I wanted to ask for the same (^^^^^) myself, but didn't want to be the greedy newbie!  I'm currently missing a few Craftsman 50's that I'd like to get my hands on.

Oily Rascal, this link will probably help.
http://www.roseantiquetools.com/id116.html

I'll see what I can do on a sticky.

Quote from: johnsironsanctuary on February 14, 2012, 10:41:25 PM
Oily Rascal, this link will probably help.
http://www.roseantiquetools.com/id116.html

Thank you!

Quote from: johnsironsanctuary on February 14, 2012, 08:12:32 PM
Thanks LG, I never cease to marvel at what Tooltalk comes up with. Gibsontool will have the 41 cat shipped to me, I'll scan it and post it to p-bucket then you can convert it to a pdf and post it. Now we need some of the old big books tool pages from the late 20's and 30's. I know that RVS in Canada has a few on CD. It's on my list. Thanks again.

Teamwork! (btw, I need to PM you regarding the Proto catalogue; not sure of the order of some of the pages...)

What/who is "RVS"?

It's 'Vintage-RVS' an ebay seller with hundreds of cool literature pdf's. The only Sears catalogs that I found, so far, are too old for hand tools. I haven't been through everything.

http://stores.ebay.com/Vintage-Literature-Reproductions

Less than 3 hours left

$36 final. Did you get it Jim?

To rich for me.  I had to stop at 25

Sorry guys but my high bid was at $35. But I will (with eddie's help) be watching and bidding if another comes up.

Quote from: lbgradwell on February 14, 2012, 02:25:38 PM

Quote from: johnsironsanctuary on February 12, 2012, 09:28:39 PM
It would be the oldest C-man hand tool catalog yet.

The second-oldest, John; we already have 1940 & 1942 available.

LG
Isn't the 1940 catalog really the 1939?
Papaw's 1942 catalog looks like the 1941 on auction. His is copyright 1941 with a print date 4-1-42

Quote from: eddie hudson on February 18, 2012, 07:21:43 AM
LG
Isn't the 1940 catalog really the 1939?
Papaw's 1942 catalog looks like the 1941 on auction. His is copyright 1941 with a print date 4-1-42

Yes, I realize this has become quite confusing...

What I (and most others) had been calling 1939, I have come to believe is really 1940. The reasoning - as Tool Pants pointed out - is that although the date on the inside of the back cover is "6.39" or "June 1939", that seems to be the printing date or copyright date.

1939 or 1940:




The 1942 catalogue is conveniently marked as such. As you noted, this 1942 catalogue has a stated 1941 copyright and a second "4-1-42" date (presumably printing?) which is either January 4, 1942 or April 1, 1942. This seems to be a bit of an exception. Most (all?) of the other catalogues with stated date seem to have a print date inside from the prior year and that is why I am now calling the first catalogue pictured above a 1940.

1942:




The catalogue that just sold on eBay is very similar to the 1942, but is a different colour with no stated date. I have never seen this catalogue, so I don't know what the dates are printed inside, but the seller thinks it's a 1941 for some reason and we know it's not 1942 or 1939/40 so I think we can safely accept it is as 1941...

1941?:




The next issue I'm aware of is this 1948 (with a date of "11.47" inside)...

1948:

LG
Try this. The first catalog has a 6/39 date which is too early to be a 1940 issue so it is 1939.

I never noticed the 1942 on the cover of Papaw's catalog. That clears everything up. The 1941 & 1942 catalogs have the same insides, hence the 1941 copyright date on the 1942. The 4/1/42 date is the printing date on which we know is 1942. The only difference between 41 & 42 will be the cover as all the tools remained the same.

Quote from: eddie hudson on February 18, 2012, 05:27:06 PM
The first catalog has a 6/39 date which is too early to be a 1940 issue so it is 1939.

It's true that June does seem early for 1940. But by the same token, it's late for 1939!

Quote from: eddie hudson on February 18, 2012, 05:27:06 PMThe 1941 & 1942 catalogs have the same insides, hence the 1941 copyright date on the 1942.

Is this your theory or have you actually seen a 1941 in person and know the contents are the same as 1942?

It's true that June does seem early for 1940. But by the same token, it's late for 1939!

If you remember there was a discussion about the first catalog being a 1938 or 1939. The 1938 catalog could be the same as the 39, with the 39 having a date of 6/39. It could be the same for the 1941 & 42.

Is this your theory or have you actually seen a 1941 in person and know the contents are the same as 1942?
It's my theory but I'm willing to bet I'm right. Too bad one of us didn't win the 41, that would clearify things.