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Silk and Steel: Women at Arms
Silk and Women at Arms is the first comprehensive presentation on the subject of women and firearms. No object has had a greater impact on world history over the past 650 years than the firearm, and a surprising number of women have been keen on the as shooters, hunters, collectors, engravers, and even gunmakers.
From Queen Elizabeth I through her descendant Queen Elizabeth II, the numbers of aristocratic female arms enthusiasts, particularly shooters, have been impressive. Among those regal Russia’s Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine the Great, France’s Marie Antoinette, and Great Britain’s Duchess of Devonshire. In the New World, Thomas Jefferson’s matched pair of Queen Anne–style flintlock pistols were made by London gunmaker Mary Dealtry. Pioneer American women took bold steps to defend home and hearth, and their courage earned them the right to vote in Western states, where hardiness and self-reliance were taken for granted. As Jefferson himself “[The gun gives] boldness, enterprise, and independence to the mind.” Many women were comfortable with firearms in early America, and among the world’s most famous women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was Annie Oakley—“Little Sure Shot.”
Turning back the clock to the time of Joan of Arc, R. L. Wilson shows how women have played a vital role in armed conflicts. For many centuries, women went to war—sometimes in the guise of men—without their comrades knowing that they were present. Increasingly, in our own era, there are female fighter pilots and cadets at West Point and at all the U.S. service academies. The 2001–2002 war in Afghanistan saw Northern Alliance women trained to fire AK-47s, some even shooting their Taliban tormentors.
Expanding on a long tradition, in the post–World War II period, millions of women and girls gravitated to sport shooting, including trap, skeet, and sporting clays, rifle and pistol target competitions, and the harvesting of game birds and even the dangerous big game of Africa. As evidenced in the writings of Ernest Hemingway, Robert Ruark, and Isak Dinesen, big game hunting in Africa was a favorite pursuit of many society women from Europe and the United States.
Following the publication of this book, the Rosenbruch Wildlife Heritage Museum will mount a traveling exhibition exploring the theme of women and firearms. Firearms, clothing, and accessories will be accompanied by paintings, photographs, drawings, and prints, as well as numerous other artifacts, to depict and document a captivating subject never before examined in such depth.
Silk and Steel joins the author’s series on the history of firearms, which commenced in 1979 with The Colt Heritage and continued through such later titles as An American Legend, An American Legend, The Peacemakers, Steel Canvas, Ruger & His Guns, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West (with Greg Martin), and The World of Beretta.
Silk and Steel includes more than three hundred color plates, with spectacular new collages by Peter Beard. The bibliography lists myriad works of reference, some centuries old, and is accompanied by a detailed index.
From Queen Elizabeth I through her descendant Queen Elizabeth II, the numbers of aristocratic female arms enthusiasts, particularly shooters, have been impressive. Among those regal Russia’s Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine the Great, France’s Marie Antoinette, and Great Britain’s Duchess of Devonshire. In the New World, Thomas Jefferson’s matched pair of Queen Anne–style flintlock pistols were made by London gunmaker Mary Dealtry. Pioneer American women took bold steps to defend home and hearth, and their courage earned them the right to vote in Western states, where hardiness and self-reliance were taken for granted. As Jefferson himself “[The gun gives] boldness, enterprise, and independence to the mind.” Many women were comfortable with firearms in early America, and among the world’s most famous women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was Annie Oakley—“Little Sure Shot.”
Turning back the clock to the time of Joan of Arc, R. L. Wilson shows how women have played a vital role in armed conflicts. For many centuries, women went to war—sometimes in the guise of men—without their comrades knowing that they were present. Increasingly, in our own era, there are female fighter pilots and cadets at West Point and at all the U.S. service academies. The 2001–2002 war in Afghanistan saw Northern Alliance women trained to fire AK-47s, some even shooting their Taliban tormentors.
Expanding on a long tradition, in the post–World War II period, millions of women and girls gravitated to sport shooting, including trap, skeet, and sporting clays, rifle and pistol target competitions, and the harvesting of game birds and even the dangerous big game of Africa. As evidenced in the writings of Ernest Hemingway, Robert Ruark, and Isak Dinesen, big game hunting in Africa was a favorite pursuit of many society women from Europe and the United States.
