The 1926 catalog with only 64 numbered pages is the smallest noted A.F. Stoeger, Inc. catalog published and may account for its relative scarcity, in any condition.

Alternately, a possible clue to the 1927 Catalog No. 7 designation lies in the semantics of the catalog dating statements, prior to and after the 1927 dated catalog. For example, the New York, September 15th, 1924, A.F. Stoeger, Inc. first published catalog issue date statement on page 1 states that : "This Issue Cancels All Previous Quotations." The word quotations vs. catalogs implies that there are no other 1924 published catalogs other than the subject: New York, September 15th, 1924 issue catalog. Therefore, the three additional catalogs were probably published in 1925 and 1926 and possibly early 1927 in conjunction with the other catalogs published in those years as there were four distinct catalogs published in 1929.

Another example of this Stoeger catalog No. 18 has been identified with a “1933” copyright statement, possibly meaning the same catalog was issued for 1933. There are differences in the upper case text layout on the introduction copyright statement pages at the bottom indicating, at a minimum, a second printing of the No. 18 Stoeger catalog. Interestingly, the 1932 catalog has page 1 tab inserts of various colors noting change of address, whereas the 1933 catalog does not.

The 1934, Catalog No. 24 is the last A. F. Stoeger, Inc. catalog to picture the Copyright 1924 trademark Auerhahn bird on the front cover of all earlier Stoeger catalogs since 1924, replaced with two Eagles on the second 1934 Catalog No. 25 printing. The Auerhahn bird graced, for one last time, the cover of the 1957, 48th edition of the Stoeger Arms Company Shooters Bible.

Based on the page 1 “SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT” statement that “STOEGERS LARGE 304 PAGE CATALOG NO. 25 WILL BE AVAILABLE AFTER SEMTEMBER 1934” one can assume that the subject catalog No. 24, despite the -no-date- Copyright- statement at the bottom of the inside cover, was also printed earlier in 1934. On pages 2 and 3 are additional statements titled: IMPORTANT NOTICE! Stoeger’s 304 page catalog No. 25 will be ready after Sept. 15, 1934. Send 50c for your copy which will be mailed to you when catalogs are received from printer.

While the 1935 dated Stoeger envelope pictures the 1934 copyrighted Stoeger No. 25 catalog on the front and on the rear advertises the catalog in hand-written text as the “Silver Jubilee” edition, the actual catalog page 1 introduction makes no reference to it being the “Silver Jubilee” printing, except to state, "This is an extraordinary gun catalog.", although the cover color background is definitely silver as is the rear cover.

The phrase “Silver Jubilee” refers to a 25 year event, such as an anniversary or anything that has completed a 25-year mark. 25 years prior to 1934 is 1909 which does not appear to be any significent event in the history of the A.F. Stoeger, Inc. company. Alexander Stoeger was born in Austria, emigrated to the United States and founded A.F. Stoeger & Co. in 1919.

Actually the “Silver Jubilee” event is that catalog No. 25 represents the 25th published A.F. Stoeger, Inc. catalog, starting in 1924 through 1934, a period of exactly ten years or averaging 2 catalogs per year. Currently in the collection there are nineteen catalogs from 1924 through 1934 with four catalog publications in 1929 alone. It is very difficult to identify all the catalogs to a specific year, including the five missing catalogs as some catalogs are not cover dated or copyrighted with or without a date, some with only a catalog number on the cover. There is the possibility that Stoeger did not publish a catalog one or two years, especially during the 1930s depression era, although catalogs are missing from the 1920s and mid-1930s, i.e. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 13, 17, 19, 22. The search continues.

For whatever reasons the 1935 A.F. Stoeger, Inc. catalog No 26 remains elusive to the collection, however, some information is available from a rare 1935 A.F. Stoeger, Inc. advertising flyer pictured in the 1935 American Rifleman magazine on page 47. Pictured is the opposite page 48.

