The Fourth Park Lane Arms Fair catalogue , 1987. Copyright D.A. Oliver Limited .

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That first line at the top of the second page... how classic is that?

Thanks for sharing Mac! Should have known if there were anything Scottish, you'd have a hand in it. :D

Thanks for the article, Mac.

The ingenuity and artisanship of these early Scottish makers is truly amazing. Scottish arms of the period are unique in northern Europe.

But they also seem to reach an early plateau, and not move forward much from there. The artisanship remains--the eighteenth century Doune pistols are still quite lovely, but they're is no real technological advance over the previous 100+ years. We can't blame this on the English and the '45--once the designs were settled on, they seem to have remained essentially unchanged from the early 17th century.

Of course, there is Pattie Ferguson's eponymous rifle, building on earlier French work, but that was an individual's invention and not part of the Scottish mainstream.

So, what happened? Were they simply so content with what they had in the early 17th that they saw no need to change?

Hi Scott

Good question !

Everything I've read ( on the Scots) seems to indicate they were quite inventive so it's kinda strange that they would stagnate so ? The Anacronistic attitude only covers so much , 'eh !

I think we need Dr. Caldwell to stop by .....

Anyone else ? Mac

Scott Bubar wrote:

So, what happened? Were they simply so content with what they had in the early 17th that they saw no need to change?

That would be great.

Bob Woosnam-Savage could probably help out here as well.