Lamure et Gidrol
This is
clearly a copy of the 1892 regulation, called "civil version", and manufactured
by the Lamure et Gidrol house in St-Etienne, on plans and on behalf of the
Manufacture d'Armes de St-Etienne. The mention "Acier Forgé - St-Etienne" on the
frame attests to a late production, perhaps during the war of 1914.
Other
particularities that identify Lamure et Gidrol without a doubt:
- the
logo with 2 crossed barrels on the cylinder
- the
screw holding the floating firing pin in the head of the hammer, invisible on
the Regulation and very visible on the LG
- on the
left side, the hammer and trigger axes DO NOT CROSS while they do on the
Regulation. You should normally find, on the right side of the chamber and in
one of the grooves of the cylinder, the words St-Etienne in cursive, followed by
a punch representing a ring of a cap.
There is
no doubt.
I also
think that the nickel plating of this revolver is not original. In principle,
they were war black with the hammer, the trigger and the clutch door yellowed by
annealing, just like the Regulations. Unless it was a special order.
The
"civil" model 1892 was produced by this company from 1894 to 1918, with a total
interruption between 1915 and 1918.
The parts
of the Lamure and Gidrol are NOT interchangeable with the 1892 Regulation. This
is on purpose, the army did not want them.
The mention "Acier Forgé St-Etienne" on the frame dates from shortly after 1900. The mark of the civil proof house (palms followed by St Etienne) is replaced by the logo "ring of cap" preceded by the name St Etienne. LG had its own proof mark and moreover its own proof house. LG also, in the 1900s, affixed on the barrel the marking "Mle 1892" as on the Regulation. The serial numbers are preceded by a letter as on the regulation, the highest being n° H 33313, dated 1918. LG manufactured between 1894 and 1918 approximately 50,000 revolvers of this model, practically all absorbed and resold by the MAS. The 1892 was of course also copied in Liège (why am I not surprised), and some even marked with the address of Lefaucheux!! (reseller in Paris)
Marcel
A
question/remark on a page of the littlegun site dedicated to "Lamure et Gidrol",
signed MARCEL.
It is
written: ... manufactured by the Lamure et Gidrol house in St-Etienne, on plans
and on behalf of the Manufacture d'Armes de St-Etienne ...
... LG
manufactured between 1894 and 1918 approximately 50,000 revolvers of this model,
practically all of which were absorbed and resold by the MAS...
I think
that is inaccurate.
MAS means
Manufacture d'Armes de St Etienne, a military establishment belonging to the
public domain which does not sell to the public and is limited to supplying the
Army with what it orders. The MAS built the 1892s intended for the military.
The 1892
civilian revolvers (sometimes called "copies") manufactured by Lamure & Gidrol
were not "absorbed" by the MAS but were, for the most part, sold to a private
company with a name quite similar to that of the MAS, the Manufacture française
d'Armes de St Etienne, which became in 1896 the Manufacture française d'armes et
Cycles de St Etienne, which finally became, much later, Manufrance, famous for
its mail order catalog. This company resold the 1892 civilian revolvers in its
many branches and marked, in various ways, the weapons offered for sale.
A certain
number of revolvers (but not all) produced by L&G bear above the cylinder the
full inscription Manufacture française d'Armes de St Etienne or Manufacture
française d'armes et Cycles de St Etienne.
Jean-Marie
Photos reçues de "COLLECTORSFIREARMS"
