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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:

Books are on their way to the US!
almost 2 years ago – Sat, Jul 02, 2022 at 02:53:37 AM

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We are very happy to announce that all of the operations in China for the book are complete. The books are all printed and  bound, packagaed, and on boats heading for the US. They are coming in several different shipments (we are talking about many dozens of pallets) with arrival currently scheduled for the first week of August. I wanted to have the Collector Editions ship out to buyers first, but unfortunately the Collectors ended up being the last batch to ship. We can't justify delaying everyone else's books while we wait for them to arrive, though. As soon as the first shipment comes in to our warehouse, we will start sending them out to you. Please be aware that because of the volume of books to send, it will take 2-4 weeks to get all  the orders shipped. 


"Arming the Dragon" is fully printed, and currently being bound. That's happening in the US (only a few miles from our warehouse, actually), and it will be finished well before the main books arrive. Everything else (maps, cocktail sheets, patches, posters, bookmarks, etc) is already in the warehouse ready to go. So we should have everything out to you in August.


Thank you all so much for your patience during this process. It's been a frustratingly long endeavor, but the finished books look magnificent, and I know you'll forget about the wait once you have them in hand!

Advance Copies of the Production Books Have Arrived!
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Jun 15, 2022 at 07:08:50 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Books have shipped!
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Jun 01, 2022 at 09:54:14 PM

At last! I am very happy to be about to announce that the books have shipped from the printer today. We are working on getting a specific anticipated arrival date, and I will post a more detailed update when we have that. But we have a definite light at the end of the tunnel now!

 - Ian

Gray Book Samples Have Arrived!
about 2 years ago – Mon, May 02, 2022 at 05:22:34 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Purple Kickstarter Book!
about 2 years ago – Sat, Apr 23, 2022 at 12:32:21 AM

We now have two copies of the printed and bound Purple Kickstarter Edition book in hand! This one is being packed up to go to Ian for his review. Still a few small things to tweak, but we are almost there. As you can see, the book looks amazing!

Kickstarter Edition Book Cover
Kickstarter Edition Endsheets
Custom Marker Ribbon
Rear Cover Panel