AUDOIN, E. – Mecanismes d’Armes. Pistolets automatiques. / Revolvers. France, 1936-1937. 2 volumes. Folio [330 x 250 mm] 118 leaves with 184 mounted text pages and 224 mounted original drawings; 55 leaves, with 113 mounted text pages and 103 mounted drawings. Contemporary half leather bindings.

These exceptional manuscripts contain an important source of information on firearms from the second half of the 19th and early 20th-century. The author describes in detail 60 types of revolvers and 88 types of automatic firearms. His main attention lies on the mechanisms of the weapons and his drawings show for the most part constructional details. The manuscripts are remarkable as such informations were not intended for public distribution. Audoin states that even the most detailed books and pamphlets deliver only incomplete advice of the weapons mechanisms and that his drawings were made to fill this gap of information at least for the best-known firearms. The 327 mounted drawings contain together over 2000 detail drawings, all of which were made with the highest accuracy.
Both volumes include descriptions of 148 firearms of the most important contemporary manufacturers e.g. (REVOLVERS:) Baer, Begueldre, Colt, Elliot, Enfield, Gabbett-Fairfax, Galand, Garcia-Reynoso, Johnson, Lancaster, Lefaucheux, Le Protector, Mauser, Merwing & Hulbert, Pieper, Revelli, Sharp, Smith & Wesson, Thomas, Webley and (AUTOMATIC PISTOLS:) Astra, Beretta, Bergmann-Bayard, Borchardt, Borchardt-Lueger, Browning, Clarus-Bayard, Clément, Colt, Dreyse, Einhand, Francotte, Frommer, Glisenti, Hellfritzsch, Kommer, Langenhan, Le Page, MAB, Mannlicher, Martian, Martin, Mauser, Melior, Menz, Mikros, Ortgies, Parabellum, Reising, Remington, Rheinmetall, Roth-Sauer, Ruby, Sauer, Savage, Schmeisser, Schouboe, Schwarzlose, Simson, Smith & Wesson, Star, Steyr, Steyr-Pieper, Stock, Walther and Webley.
E. Audoin was the co-author of Le Police francaise d’assurance sur corps du 1er septembre 1913. (1915). We were not able to find any more informations on his life. The present manuscripts obviously stayed unpublished.

EUR 6500,-