Back in March Ian McCollum, Nic Jenzen-Jones & James Rupley launched Headstamp Publishing, a new publishing house specialising in small arms and military history. The first book published by Headstamp will be Ian McCollum’s book on French Military Rifles.

A mock-up of the book’s cover (Headstamp Publishing)

Headstamp Publishing have just announced the launch of a Kickstarter pre-order campaign for Ian’s book Chassepot to FAMAS: French Military Rifles, 1866 – 2016. The campaign is seeking to reach $25,000 with a number of tiers available, including the offer of a special collector’s edition limited to 250 copies. Here’s Ian’s video explaining the campaign:

Headstamp describe the new book as “an engaging and comprehensive reference work, offering the first detailed insight into French military rifle development in the English language, paired with the highest quality photographs and design.” They note that the new book is “for enthusiasts, researchers, and collectors, and as much an authoritative historical work as it is a work of art.”

A preview of a section on the FAMAS G2 from the book (Headstamp Publishing)

In a press release Headstamp announced that:

We are offering several beautiful editions all printed in the USA, as well as Kickstarter-exclusive rewards. We’ll be giving backers exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content, and we have set out a range of stretch goals which will help us to make the book the best it possibly can be.

A preview of a section on the FR-F2 sniper rifle from the book (Headstamp Publishing)

Impressively, the Kickstarter campaign reached its goal in just over two and a half hours. There are a number of stretch goals listed including some expansions and better publishing quality. You can check out the pre-order page here for more information about all the editions of the book available. You can also check out TFB’s exclusive interview with Headstamp Publishing here.