Review by Larry S. Sterett | Contributing Editor
BLUE BOOK OF GUN VALUES, Thirty-Eighth Edition, by S.P. Fjestad.©.2017. Published by Blue Book Publications, Inc., Dept. TGM, 8009 34th Ave. S, Suite 250, Minneapolis, MN 55425. Price: $54.95, plus shipping. It should be available at most good bookstores, including online, and many gun shops.
Measuring over two-and-one-half inches thick, this 2,512-page softbound volume is the latest in gun values. It is page-edge indexed from A (Vets Arms Co., LLC) to Z (Zombie Defense). It is also edged along the upper portion to indicate the section in which the arms valuations are located. Any none-edged pages contain other material, including an 80-page color illustrated PPGS (Photo Percentage Grading System) section. Other non-tabbed sections—a total of some sixteen-dozen plus pages are located at the beginning and end of this massive volume. The front section features general information, including How to Use This Book, the anatomy of firearms, tributes to the late “Larry” Wilson, and more. The end portion is devoted to a variety of useful, and interesting topics—Trademark Index, Glossary, a List of American Firearms Museums, Shooting Organizations, Store Brand Cross-Over List, Serial Numbers, Proof Marks, BATFE Guide, Periodicals, Reference Sources, etc., and, of course, an Index.
This volume is not titled as being complete, nor should it have been. No such book ever really contains every bit of information it might contain. However, this latest edition is close. (It even lists the Kessler Levermatic shotgun, which had a short production life and was discontinued in 1953. The Merrill Sportsman pistol, designed by Rex Merrill, was originally manufactured in Rockwell City, IA, prior to the manufacturing rights being sold and production moved westward. This is where the index comes in handy. Under the Merrill heading it listed R.P.M. as providing more information. R.P… should be after Ro… No, not there. Check the index. R.P.M. does not follow Roper, but is located 130-plus pages prior, following RPB Industries.)
The Semmerling LM-4 pistol, although currently manufactured by American Derringer Corporation in Waco, TX, is not a derringer as one writer recently stated. It is, and always was, a manually-operated 4-shot pistol chambered for .45 ACP cartridges, as listed in this volume. Originally produced in Boston, MA, for possible military use, this writer found it definitely interesting when he tested it a few decades back.
This is a book which every gun collector, dealer, enthusiast or gun museum curator should have on their reference shelf. It is about as complete as it can be up to 2017. Listing of all the sporting single shot rifles and shotguns, and small caliber revolvers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries would be nigh impossible, as would providing illustrations for all the firearms listed. Even representative illustrations would be prohibitive. Dream on! It is an excellent volume as it is, and S.P. Fjestad should be proud of his latest endeavor.)
