Any attempt to survey centuries of early firearms development would require years of work, and I'm not going to try to do so here. Rather, I have selected some decent examples of some of the more noteworthy turning points in handguns. Particularly for the very early guns (wheellock and matchlock), the designs here aren't strictly reproductions, but rather are a distillation of a given type of firearm, based on one or two extant guns. The other designs are based on actual historical firearms, and the dimensions are accurate for specific models.
While most of the examples here are black-powder firearms, and pre-1900, not all of them are. I've included several designs which were developed around or even well after 1900, and several others actually continued to be commonly used well into the late 20th century, though in modern smokeless powder versions. But I think a good case can be made that each of the selected designs is an iconic historical gun, representing a significant technological development.
Holding these designs is like holding a piece of history. Displaying them honors the role they played in that history, and in the technological innovation they represent.
Please note: if you order the "Sandwich" option, you will get both the left & right sides of a given design, plus an opaque center panel, at a slight discount over what the individual pieces would cost.
