Manufactured or assembled in France from 1935 to 1936.
Index of rarity in France: Infrequent (among non-specialized garage sales)
Inventory number: 689

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Chronology of cameras Manufrance 

From 1887 to 1985, Manufrance was part of the daily life of the French. Its annual catalog, long before Amazon was even imagined, was the means to purchase a wide variety of items in the most remote corners of France.

Originally, the Manufacture Française d'Armes de Saint-Etienne, the full name of Manufrance, manufactured and sold hunting weapons. In order to reach the largest number of hunters, it also published a magazine, "Le Chasseur Français". With the advent of the bicycle, the Manufacture started producing bicycles, including the famous Hirondelle. The name was changed to the Manufacture d'Armes et de Cycles de Saint-Etienne in 1901.

Soon, sewing machines were also manufactured. It wasn't until 1911 that the name Manufrance appeared. The products offered by Manufrance diversified. Not all of them were manufactured by Manufrance itself, which merely acted as a distributor, simply putting its brand on products manufactured by a third party.

This was the case with cameras. From 1905 to 1980 (except for interruptions due to wars), cameras were present in Manufrance catalogs with more than 50 manufacturers. These were numerous in the catalogs. The illustrations were small and did not always allow for the precise identification of the original model.

The name "Luminor" appeared in 1907 and was initially used for an anastigmat lens, and the camera name was standardized according to a characteristic: Détective pour débutant, Folding pour plaque, Folding extra-mince etc. It was not uncommon for the same name to be used successively for different cameras. A "Luminor" plate was riveted onto the cameras. But was this the case for all cameras sold by Manufrance? From the 1950s onwards, the illustrations were larger, making it easier to recognize the cameras. Some finally bore their true names explicitly. Others were modified during their manufacture to bear the name "Luminor."

All this resulted in great confusion in distinguishing Luminor models from others. It was only through the discovery of real examples that some precision could be achieved.

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