covering the arms of the world, and the quality of text and illustration make it one that every gun lover will want to own.