Picked up a couple more Spiegel catalogs, the only one with any interesting information is a 1936 Fall & Winter offering a 23AA & 99EG both drilled & tapped for scope block that could also be ordered with a Marlin scope, in 1937 Fall & Winter they had Mossberg scopes (corrected - had it as 1940). This has been added to the other Spiegel pages in the PhotoGallery - galleries/12206678



Note: artists renditions - butt plate wrong on the 99H and some scope blocks not drawn in actual positions.

Summery of content, updated-
-1934 Fall & Winter, Stevens Peerless pump (version of 29-S), 99 barrel band carbine
-1936 Fall & Winter, 99EG and 23AA withe Marlin scopes, 99H with out scope
-1937 Fall & Winter, listed as 'Stevens NO 29' pump with Mossberg scope , 99 EG with Mossberg scope
-1938 Fall & Winter, now listed as 'Stevens Model 29' with Mossberg scope, 99 EG (no roll stamp) shown with Mossberg scope
*1939 (sold as 1940) gun pages only, Model 29, no 99 (maybe missing a page) same as 1939 Fall & Winter that was on eBay - no 99's
-1940 '75 Years' (?spring & summer?, not scanned) no 99's or pumps,only Savage/Stevens are just a Stevens single shot and a 22 repeater labeled 'Huntsmaster'
-1940 Fall & Winter, Stevens Model 29, 99 EG now with roll stamped 'engraving'
-1941 Spring & Summer, 23 different models of guns available, 99 EG
-1941 Fall & Winter, 30 different models of guns available, Mossberg, Marlin & Savage/Stevens, Model 49 pump 22, 99 EG
-1942 Spring & Summer, 19 different model guns, no 22 pump, no 99, but have a lot of 12 gauges listed
-1942 Fall & Winter, 21 models listed, Model 49 pump, 99 EG, no 12 gauge shotguns, note on production being stopped
-1943 Spring & Summer, 7 models of guns listed Mossberg & Savage/Stevens - 22's & a 22/410 combo - no pump or 99
-1943 Fall & Winter, 8 models total, only Savage/Stevens with note of stopped production and limited numbers on hand, 99 EG, 20 & .410 shotguns only,
-1944 Spring & Summer, No guns
-1944 Fall & Winter, No guns, only one pictured, Model 19 target but marked 'unavailable'
-1946 Fall & Winter, 13 models Mossberg, Marlin & Savage/Stevens - SAVAGE Model 29, Savage 99 EG, roll 'engraving' pictured, not described.

No roll stamp.

Thanks, Gene!

Thank you , Gene.

Interesting that the art shows the 99H with a rifle cresent butt plate.

Great find and thanks for sharing!

Every time I see one of the old Spiegel catalogs I shake my head. My folks bought from Spiegel for as long as I can remember. The stack of old catalogs in the attic got tossed when Mom left the farm and 'moved to town' in '79.

I'll take one of those EGs for $49.95! Which seems to work out to about 900-bucks in today's dollars. I better get one without the scope. Anyone ever come across an EG or 23AA that was drilled for those scope blocks?

Fairly serious screwup, showing a 99B and describing a 99H. Probably didn't help their sales, seeing as the 99A was declining in popularity enough to be discontinued 2 years after that.

But if they shipped you an A for the price of a carbine then maybe not so much of a screw-up - from the buyers perspective. But who knows?!

...and the cheek pads and the take down.... like Gene mentions, many times the catalog artwork didn't line up exactly.
It is a rather smart looking rifle though.

That 99H price is also whacked. In 1936 the price list should be $44.50 for a 99H, it'd been $37.50 back in '27-'31 but had jumped along with everything else. The EG price makes sense, price list has it at $46.50 so Spiegel is adding a $3.45 premium. Can't see Savage giving a $6+ price cut on the 99H though.

The 99A and 99H were the cheapest of the 99's in the 30's. (99A,99H) -> 99EG -> (99T,99F) -> 99R -> 99G -> 99RS -> 99K.

99F and 99T same price... easy choice for me!

I'm digging the "neck weld" shooting position.

Description for the 250 Savage: "Powerful enough for any animal in America."
Description for the 300 Savage: "For the biggest American game. Ideal for Alaskan bear, moose and elk."

Elsewhere on this site there are those who seem to believe these barely make deer cartridges.

GeneB,

You are a tremendous benefit to this forum. Thanks for always adding your great and informative posts. You are a wealth of knowledge.

RAS

What he said!

The 1934 catalog stated that the 99-H was priced below retail. Must of continued.

I have three 99-H's listed in my data from around 1936 with what we were calling the B&M D&T'd holes. So, I'm thinking finally a reason for them to be there...then in the fine print I see that the scope was not available for the 99-H. Some days you just can't win.

Is the fine print correct?
Other parts of the Savage/Spiegel ad are not?
Difficult to rule something in or out.

I guess that if a 99-H can look like a 99-B then maybe they could come D&T'd?

Yeah, caught that myself. We also have R's with those holes, right?

I can't see why they wouldn't sell the scopes for the 99H's. Wonder if that bit is as accurate as the picture?

Funny, that's the first thing I noticed. That guy is looking 6" over the front sight.

Anyways, thanks for posting that Gene. Very interesting.

Oh well, its a catalog with a bit of its own sales smultzh. Ya gotta dig the pith helmet. I bet they made a big fashion statement in the deer woods of 1936. Its a bit of Hollywood. But all that aside it is fun looking at how 99s were sold in the dark years of the Great Depression and how much they were sold for.

Buying a 99 from Spiegel was like buying a box of Cracker-Jacks. You have to wait and open the box to see what prize you got.

'48 hour free trial on all guns'

Those were the days...

thank you Gene

plab