Handbook Of 50 Pirates: Ships, Weapons, Flags, Maps, Treasure & Stories

by Henry E. Hird

A collection of classic pirate images and facts.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Pirates

96 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Douglas Boren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pirates of the Spanish Main is the name of the set of 50 tobacco cards published by Allen & Gintner in 1888. Each card was inserted into a pack of cigarettes. The front featured the face of a pirate with an action scene in the background. Each card had a narrative text on the back. Allen and Gintner marketed these cards for collecting and trading, a marketing gimmick to encourage people to buy more cigarettes.

This book reproduces all of these cards in their original glory. Additionally, there are numerous pictures from famous artists of the day such as Howard Pyle, NC Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, and others. There is also a glossary, as well las informative extracts on pirate ships weapons, and flags.

This is a very informative book, even if the details of each pirate are a bit abbreviated. As the author of "Pirates' Revenge", I had accomplished a lot of research on the subject previously, and still found this to contain information that I had not come across before.

At only 96 pages, it is a quick read, but an enjoyable one.

[S.G. Rainbolt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great painstaking illustrations! This is perfect guide for the pirate readers out there and a great reference for those that do creative writing. Though I have not validated any of these stories with other books in the field, it appears to be very accurate.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very quick read and informative!

[Laurie Bower Lupin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Argh matey… shimmer me timbers! Very factual and fun retelling about some of the key pirates. I bought it in a National Parks gift shop. It’s a short read, but oftentimes, I found myself wanting even more of their stories. I only deducted a star for wanting more.