Following the publication of this book, the Rosenbruch Wildlife Heritage Museum will mount a traveling exhibition exploring the theme of women and firearms. Firearms, clothing, and accessories will be accompanied by paintings, photographs, drawings, and prints, as well as numerous other artifacts, to depict and document a captivating subject never before examined in such depth.
Silk and Steel joins the author’s series on the history of firearms, which commenced in 1979 with The Colt Heritage and continued through such later titles as An American Legend, An American Legend, The Peacemakers, Steel Canvas, Ruger & His Guns, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West (with Greg Martin), and The World of Beretta.
Silk and Steel includes more than three hundred color plates, with spectacular new collages by Peter Beard. The bibliography lists myriad works of reference, some centuries old, and is accompanied by a detailed index.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
4 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Wilson
98 books9 followersRobert L. "Larry" Wilson was one of America's leading authorities on antique firearms. He was the author of illustrated and detailed books regarding the histories of various firearm companies, the art of firearm engraving and embellishment, and Sam Colt, inventor of the revolver. He consulted for, and advised, museums around the world.
As an undergraduate student, Wilson studied history and art at Carleton College. Wilson's first book,Samuel Colt Presents, was published in 1961 when he was 22 years old. His most recent publication, History and Art of the American Gun, was published in 2016, and during that span of 55 years, Wilson averaged approximately one book per year.
In addition to authoring more than 50 books, Wilson also penned 325 articles for a variety of magazines and periodicals and wrote countless gun descriptions for firearm auction catalogs.
Wilson passed away December 10, 2016, in his San Francisco home. He was 77 years old.
As an undergraduate student, Wilson studied history and art at Carleton College. Wilson's first book,Samuel Colt Presents, was published in 1961 when he was 22 years old. His most recent publication, History and Art of the American Gun, was published in 2016, and during that span of 55 years, Wilson averaged approximately one book per year.
In addition to authoring more than 50 books, Wilson also penned 325 articles for a variety of magazines and periodicals and wrote countless gun descriptions for firearm auction catalogs.
Wilson passed away December 10, 2016, in his San Francisco home. He was 77 years old.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Currently reading
November 24, 2008I really like this book as I am in the process of learning how to hunt. It is inspiring to see the strong women that have gone before me to endeavor in what has typically been thought of as a man's sport. As I come up against resistance to my new found passion it is comforting to have in both text and pictures, (that this book so eloquantly cronicles), evidence of the noble history of women excelling in this sport.
July 25, 2021
This book does shed light on women in an area that must people think as male dominated. I particularly enjoyed the chapter about women gunsmiths, which too my mind is the best chapter in the book.
It does not really lend itself easily to kindle format, so if you have a choice, I think the physical book would most likely make for a better reading experience. The photos would be easier to look at, and I think the quoted text would be stand out better. I also think the reader would get more out of the book if they had been to the museums from which many of the photos are taken. It feels like an book for an exhibit that is missing the exhibit if you know what I mean.
At times there is a bit too much quoted text, which is contributes to this feeling of this book should have come with an actual exhibit, not various displays at various museums over the country. I also found the emphasis on Western Women to be a bit limited, even though the book was the idea of two American women who were tired of being told "ladies don't shoot".
If you are anti-gun and worried that this book is propaganda for the NRA, it isn't really. It is a straight forward history of women and guns, and while the amount of violence that involves guns is not mentioned (and in the purpose of the book, why would it?), it is not a join the NRA thing. It is more of a women can shoot too and can hunt type of a book.
There is quite a bit of history in the book, so if you are interested in history, it is worth checking out.
It does not really lend itself easily to kindle format, so if you have a choice, I think the physical book would most likely make for a better reading experience. The photos would be easier to look at, and I think the quoted text would be stand out better. I also think the reader would get more out of the book if they had been to the museums from which many of the photos are taken. It feels like an book for an exhibit that is missing the exhibit if you know what I mean.
At times there is a bit too much quoted text, which is contributes to this feeling of this book should have come with an actual exhibit, not various displays at various museums over the country. I also found the emphasis on Western Women to be a bit limited, even though the book was the idea of two American women who were tired of being told "ladies don't shoot".
If you are anti-gun and worried that this book is propaganda for the NRA, it isn't really. It is a straight forward history of women and guns, and while the amount of violence that involves guns is not mentioned (and in the purpose of the book, why would it?), it is not a join the NRA thing. It is more of a women can shoot too and can hunt type of a book.
There is quite a bit of history in the book, so if you are interested in history, it is worth checking out.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews