Spanish Arms and Armour / Being a Historical and Descriptive Account of the Royal Armoury of Madrid

THE SPANISH SERIES SPANISH ARMS AND ARMOUR
THE SPANISH SERIES EDITED BY ALBERT F. CALVERT
Seville Murillo Cordova The Prado The Escorial Spanish Arms and Armour
In preparation —
Goya Toledo Madrid Velazquez Granada and Alhambra Royal Palaces of Spain Leon, Burgos & Salamanca Valladolid, Oviedo, Segovia, Zamora, Avila & Zaragoza
BEING A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE ROYAL ARMOURY OF MADRID, BY ALBERT F. CALVERT, WITH 386 ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMVII
E. Goodman and Son, The Phœnix Press Taunton
DEDICATED WITH PROFOUND RESPECT AND ESTEEM TO HER MAJESTY QUEEN MARIA CRISTINA OF SPAIN WHO SO WORTHILY AND FOR SO LONG MAINTAINED THOSE GLORIOUS TRADITIONS OF SPANISH GREATNESS WHICH ARE SYMBOLISED IN THE TREASURES OF THE ROYAL ARMOURY
IN compiling this volume I believe I can claim, in a sense, to have broken new ground, for although a description of the Spanish Royal Armoury finds a place in every Guide and Handbook to Madrid, no exhaustive survey of the contents of this priceless treasure-house, apart from the official catalogue, is in existence.
The present work is based on the admirable catalogue prepared in 1898 at the instigation of Queen Maria Cristina by the Conde de Valencia de San Juan, to whom, with peculiar pleasure, I desire to make full acknowledgment of my indebtedness. To the formal descriptions of the exhibits, which the Conde de San Juan has collated with invariable accuracy, I have prefixed a brief sketch of the historical development of Spanish arms and armour, which, I venture to hope, will make the book more acceptable, both to the specialist in armour, and to those who visit the Armoury without any particular knowledge of the subject.