Collector Grade Books Signed LR Collection

In regards to New2brass's post "Here is the first box of books I mentioned," scroll down until you see two softbound booklets - one in blue, one in beige - entitled "Guide to Collecting the M1 Carbine," by Robert Gibson.

From a purely historical (for me, very sentimental) standpoint, this is THE booklet to have if you are interested in the history of collecting the carbine. This booklet was published in 1976, before the Carbine Club existed, and before Larry Ruth - or anyone else for that matter - had written a book about collecting carbines. Except for small articles in the NRA's "American Rifleman" magazine, we had nothing to help us understand the carbine and guide us in carbine collecting.

Robert Gibson was the first to give carbine enthusiasts something factual to sink our teeth into. It is 62 pages long, and I still refer to my copy from time to time. It is dog-eared and full of handwritten notes that I scribbled in the margins. But I love it and respect Mr. Gibson for writing such an interesting and informative guide by himself so early on.

Robert Gibson was the first carbine collector author/pioneer, whom no one has ever heard of! :-)

PS: Dan Pinto has reminded me that Paul Wahl wrote the first civilian carbine manual/guide in 1964, but as I remember, it wasn't geared toward collectors. I discarded my copy, but carried my Gibson book to every gun show.

Regards, mb

Edited by Marty Black - Dec 21 2022 at 8:13pm