The 1935 A.F. Stoeger, Inc. “Stoeger’s Catalog and Handbook” was advertised for sale in the single page flyer stating: STOEGER Presents a New CATALOG. The new catalog contains 304 pages, 12,000 items. As to whether the cover page has No 26 featured at the top of the cover is unknown, is unlikely as the 1934 No. 25 and the 1936 No.27 do not.

Featured is the elusive, recently March 2018 acquired 1935 A.F. Stoeger, Inc. catalog No. 26 which was, apparently, important enough for a collector to hardbound the catalog, which eventually became a GEO. A. FLOHR CO. LIBRARY copy on APRIL, 30, 1973, PHILIPSBURG, PA. Interestingly, the edge binder reads, in gold lettering, with an inexplicable misspelling of Stoeger as STOGER - No. 26 - 1935. The Luger is featured on pages 86, 87, 88, 89. The introduction page, at the bottom, shows the 1935 patent date.

Stoeger makes an unusual, unsubstantiated  claim on the page 1 introduction that: For over 25 years I have published my catalog on guns, ammunition and accessories. Possibly, the statement somehow alluding to, or relating to, over 25 years to the catalog No. 27 designation.

Since the subject 320 numbered page catalog No. 27 is 1936 copyright dated, 25 years dates to 1911, however, no Stoeger catalogs have been identified earlier than 1924. Furthermore, per Luger Holsters and Accessories of the 20^th Century, © 1992 by E. Bender on page 615 pictures a poor quality black and white copy of a copy of a Stoeger catalog cover with A.F. Stoeger’s hand-written, signed remark – “My first effort – A. F. Stoeger” – with an added picture caption stating – The first Stoeger catalog ever issued appeared in 1925, which is incorrect as the earlest known published Stoeger catalog is dated September 15^th, 1924.

Also interesting is the added caption statement above the cover: Stoeger, Inc. Reproduced by permission. The statement on the bottom of the catalog, which appears to be added later by the Stoeger company states: This cover from the very first Stoeger catalog was lovingly inscribed by A. F. Stoeger and identified as “my first effort.” First effort does not necessarily mean first edition. Assuming the Stoeger signed catalog is the first “effort” catalog, one has to assume it is 48 pages as stated in the 1936 catalog, page 1 introduction, written by A.F. Stoeger I. Additionally, since a September 15^th, 1924 dated, 126 numbered page catalog exists with a © A.F.S. 1924 copyright date on the cover that the Bender pictured Stoeger catalog cover, apparently provided by Stoeger Arms Corporation of South Hackensack, New Jersey, and without a cover dated copyright © A.F.S. could, possibly precede the 1924 dated catalog, although doubtful, as all succeeding Stoeger catalogs with the Auerhahn on the cover sport an undated © A.F.S. copyright statement under the bird.

To complicate matters, the Stoeger catalog cover copyright statement or lack thereof is not a determinative factor in dating the early Stoeger catalogs, as all internally dated, succesive catalogs with the cover Auerhahn logo, as stated above, curiously, lack a specific cover copyright date, except for the 1924 Stoeger catalog, which may refer to the copyright date of the Auerhahn logo.Also, Bender states on page 616 that in 1924 Stoeger issued a 128-page, wire-bound full catalog with a hard cover, on which was pictured a giant black grouse (called an “Auerhahn” in his native Austria and Germany). The black grouse was to remain the Stoeger trademark until 1936, when it was replaced by a pair of black eagles. The source or the existence of the wire-bound full catalog hard cover catalog statement by Bender is unknown.

