I received my copy of the book this morning (with a different cover picture) and I confirm that it is absolutely fantastic!
The collection is outstanding, all the pieces are original and rare and either old or antique, the printing & pictures quality is truly superb, and the comments from the author are perfect. To me it appears as the best hilt book ever produced in all aspects and it will certainly become the N°1 reference on the subject (of course some hilts are more represented than others).
I don't know the price yet but you can contact the Italian publisher at
marketing@fivecontinentseditions.com, the book is distributed in the US and Canada by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York and outside the US and Canada by Abrams & Chronicle Books Ltd UK, London. It will surely be on sale on Amazon, Ebay, Marktplaats, and by the Leiden Ethnographic Museum also.
Best regards
Jean