In "The Making of a Miniature Firearm," George W. Jones has assembled a series of photographs along with captions illustrating his craft as a miniature model artesian, a talent of extraordinary skill, patience and eyesight! His book, terse in words but revealing a wealth of mental stimulation seeing each of the model photographs, creates a real "Wow" factor. It unfolds like a National Geographic special presentation introducing the reader to the complexity of detail necessary to make these museum quality miniature replicas.
George W. Jones has focused this book on basically two models designed by Samuel Colt in the 19th century. There is a famous quote, "God may have created man, but Sam Colt made them equal!" I'd say to that, "Sam Colt may have created perfection in his gun designs, but it took George Jones to shrink them to the size of a dime!" By this I am referencing the use of a dime in most of the photographs illustrating the scale of the models. (It would have been much easier for George to make a dime the size of a dinner plate than guns as small as he has!)
The miniature firearms also include other models, such as the Winchester-Shuetzen rifle, and most all are housed in miniature cases which include the accessories commonly needed to support the gun, such as a gun-powder vessel, a bullet mold and press, an oil can and other items. Even the hinges of the case are built to scale, with - get this - a tiny key that unlocks a tiny lock on the case. Unbelievable! Mind you these 1/6th and 1/8th scale models are not simply molded, but assembled with the inner workings of hammer springs, barrel assemblies, and all of the parts in fantastic detail.
"The Making of a Miniature Firearm" is a hardcover, coffee-table quality photo book suitable for a gift to any firearm enthusiast, model maker, or frankly just about anyone. George W. Jones lists his other works and some of his industry accolades including a story about James Cameron while working on the movie Titanic, and it has a Forward written by the late Ralph Bradshaw White, in 2007. As the work of Mr. Jones is in private collections and museums throughout the country, a trip to visit each of the sites would be expensive and time consuming, the better alternative is to buy this book and relax in comfort while pondering the exquisite detail as a witness to his art.
Reviewed by: Gary R. Sorkin
Gary R. Sorkin is the Senior Editor for Pacific Book Review. Please visit Pacific Book Review at:
http://www.pacificbookreview.com/
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