A friend just gave me a large, bound Manufrance catalogue from 1934, full of guns and other interesting stuff. Here are some excerpts:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=...e=1&theater

If anyone is especially interested in French guns, let me know if you have specific things you want to see - lots of sectional diagrams of Robust guns etc.

Hi Dig, any and all you care to post for Ideals would be appreciated, I know by me and a few other French gun fanatics. LOL

I have not been able to find any Manufrance info on this so I only have speculation, mine and others, on why some Ideals didn't have the barrel lugs through the bottom of the action. The usual ideas of "added strength" or "higher quality" can be relatively easily disproved by example that one might think would have the feature but don't. So, depending on your skill with French, if there was anything in the catalog that addressed this issue....

Here: these are several pages of 'Ideal' info on various grades and models.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vintage-Guns/282264291796980

Happy reading!

My skill with French begins with "voules vous couches avec moi?" and ends with 'Je suis un rock star".

Thanks Dig. I know those phrases as well and the answer to your question is "Non!" Haha!

What a great friend and find. Catalogue dates from just three years before my 314 was made (keeping in mind Dustin's point about when a set of barrels and action were actually fitted up), and nine years after manufacture of the one I'm trying to get out of the South of France.

I'm definitely in that group of fanatics to which James referred, so I just have to ask- would you be willing to sell the catalogue?


Mike

Mike, I don't want to sell it but I'll happily lend it to you.

Apres de ma blond, quel fabon dormir, dormir- Moi ecrivain survant le valeur devant le mort de les indigne du classe de hommes en est forum. Moi pense jamais- Le Renaud!~!

Very kind of you , sir, but if I am not able to separate you from it for a suitable sum, I shall content myself with a suitable pic from an appropriate page. Again, what a great friend.

Mike

It is big and hard backed - came from a college library. Weighs about 3 lbs!
Lots of pictures and descriptions and prices of clothing, fly fishing kit, gun cases, tools, gadgets, shotguns, rifles. Any particular thing you are interested in, let me know and I'll try and copy it for you.

Thanks Dig, there are a couple- grade 5's and up all seemed to have unique engraving, and I was wondering if the catalogue shows different styles that might be offered. Also, any description, options, and price of the "Perfection" or "Ideal d'Art" (with the diminutive ace of spades "sideplate") would be apprectiated.

Thank you sir,

Mike

Hello All,
Reproduction catalogs are available. I have the 1900, 1910, 1930 and 1939 (I believe).
They are fantastic tools in researching arms and ammos of the vintage.
They even include loading and some ballistic info.
Not to mention a whole lot of other stuff from Sewing machines to bicycles.
Vintage catalogs are nicer with some color pictures but a lot more fragile.
They can be found on Ebay.fr fairly often.
One issue is that dates are not obvious. I have not been able to find a printing date on any of them.
Best regards,
WC-

You are of course correct, and I found two that interested me from the 1930's. I assume one would have to sign up for ebay.fr, even if already an ebay member here, and that the seller would have to be willing to ship overseas. Have you done this?

Mike

I am pretty sure that you can bid on ebay.fr by using your regular ebay.com sign-on.
Having the vendors be willing to ship to the USA is a different matter that should be cleared with them before bidding.
I have done this before.

Best regards,
WC-

Most fascinating facet of these old Manufrance catalogs is the truly staggering number of mechanical gadgets advertised for every imaginable country pursuit. I had the catalogs for every decade from 1910 to 1970 and though the graphics change the gadget variety stayed consistently large.

You get a whole different picture of French culture looking at what is basically the French equivalent of the Sears catalog. Talk about a nation of do it yourselfers!

Why "doityourselfers"? Manufrance supplied all kinds of (small) Gunmakers, Gunstores and so on as well! That catalogues where the internet of those times, I think.

Gunwolf