There are several exceptions to Bender’s comments:

• the 1924 catalog did have 128 pages, however, that contradicts A.F. Stoeger’s comments in the 1936 catalog No. 27 introduction page that the first catalog contained only 48 pages,
• the Auerhahn logo was replaced by a pair of brown colored, not black eagles, which first appeared on the cover of the so- called “Silver Jubilee” 1934 catalog No. 25,
• Bender states on page 617 that in 1936 the catalog title changed to “Stoeger’s Catalog and Handbook” where, in fact the name change appeared two years earlier on the cover of the 1934 catalog No.25,
• if also, as Bender states that in 1924 Stoeger issued a 128-page, wire bound, full catalog with a hard cover, on which was pictured “a giant black grousse” or Auerhahn, suggests the existence of another 1924 catalog published prior to the September 15^th 1924 dated green cover Stoeger catalog with a © A.F.S. 1924 brown color Auerhahn on the cover.  

Also mentioned by Bender was the Stoeger one-page flyer, and pictured is an example of a typical A.F. Stoeger I one-page flyer issued to wholesale jobbers until 1924.

The 1924 catalog states on page 1 that: This (catalog) issue cancels all previous “quotations.”  suggests the existence of Stoeger catalogs prior to 1924.

Bender’s book also presents a brief history of the company on pages 616 and 617. However, other than his military service, provides no insights regarding Stoeger’s post military activities prior to 1918. Stoeger was preoccupied serving in the Phillipines during the 1898 Spanish-American war and the 1899 – 1901 Boxer campaign in China. After leaving the (US) Army, year unknown, in 1918 at 56, he founded the company.^[1] Prior to 1918 Stoeger’s whereabouts or civilian occupation since his army years is unknown.

A.F. Stoeger I also states in the second paragraph of his 1936 catalog introduction statement that: During twenty-five years this catalog has grown from a book of 48 pages to one of 320 pages now. The 1924 dated catalog has 126 numbered pages, which does not reconcile with the first Stoeger catalog of 48 pages, indicating further undiscovered, pre 1924 Mystery Stoeger Catalogs.

1963 A.F. Stoeger ‘Shooter’s Bible’ Treasury catalog

In 1963 Shooter’s Bible, Inc., 55 Ruta Court, South Hackensack, New Jersey published a catalog titled Shooter’s Bible Treasury – The Best from 55 Editions of the Shooter’s Bible. The inside cover, introduction page 1 and page 2 provide a wealth of information on the company history and the first catalogs.

The inside cover clarifies the actual first “catalog” to be published was in 1918 stating: When in 1918, Mr. A.F. Stoeger I, founded the gun firm of A.F. Stoeger, Inc.,^[2] he published a small catalog of approximately 48 pages and offered it for sale at 25 cents a copy. Thus he created the first edition of a publication that was destined to become the primary reference book of the sporting arms industry. This information corroborates the Stoeger comments in the 1936 catalog No. 27: During twenty-five years this catalogue has grown from a book of 48 pages to one of 320 pages now.

Also interesting to note is that although A.F.Stoeger I founded the company in 1918, the first evidence of the New York company incorporation is on the 1924 catalog cover. The company was not incorporated in New York as of 1921 as attested by a 1921 letterhead with a company title of A.F. Stoeger only.

In the 1963 Shooter’s Bible Treasury Introduction page the writer states he sent away for his first catalog in 1925, which would have been a variation 1, 128-page green cover or variation 2, 56-page with a gold/yellow cover, both with the Auerhahn bird on the cover. However, in another paragraph the writer states: I wish I still had the first Stoeger catalog I ever sent for: it was a thin blue pamphlet, nothing like the big, thick, information-crammed books of later years.

Interestingly, in the 1963 Shooter’s Bible Treasury catalog on the bottom of every page the subject of the page is identified by reference with the source catalog by date and edition. Edition refers to the catalog No. Example: This page was reproduced from Stoeger catalog Edition No. 1, 1925.,  i.e. the 1925 catalog is identified as Edition 1. This contradicts an earlier statement on the inside cover company history where the 48 page, 1918 catalog is identified as Edition 1: Thus he created the first edition….. Additionally, a 1925 catalog cover is signed by Stoeger as: My first effort, may signify some other aspect or publication event, rather than the September 15^th, 1924 124 page or the earlier, unidentified 48 page 1918, possibly thin, blue cover pamphlet/catalog.

