INFORMATION ABOUT BOOKS.

Firstly I must mention my booklet Handcuffs & Other Restraints. This is intended as an introduction to the subject and I have described it as a work that probably contains all the information that the ordinary person wants to know about handcuffs etc. 

My full scale textbook A Guidebook to Handcuffs and Other Restraints of the World  contains a comprehensive survey of modern restraints as well as chapters on ancient and medieval items. There is a chapter on grips & disposable wrist ties and  miscellany chapters that contains sections on things like toys, rope ties, restraint garments and reproductions. There is a chapter which readers may find particularly interesting, which I have called The Psychology of Restraint.  The book, 238 x 160 mms,  has 304 pages and about 720 illustrations. Also included is a four page supplement.containing some corrections and additional items.

Both book and booklet can be ordered from:-

Kingscourt Publications, The Boot Cottage, The Street, Kingscourt, Stroud, Glos., England.  GL5 5DR.

PLEASE NOTE THAT KINGSCOURT PUBLICATIONS DOES NOT HAVE A BANK ACCOUNT, SO ALL CHEQUES OR INTERNATIONAL MONEY ORDERS SHOULD BE MADE OUT TO A.R.NICHOLS.

Prices, including shipping costs:-                                

Britain:   Booklet  £4.00   Book   £27.00

Europe:   Booklet  10.00 euros.  Book  45 euros.

U.S.A.:  Booklet  $15.00   Book  $55.00

Elsewhere:  Please E-mail for a quotation.

My very good friend Chris Gower has started work on a companion volume to my book which it is hoped will be ready sometime next year. He has one of the biggest collections of restraints in Europe and is mentioned in the Guinness Book Of Records!  As he is a professional locksmith and amateur escapologist, his book should be informative about those technical aspects of handcuffs etc. which are not covered in my book.  

If you are interested in the history of these things, you will find the 117 page article that Hugh Thompson wrote for Archaeological Journal, volume 150 (1993) entitled Iron Age and Roman Slave-shackles essential reading. It is available from the Royal Archaeological Institute.

There are several books available overseas. By far and away the best general book written in the United States of America is that by Tom Gross called Manacles of the World. The first edition is now out of print, but see his website listed in LINKS for news of his next edition.

Two more American books written by Matthew G. Forte, American Police Collectibles and American Police Equipment, are published by Turn of the Century Publishers. These are first rate on the subject and besides very full descriptions of all the important American handcuffs, have the most comprehensive coverage of grips in print.

 Another important American book is John G. Peters’  Tactical Handcuffing. Strangely, considering the title, this book shows a large number of patentees’ drawings of various types of grip, making this book very good on that aspect of restraint. It is available from Reliapon Police Products.

In Australia, Ian McColl has produced a very useful book Handcuff Patents which gives the inventors’ drawings of over a hundred items. His website is also in LINKS.