Marlin model 97 -manufacturing info?

[greenmtnboy]

Hello All,

I just joined the forum, and this is my first post. I have a model 97, S/N 39XXXXXX that has been in my family since it was purchased new by my grandfather in 1922. He carried that rifle on a horseback trip from NY to San Francisco that same year, and I have photos from the trip of him with it. The rifle is in superb condition, but unfortunately the stock was refinished, and the cased hardened receiver Etc was blued by my dad when he was young. Oh well, it's part of its history and though I'm sure it has devalued it from a collectors point of view, i would never sell it, so it doesn't really matter.

As a mechanical engineer with a machining background, I am intrigued by the manufacturing methods that must have been used in the day. For example, the contours of the receiver, and internal parts would have required some extraordinary setups and tooling.

So now for my first question about this marvelous piece of Americana. Are there any books, documents, museums in existence that document the manufacturing processes used by Marlin to produce these rifles?

Many thanks