KJ, Imperial German rifles are covered to a degree in Mikes & Bruce's new book (
Vol. I, Pgs. 18-38), it lists the makers and the years they are known to have made rifles (
pg.24). While it is a small part of the book, it is the best information available regarding actual production and the rifles from a collector’s pov. My Gewehr98.com website also lists the manufacturers and details production from a collector’s pov, but it is going through changes due to us changing servers, but I will get it back up soon, right now it is linking to the MRJ blog posts Esther had me type up for the site. Soon it will be back up but revised.
As for books, there is only one book that is extensive and fairly accurate; it is more about the history of the manufacture of the Gewehr98 than a collectors guide. It seems to rely upon state archives and museums more than collectors. It has some errors about the manufacturers, production, and the translation is not very good, but it is still an extraordinary book with great information about how the rifles were made, certainly the best book on Imperial Modell98 rifles currently out there. It is imaged next to Dr. Storz new book on the Gew.88 variations in this link:
http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread...arms-Dr-Storz-new-book-on-the-Gewehr88-amp-91
You could also pick up copies of John Walters books, his "The German Rifle" is probably the earliest effort on the subject, his book on the firearms of the Central Powers has the same information but slightly revised, while his books are outdated, they are still quite good for an overview of the subject. Götz book on German rifles is good also, covers a large range of rifles and while the translation is poor again, it is worthwhile to pick up.
Other than these books, there isn't anything really great on the topic of Imperial Gewehr98’s; I have written extensively on some of the manufacturers, all the arsenals have been covered in-depth, Amberg, Spandau, Danzig, Erfurt and Ludw. Loewe AG and some related topics like KM (naval) Gewehr98 contracts (DWM), which I also wrote a tidbit in the MRJ blog page. My next Imperial project is DWM, which is really the last of the important firms, except Mauser Oberndorf of course.
Right now I am trying to get the last two issues of the MRJ completed, Steyr will be covered in the winter issue, but obviously it will be about the Kar98k, they didn't make the Gew.98, though they did make the Gew.88, but I neglected to cover that in any detail.
Anyway, the link Bob posted will take you to the Gunboard thread I started some years back. I try to keep up with it when people bring their rifles to TP's forum. It has a lot of information for sure, if you can weed through all the posts (
it is a very extensive and long post). Of course any question can also be posted here, and there are several knowledgeable collectors here that can answer most questions.