Cogswell & Harrison: Two Centuries of Gunmaking by Graham Cooley, John Newton

Table of Contents

Established in 1770, and London's oldest surviving gunmaker, Cogswell & Harrison, as the business became known in the mid-nineteenth century, has manufactured an extraordinary diversity of sporting guns and rifles during its long and colourful history. In the nineteenth century, under the direction of Edgar Harrison, the most influential figure in its history, Cogswell & Harrison became known for its ingenious innovations in gunmaking technology and numerous patents are listed in the book as evidence of this.

Graham Cooley and John Newton chart the changes of fortune that brought great commercial success and some disasters, which would have bankrupted many a less resilient company. They discuss the wide range of guns and rifles produced by Cogswell & Harrison, including side-by-side, over-and-under and single barrel shotguns, double rifles, falling block rifles, bolt action magazine rifles and rook and rabbit rifles. In 1894, the company's Harrow factory was destroyed by fire and in 1922 another disastrous fire completely destroyed its factory in Gillingham Place, Pimlico. In 1915, Cogswell Harrison, the only son of Edgar Harrison, was killed at the company's powder mills at Colnbrook. Yet, for much of the twentieth century, Cogswell & Harrison prospered at 168 Piccadilly, maintained premises in the Strand and for many years a shooting emporium and range in Paris. Today, Cogswell & Harrison is making Best guns in a great tradition and faces the future in an uncertain world with confidence.

Graham Cooley and John Newton have gathered a wealth of fascinating historical and technical material which will make the book indispensable, not only to many thousands of 'Coggie' owners worldwide, but also to everyone interested in the general history of British gunmaking.