There doesn’t appear to be any further published information on A.F. Stoger, Inc. company history, specifically relating to the total number of catalogs issued or which was the first. Even with the excellent information put together by the Stoeger Arms Corporation in the 1963 Shooter’s Bible Treasury catalog, which obviously had access to all surving company documentation, did not answer or resolve the ultimate question of what was, or should be considered the first edition catalog: 1918, 1924, or 1925.

A red cover, 4-inch x 6-inch, 39 numbered page Parabellum instruction manual was published in 1964 by the Stoeger Arms Corporation with the last 8 unnumbered pages containing more company history from 1921 through 1964, mostly dealing with Stoeger’s contracts with DWM and Mauser starting in 1921 through the 1930s. Since Mr. Stoeger first purchased Lugers in 1921 and sold them through to 20s and 30s until the second World War started it can be assumed that his first 1918, 48-page catalog did not offer German Lugers.

Of particular interest is the section discussing the 1930s Mauser contract 3-line Stoeger Lugers where it states: The quantity produced of the “Stoeger Luger” was very limited. The exact count is not known, but in looking through the Luger sales records of the Stoeger Arms Corporation from November 5^th, through November 21^st, 1939 only two sales are noted. Every effort to locate Luger records covering the period between 1931 and 1937 have failed.

The highest known 4-digit, V-suffix serial number 1183V Mauser 3-line, GENUINE marked Stoeger Artillery Luger indentified and published is pictured in The Borchardt & Luger Automatic Pistols© 2010 & 2011 by †Görtz/Sturgess in Volume II, page 763, Fig. 11-80, believed to be one of the last assembled and sold 3-line Stoeger Lugers in 1936 or 1937.  

1940 Shooters Bible catalog No. 32 is the last Stoeger catalog to advertise and picture the three models of the 3-line Stoeger marked Lugers, specifically the last Stoeger catalog to advertise the 3-line Stoeger Artillery Luger. Stoeger 3-line Artillery Luger 1183 V is currently part of the Land of Borchardt collection.

Apparently, A.F.Stoger, Inc. printed two catalogs in 1936, based on the identical 1936 copyright statement found in both the catalog No. 27 and catalog 28.

A.F. Stoeger, Inc. apparenty was involved with an unusual amount of pre catalog issue advertising hype as evidenced by the very elaborate, subject 2-side, 4-page flyer advertising the 1940 “The Shooter’s Bible” catalog No. 32. For mailing the flyer is folded in quarters and measures 8¼-inch x 3½-inch, when opened measures 14-inch x 8¼-inch and when opened again measures 16½-inch x 14-inch (opposite side of flyer).

The flyer contains several customer testimonials extolling the virtues of the 1940 edition in the section titled: What Sportsmen Say About The Stoeger Arms Catalog and Handbook!! The flyer cites that the 1940 edition is now In Color, although, out of 512 pages only a few are, except for the catalog cover, are in limited color.

In the middle of WWII, when all weapons went to the war effort, Stoeger still published its “Shooter's Bible”. Inside the cover of this excellent condition example, is the original 6¾-inch x 9½-inch, 23 numbered page Supplement Price List, which was mailed to the customer separately. For various reasons the 1943 Stoeger catalog is difficult to find and it is very rare to find both pieces together. Note that both the 1942 and 1943 dated Stoeger catalogs are identified as catalog No. 34 and that the 1942 catalog Stoeger catalog signature valediction is “Yours very sincerely” whereas the 1943 catalog signature valediction is “Yours for Victory!”.

Inserted in the 1947 Stoeger Arms Corporation catalog is Special Arms Bulletin No. 22 offering Currently Available pistols and revolvers. Page 6 offerings of Foreign Automatic Pistols, list three used Lugers.

The Auerhahn bird graced, for one last time, the cover of the 1957, 48th edition of the Stoeger Arms Company Shooters Bible.