This book is a descriptive guide to the firearms and accessories produced for the US military, at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts, during the period of 1873 to 1893. It contains detailed descriptions, serial number data, and photographs of EVERY rare variety of the .45-70 Springfield 'trapdoor', most never before available in this handy format. Included are Sporting Rifles, the Metcalfe device, the M1875 Officer's Rifles, the M1880 Triangular rod-bayonet rifle, the 1881 Long-Range rifles, the M1881 Marksman's rifle, the M1882 Short rifles with 28" barrel, the M1884 Experimental (flat-latch) rod-bayonet rifles, the M1886 "XC" 24" barrel carbine, the .30 caliber ammunition test rifles of the 1890s, and more . . . In addition to the Allin-system 'trapdoors' noted above, individual and comprehensive chapters are devoted to the Model 1875 Lee-Springfield "vertical breech" rifle, all five versions of those martial-type Winchester-Hotchkiss repeating arms assembled by Springfield Armory, and, last but not least, the rare Chaffee-Reece magazine gun from the 1882 trials. The book also contains the largest-known accumulation (nearly 50 years in the making) of early Model 1873 Carbine serial numbers from the "Custer Period", over 1,250 at time of publication.
Richard A. (Dick) Hosmer has collected Springfield rifles since 1970. He began by specializing in the Allin "trapdoor" series, but gradually expanded the hunt into an attempt to acquire a specimen of every different long-arm produced at SA during the 1865-1915 time period. This greatly increased the diversity and interest of the collection, though a few pieces have, so far, managed to elude him. A third-generation San Franciscan, he has lived in or near the San Francisco Bay area since 1937, receiving his secondary education at City College of San Francisco. His working life was spent in the construction industry, retiring in 2001 as senior project manager for a leading manufacturer of special-purpose (sound-retardant, bullet-proof, and blast-resistant) doors. He and his wife presently own and operate an antique store. He is a Life Member of the California Rifle and Pistol Association, and a Benefactor Life Member of the National Rifle Association. He began this project in 1992, accepting a challenge from Joseph Poyer of North Cape Publications to write a book which would cover the scarcer models omitted from their basic work on the subject. Over 25 years, the project grew to two volumes, encompassing in total just over fifty related arms. The 'first half' of the project, entitled "The .58 and .50 Caliber Rifles and Carbines of Springfield Armory, 1865-1872" was published by North Cape in 2006. This volume completes the work. The author's family arrived in America in 1635, though his collateral lines extend to the "Mayflower". Several members have served in the military over the years, beginning with the French & Indian Wars. One, Abner Hosmer, of Acton MA was, at just 19, one of two patriots killed in the skirmish at the Old North Bridge in Concord MA, on 19 April 1775, the first day of the Revolutionary War. The other was Isaac Davis, captain of the Acton company. In addition to their military service, the family also had a very long association with the Springfield Armory. At least eight individuals were employed there and, at one point, three generations were working side-by-side. According to a 1968 article in "Gun Report" magazine, written by Major Christopher Dvarecka, Springfield's last historian, there was at least one Hosmer (all of whom were cousins of the author) on the Armory payroll from 1809 to 1915. That will stand forever as the record for length of service by one family at Springfield.
