doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Pre-WWII Marlin Model 90 ST?

According to Brophy in his book, Marlin Firearms, A History of the Guns and the Company that Made Them, Marlin introduced the Model 90ST in 1953/1954. However, I just took another look at a reprinted 1941 Marlin Catalog that shows an illustration of a Model 90ST. The write-up in the catalog would lead one to believe that the Model 90ST was availble in 1941.

I have a 16 ga. Model 90 Skeetking that has a single trigger. According to Brophy, Skeetkings were available on special order in 1939 and 1940. The inertia weight on my gun appears to have a different shape and appears to be in a different position than the illustration of the Model 90ST shown in the 1954 Marlin Catalog.

I know that some folks, including Miller, did DT to ST conversions back then. Not sure what I would be looking for, but when I had the stock off, I did not see any mark or initials, etc. on the trigger assembly and sear to indicate that it might be a Miller conversion. Therefore, I think it is possible that my Model 90ST Skeetking was assembled as an ST at the Marlin factory.

I'm curious to know if anyone has other documentation confirming that Marlin did in fact offer single trigger Model 90's in the 1939-1941 timeframe. I'd also like to know how to recognize a Miller ST conversion.

I don't see any indication of a single trigger being offered on the Marlin Model 90 in the September 1936 J.L. Galef Catalogue --



the 1941 Stoeger Catalogue --



or the 1948 Stoeger Catalogue --

Don Zutz, writing in "Grand Old Shotguns", says that the single trigger version was announced after WWII but did not become available until about 1953. It was called the Model 90-ST.

Brophy and Lutz both say that Marlin did not introduce the M90ST until 1953/54. I'm still curious why the M90 ST (early version) is illustrated in what Cornell Publications sold as a reprint of the 1941 Marlin Catalog.

Anyone have an original 1941 Marlin Gun catalog?

Just a guess here, without a Marlin catalog: It was likely in development, pre-WWII. Then along comes the war, production shifts away from civilian guns. Immediate postwar years weren't all that great for firearms production either. (Both Ithaca and Marlin dropped their sxs between the end of the war and 1950.) Things pick up in the 50's, Marlin finally brings it out.

Another possibility: They used the same ad agency Ruger used for the Gold Label, which must've been advertised for a good 4 years before any ever came off the line.

Barkey, be aware that Cornell has published quite a number of catalogs with the wrong dates. They try, but there have been lots of errors. Maybe the 1941 catalog is one of them.

Daryl,

You may be right. I took another look at my Cornell reprint. The initial paragraph in the assumed 1941 catalog starts out with the statement,"Long life, safety, accurate and dependable performance have featured Marlin Guns for 77 years." It's my understanding that Marlin company started in 1870. 1870 plus 77 is 1947. On the other hand, 1941 minus 77 would be 1864. According to Brophy, John Marlin was listed as pistol maker in the 1864 New Haven City Directory.

Whether it is a reprint of an actual 1941 catalog is definitely questionable. Sure would be great if someone has an original 1941 to compare.

Just finished an interesting phone conversation with Robert Mouat at Cornell Publications. He said that they looked at the original scan of the 1941 catalog for which they subsituted the page from the 1947 catalog because the illustrations were the same. They missed the fact that the write-up was different. He says that the page from the 1941 catalog has "-for 71 years" in the write up (1870 + 71 + 1941)and the illustrations include one of a Model 90 ST! He is sending me a copy of their originally scanned page from the 1941 catalog.

He said that they used a photocopy of the 1941 catalog they got from a extremely reliable source who was "very meticulous" in his documemntation. Based on Cornell's previous history with that source, he thinks the "original" photocopy of the 1941 catalog is authentic.

Robert indicated that the Model 90 ST is "perplexing" because it apparently also shows up in the 1952 Marlin Catalog as well. He commented that Cornell wants to get things right and not be a purveyor of incorrect information.

I re-read the section about Model 90's in Brophy's book, Marlin Firearms. Brophy listed retail prices for Model 90's on page 419. Model 90ST prices are listed in Nov. 1940, 1941, Nov. 1941 and 1945. Prices for Skeetkings are listed for 1939, 1940 and Nov. 1940.