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Pete M astutely observed that what Manufrance called 'Eclair' damascus, everyone else called 'Bernard I'

Eclair


Bernard I


Wonder where Manufrance got their 'Eclair'?

I don't know where they got it from, but it was made in house and for the better grade guns, :-)

Do Ideal damascus barrels surface in your gun shows? I'd really like to have one in 16 bore for mine. Probably wishful thinking.

JC

Bernard was a famous barrelmaker. Would "Bernard" refer only to his barrels, or to barrels that looked like his?

Eclair means lightning, or flash of lightning. I remember picking up a French newspaper and seeing a comic strip called "Guy L'Eclair"--Flash Gordon.

Eclair is also a cream filled pastry, :-)

JC

Rene Leclerc and Leopold Bernard (1832-1867) were barrel makers in Paris in the early 1800s. About every Belgian brl maker had a 'Bernard' brl with minor variations, and there were 20 makers in the Syndicat des Fabricants de canons de fusils de la Vesdre in Nessonvaux.

From a booklet published by E. Heuse-Lemoine http://www.littlegun.be/arme%20belge/artisans%20identifies%20h/a%20heuse%20gb.htm 'Manufacture of Damascus Gun Barrels' "...it was from Paris that the first imitation came to us for the researches in the combining some mixture of iron and steel in order to produce figures which we call Damascus, such as Turkish Damascus, Bernard, Leclerk, Parisien Damascus, etc. to an infinate number of names, as the combinations that compose the figures of the Damascus vary constantly...with the only difference, that in these the variery is produced by the colours on the surface, whilst the figures on the damascus are produced by the substance or material like the designs or patterns in our linen weavers. What is the Turkish or Curled Damascus, the Horse-shoe, the Boston, etc. that are derived from them."

A c. 1900 product brochure for N.J. Higny shows Quality No. 1 and 2 Bernard http://www.littlegun.be/arme%20belge/artisans%20identifies%20h/a%20higny%20gb.htm

and this 1897-98 Ferdinand Drissen (a Liege gun maker) Price List shows Heuse-Lemoine Bernard I and II, BUT 4 other Bernard patterns also



Ferdinand Drissen was registered with the bench of tests of Liege of 1874 to 1900. In 1900 its activities were taken over by Bernard E & Co,, Mont St Martin street in Liege.
FD in a rhombus lying is the mark of Fernand Drissen; Bernard E. & Co added a crown over. Leopold's gun and barrel making company in Paris ceased operation in 1890. It is extremely likely that most of the neat 'Rose Pattern Bernard II' barrels on Parker C grade guns were from Belgium. The 'Parker Damascus' PictureTrail shows several slightly different patterns
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=17227428

Larry,

Not to take anything from Drew's excellent post or his efforts. We know from Puraye and Gaier that about 30 different damascus patterns were developed and sold. Drew is attempting to do the nearly impossible feat of recording each one with an actual image. Dr. Gaddy basically threw his hands up at this and said no way.

The problem is with the nomenclature that was used. This catalog is a good example. They show a twist and call it Bernard or English. They call their own pattern Eclair. Another pattern they call Plank or Boston. To my eye it resembles a Remington Oxford SJ. So even at the time pattern names were a fluid thing. Mostly left to the marketing department, no doubt.

In Belgium the scene may be a bit different. Their trade mark laws were much broader. It was technically possible to trade mark a color under Belgian law. The illustrations we have of the billets all seem to come from Belgian trade mark applications. So it may be possible, just may be, if we could hunt down every pattern trade marked in Belgium to have a complete record. What is the purpose? Well one is simply to create a record. The other is a basic premise that the patterns became more complex over time. But that can only be proved with a written record of when they were registered. It would also help to understand in more detail how the barrel making guild functioned. Who was paying for the use of a pattern?

Pete

Yeah Pete-all we need is some gun ritin' guy WHO SPEAKS FRENCH to get his editor to finance an expedition to the basements of the Belgium patent office!! Then hit all the small industrial museums in the Midlands to find our 'English Damascus Rosetta Stone' on his way home.

Ohhh, you mean there is a gun ritin guy whose speaks FRENCH? I had no idea. Does he know anything about shotguns?

Pete

Pete: looks like Bro Larry's not gonna take our bait (Been working on Clair Kofoed also BTW)

Again, thanks to JayCee for this wonderful Christmas gift! Hadn't heard of 'Eclair' damascus until yesterday.
Now can someone please show me an example of 'Ribbon' damascus? Have found that term on some U.K. auction sites

He does know a little about shotguns, but very little about Damascus--other than it's a big city in Syria.

Wonder if they call that pastry "eclair" because you eat it so fast??