LONDON ARMOURERS OF THE 17th CENTURY

It is extraordinary that so little has been published about the workmen of the Armourers' Company of London and their products. Not only does an extensive archive survive for the Company but also a rich profusion of makers', guild, arsenal and government marks on the very large quantity of their surviving armour. Perhaps the principal reason for this is the prejudice of armour scholars over the years. This is not the "armour of Kings and captains" to which most scholarly effort has been devoted, for these workmen armourers were in the business of making armours "for warres", not for decoration, and to price within contracts. By their own lights their products were practical and elegant. This study analyses the surviving products of the London Company in the 17th Century which have makers' marks, and relates these to the individual armourers recorded in the Company's records. NOW HALF-PRICE!