Ancient Forms and Armour

This volume is a pictorial and descriptive record of ancient arms and armour from the 14th to 17th centuries, compiled by Edwin J. Brett from his private collection. The 1894 work by Sampson Low, Marston & Company features 133 plates containing approximately 1,000 engravings depicting armour specimens from across Europe. The preface, written by Brett himself, discusses his 25-year passion for collecting and studying these items—including Damascus swords, Toledo rapiers, helmets, breastplates, and complete suits of armour. The book's contents include sections on chivalry and tournaments, followed by extensive catalogs of complete suits, shields, helmets, swords, daggers, crossbows, firearms, torture instruments, and Oriental weaponry. The introduction addresses the evolution of defensive equipment from antiquity through the Renaissance, examining chain-mail, quilted armour, and metal plate armour, drawing evidence from classical sources including Trajan's Column, the Bayeux Tapestry, and Anglo-Saxon poetry.