Practica del Tirador, o sea, Tratado Elemental Sobre la Teoria del Tiro...
Nueva York: Imprenta de "El Correo de Nueva York" 1874. [4],xi,430,[1]pp., plus five plates (three folding). Early-20th century quarter black calf and blue textured cloth, gilt spine titles, by Mexican binder Saul A. Alva with his binder's ink stamp on front free endpaper. Edges and spine ends scuffed, minor soiling to boards, corners bumped. Occasional uneven toning, but internally clean. Very good. Item #4082
A rare and detailed guide to rifles and their use for the citizens of Mexico, written by Rafael Benavides, a Mexican army general convalescing in New York City; the work is bound with rare later Spanish treatise on ballistics. The central inspiration for the rifle manual was Benavides' involvement in the republican effort to retake Mexico from Maximilian and loyalist forces. Benavides was the general in charge of the siege of Veracruz in 1866 and 1867, during the denouement of the conflict which ultimately saw the emperor captured and executed in Queretaro. The general was seriously wounded during the battle, and removed to New York for seven years to recover. He wrote the present work shortly before departing for Mexico to take up his position in the army once more, and in 1877 was involved in skirmishes along the Texas-Mexico border. In his introduction, Benavides discusses how his experience in the "Second French Intervention," demonstrated the necessity of familiarity with firearms and shooting, so that the citizenry might be prepared to fight for its liberty at a moment's notice:
"Un pueblo situado como el nuestro, bajo tan especiales circunstancias, no puede dejar de comprender la importancia de que todos los ciudadanos, ó al ménos la mayor parte, se instruyan en los rudimentos del manejo de las armas, para ponerse en disposicion de tomar parte, desde el p[rmer momento y llegado el caso, en defensa de nuestras libertades, nuestras fronteras, y nuestra INDEPENDENCIA."
The text covers a wide variety of topics in great detail, including design and function of different types of firearms, particularly rifles; instructions for shooting from a variety of positions; directions and drills for firing as a unit; and extensive explanations of ballistics. In addition to several in-text illustrations and tables, the work contains five plates (three folding) that depict firing positions, ballistics diagrams, a general diagram of the firing mechanism of a rifle, and the specific method for reloading a Remington rifle. A very scarce Spanish language imprint; we locate only four copies, at the University of Texas, New York Public Library, Columbia, and AAS.
The Benavides manual is bound with another rare work - a mathematical treatise on ballistics entitled Conferencias sobre teoria del tiro... by Pedro de Morales y Prieto (Barcelona: Revista Cientifico-Militar y Bibliotec Militar, 1886). 175pp., plus five tables and an errata leaf. OCLC locates just a single copy of this Spanish manual, at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.
Price: $2,250.00