Cat. No. PRT-2026-021
A lively interwar advertising brochure issued by Établissements H. Morin, the Paris manufacturer and supplier of scientific, surveying, drawing and engineering instruments. Unlike the formal 1924 H. Morin invoice in the collection, this document reveals the company from a distinctly commercial and promotional perspective.
The brochure was evidently intended for engineers, draughtsmen and other technical professionals and promotes a group of relatively inexpensive everyday accessories rather than major scientific instruments. Particularly prominent is the H. Morin triple decimetre, a 30-centimetre measuring rule advertised with enlarged details of its engraved graduations. The accompanying illustration shows the rule being used directly on a technical drawing, emphasizing practical accuracy and ease of use.
Another major product is the Agenda H. Morin à feuilles mobiles, a refillable loose-leaf notebook marketed as a solution to the problem of remembering appointments, technical information and everyday professional obligations. Its advertising is unusually playful: the reader is asked why he should “overload his memory” when everything can simply be written down. The illustrations show both the binder and interchangeable dated sheets, while adjacent panels advertise replacement blocks and related stationery.
The brochure also demonstrates the breadth of H. Morin's business. Alongside precision measuring equipment, the company offered drawing pencils, sample books, engineering stationery and office accessories. H. Morin was therefore not merely a manufacturer of scientific instruments but a comprehensive supplier to the engineering profession.
The repeated 50% reduction campaign is especially striking. A detachable-style coupon and several large promotional slogans dominate the design, giving the publication the character of a direct-mail advertising circular rather than a conventional technical catalogue. The reference “Cir. Post. 196.26” strongly suggests a postal advertising campaign dating from 1926, consistent with the typography and graphic style of the brochure.
As ephemera, the document is particularly useful for understanding how a major French scientific-instrument supplier marketed itself during the interwar period. It complements formal catalogues and invoices by showing the more everyday commercial world surrounding precision instruments: rulers, notebooks, pencils, samples and other tools that formed part of the working environment of engineers and technical professionals.
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Folded printed advertising brochure on cream paper, printed in dark red ink on both sides. The brochure consists of four illustrated panels advertising several products supplied by H. Morin to engineers and technical professionals. Numerous line drawings show the products in use, including a triple decimetre rule, technical notebooks and agendas, interchangeable agenda sheets, sample books and drawing pencils. The publication is identified as “Notice 400” and carries the reference “Cir. Post. 196.26.” Size: A5.
The document was purchased from a private collector in France.
Creator
Établissements H. Morin, Paris. Printer unknown
Subject
H. Morin; engineering instruments and supplies; technical drawing equipment; engineers’ stationery; measuring rules; technical agendas; interwar French scientific-instrument trade
Date
circa 1926
Place of Origin
Paris, France
Language
French
