Volume I
Tom Rowe and Ralph Hemstalk have authored a new comprehensive history of Joshua Stevens, the J. Stevens & Company 1864-1886, the J. Stevens Arms and Tool Company 1886-1916, and the J. Stevens Arms Company 1916-1942.
Stevens Target Rifles also provides some historical information on the Stevens-Duryea Company 1901-1915, and 1919-1927, as well as the turn over of the Stevens-Duryea and Stevens firearms manufacturing facilities to New England Westinghouse for wartime production. The Stevens story continues with the acquisitions of Stevens by the Savage Arms Company in 1920.
Volume II
This two-volume set deals with the target rifles only; boy’s rifles, shotguns, pistols and revolvers may be covered in a separate set of books in the future. The set includes coverage of Stevens Tip Up rifles, Stevens Side Plates, Stevens Model 44s, Model 44½ and 044½ rifles, as well as cartridges, loading tools, sights, Stevens telescopes, butt stock and forearm details, catalogs, and miscellaneous items like promotional items, envelopes, sewing kits, shaving kits, and pocket knives to name just a few.
Stevens Target Rifles is an amalgamation of Tom Rowe’s fantastic photographs (including photographs from other sources), extensive historical background photographs and material provided by Ralph Hemstalk and the late John Hamilton, as well as contributions by many other Stevens Collectors, who are too numerous to list here. Many of them are listed in the Acknowledgements section of Volume I.
As I mentioned in the Stevens-Pope 1901-1913 review, one of the first things I look at is the Table of Contents and the Index. Listed below are the Table of Contents for both volumes:
Volume I: Chapter one: History. Chapter two: Tip Up Rifles. Chapter Three: Side Plate. Chapter Four: The 44. Chapter Five: The New Ideal 44 and Engraving. Chapter Six: Heavy Schuetzen and Chapter Seven: Ladies Model.
Volume II: Includes chapters on the Models 44½ and 044½, Stevens Pope and F.C. Ross, Cartridges and Accessories, Loading tools and sights, telescopic sights, buttstocks and forearms, as well as information on the Stevens catalogs.
An example of one of the Stevens Tip Up rifle.
An example of one of the Stevens Side Plate rifle.
An example of one of the Stevens Model 44 Schuetzen rifle showing the comparison between a standard 44 action and the Heavy Schuetzen Action.
These two images show an example of a custom Model 44½ rifle made specifically for a well-known rifleman – in this case W.A. Tewes.
Image of a standard Stevens Model 52.
The above images are examples of photographs from
Stevens Target Rifles. The set is slightly smaller than the H.M. Pope series with a landscape of 8½ by 11 inches. The smaller format does not detract from the quality of photographs. To add this set to your collection, please contact Tom Rowe, P.O. Box 207, Sugar Grove, VA 24375. Phone: 276-783-8037 or Email Rowebooks1@gmail.com. Only 750 sets are being published. The cost is $75 plus $7 postage for one book and for both volumes the price is $130 plus $9 postage. Please make payment in the form of a personal check as Tom is not set up to process credit cards.
Stevens Target Rifles is the most comprehensive two volume set available on the history of Stevens and their Target Rifles, which are without doubt one of the prettiest American Schuetzen Rifles, both in form and function, ever made.
