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Pistols of the Warlords: Chinese Domestic Handguns, 1911 – 1949

Created by Headstamp Publishing

Headstamp Publishing is excited to announce the third in our flagship series of books, Pistols of the Warlords: Chinese Domestic Handguns, 1911 – 1949, authored by Ian McCollum. We are offering several beautiful editions, as well as Kickstarter-exclusive rewards. We will also be giving backers exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content, and we have set several stretch goals which will help us to make quality and content improvements to the book. Pistols of the Warlords is a departure from our previous titles in that it is less of an archival reference work and more of a photographic exploration of hundreds of different examples of Chinese pistols. Details of production and history are included where possible, but the vast majority of these pistols are true mysteries, with no known surviving documentation even in China. Rather than allow these obstacles to relegate them to obscurity, we decided to produce a book with everything that is known, to categorize the different design classes, and give collectors and historians a basis to begin understanding these fascinating firearms. A beautiful reference work intended for all those interested in the history of China and of handgun design, it offers the only formal study ever made on the subject. The manuscript is complete, photography has been finalized, and the images have been prepared for print, and layout and final editing are in the final stages. At this stage, it is our great pleasure to offer the book for pre-order via Kickstarter. This is a book for enthusiasts, researchers, historians, and collectors, and it is as much an authoritative historical work as it is a work of art.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Shipping Progress: Approaching the End!
over 1 year ago – Thu, Oct 13, 2022 at 11:57:03 PM

Hey guys - Just a quick update for you on shipping. We are still working through the Kickstarter preorders, and have approximately 10 business days of orders to go before all the Kickstarter orders have shipped. I know it's been frustrating for you guys who still haven't gotten your shipping notifications yet, but I promise they are coming. Unfortunately, there has to be someone whose book ships last...

Collector Editions now Shipping!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Sep 26, 2022 at 03:22:32 AM

We have now received all the books from the printer, and orders continue to ship every day. James and I spent the last two days at our warehouse where I did the signing, numbering, and personalization of all the Collector Edition copies. Those are the next orders that are shipping, and it will probably take about a week for them all to be processed, and then before it's back to other orders until they are all finished.

I do also want to take a moment to highlight how complex these orders are for the warehouse to fulfill. Between bookmarks, cocktail sheets, maps, patches, ex libris labels, and (you know) actual *books*, it's pretty common for an order to have a dozen or more items in it. The shipping staff are taking the time to make sure that every order is packed accurately, and that takes some time. We hope you appreciate their diligence when you get your orders!

Shipping Update
over 1 year ago – Fri, Sep 09, 2022 at 03:31:12 AM

Hi Guys,

Quick update on shipping status - the gray cover books (both signed and unsigned) have now arrived at our warehouse, and are starting to ship out. The unsigned purple cover and the Collector editions are scheduled to arrive early next week. I am currently in Europe for Finnish Brutality and some other filming, and I will be flying directly to our warehouse when I return to the US to  personalize the Collector editions, so they should start shipping in about 2 weeks. 

Thanks for your patience!

Ian

Shipping starts this week!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Aug 17, 2022 at 06:56:32 PM

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We have received the first batch of Pistols of the Warlords at our warehouse, hooray! Specifically, we got the signed Kickstarter-exclusive (purple) copies. The warehouse is going to start packing them tomorrow (Wednesday), and they will hit the shipping stream either tomorrow or Thursday. A couple of important notes:

  • We will initially be shipping only orders that are just signed purple copies. If your order includes unsigned purple, Collector, or gray cover copies, it will not ship until we also receive those books.
  • The shipments with those other books are expected any day now, and I will update you when they arrive.
  • Between the volume of orders and the complexity of the orders (lots of add-ons - maps, cocktail sheets, ex libris labels, patches, bookmarks, Arming the Dragon, etc) this will take several weeks for the warehouse to process through. 
  • You will get an email notification with tracking when your order ships.

We are very excited for you all to start receiving your books. It's been a long process, but we are pretty stoked by how fantastic the books look, and we can't wait to have them in your hands!

Status Update: Arming the Dragon Has Arrived
over 1 year ago – Thu, Aug 04, 2022 at 11:49:25 PM

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