The first Manufrance catalog was published in 1894:
Any company that produces must necessarily sell its production... Starting from what seems to be obvious, Manufrance will be a true precursor by transforming itself into a real publishing house launching a truly revolutionary communication campaign for the time: Manufrance thus distributed from 1894 its famous Tariff-albums (which will become the famous Manufrance catalog in 1973) promoting its articles and building at the same time the reputation of the company. Presented in the form of a quarterly catalog, all the consumer objects found there thus enter directly into most French homes (initially only intended for hunting license holders, it will quickly be sent directly to a wider and better targeted clientele). Manufrance , a pioneering company, has just invented the first mail order catalog . Over the years its number of pages increases considerably at the same rate as the number of articles present inside: up to 30,000 references are thus present accompanied by precise descriptions and careful iconography. In 1909 it had approximately 1,000 pages and a print run of 500,000 copies, whereas twenty years earlier it had only contained a hundred pages. In 1924, the million copies were printed! For many French people and for several generations, the Manufrance catalog became much more than a catalog: it was also often a book for reading and daydreaming.
In 1885, Manufrance launched a newspaper: Le Chasseur français!
In 1885, Etienne Mimard created and wrote a publication himself covering topics related to hunting . Issue No. 1 was in the form of a sheet and was dated June 15, 1885: Le Chasseur Français was born! It would later become a real monthly newspaper of 4 pages, with a print run of 30,000 copies in 1887. With the improvement of its editorial staff, the addition of new sections (classified ads, the monthly advertising article, etc.) and new subjects, Le Chasseur Français was presented in 1900 with more than a hundred pages. In 1914, it was printed in 162,000 copies and up to 410,000 copies in 1931 with 330,000 subscribers. Le Chasseur Français would constitute throughout all these years an essential and complementary tool to the Manufrance Tariff-album and then to the Manufrance catalog.
The reissues of the Manufrance catalogs pay tribute to this common heritage:
In order to pay tribute to this common heritage, Manufrance is exclusively reissuing the most emblematic catalogs in the history of the Manufacture Stéphanoise : Reissue of the 1984 Manufrance catalog, reissue of the 1900 Manufrance catalog, reissue of the 1910 Manufrance catalog, reissue of the 1939 Manufrance catalog . (Re)discover these collector's reissues of the Manufrance catalogs , real little unique gems faithful to the originals of the time (illustrations and iconographies, technical descriptions, operation of the Manufacture , history of the company and organizational chart, etc.) for Manufrance lovers and collectors of beautiful books to be passed down from generation to generation!
See the Manufrance catalog reissues