Books

First edition. Royal 8vo, xl, 299 pp., original grey cloth, spine lettered in gilt and decorated in brown, front board decorated in brown with crossed-sword motif and arabesques, light wear, spine faded, corners bumped, a good copy. Richard Burton's classic work on the sword, including its history in Persia and the Middle-East. Burton intended this to be the first part of a comprehensive three-volume work on the sword, but parts II and III were never published. Casada 27; Penzer, pp. 107 8.

This detailed work is an attempt by Burton to trace the history of the sword and other edged weapons from prehistoric times through the classical and medieval periods to the dawn of the modern era.