Here is the catalog of Shimano in 1974.
Shimano announced Dura-ace in the previous year, and entered in the market of professional bicycle parts.
In this catalog, several models other than Dura-ace were introduced so that customer could understand the lineup of Shimano. The style of drawings on each page has atmosphere of 1970s.

The catalog was offered by Mr. H. K.

Here is the front and back cover.

The racing scene of Walter Godefroot who was the ace of European professional team Shimano Flandria which Shimano began to sponsor since previous year, was printed on the page. Godefroot had won the third place in the individual road racing of Tokyo Olympic in 1964. After that, he had won the victory many times on the famous races until the end of 1970s as a professional athlete. He had become a manager of Astana in 2007.

Dura-ace first generation was introduced on the right page. The catchphrase "Masterpiece of gem" seems to be slightly premature.

The explanation about the products started from this page. The internal speed changer (3-speed Hub) which led Shimano to be a large company appeared first. Shimano began producing it from 1957. The 3-speed hub became a big hit in the Japanese market. In 1965, Shimano had established sales offices in USA.

The rear derailleur was introduced in this page. Crane, Titlist, and Tourney had same mechanism and design. Only the material and finish work were different. Lark, Eagle, and Skylark were used for reasonable model of mass-production sports bicycle. The trait of Eagle was a guard covering pantograph.

The front derailleur and the shift lever were introduced in this page. The mechanism of Titlist pantograph was similar to Dura-ace first generation. Thunder-bird and 50 were made of steel. The shift lever had three types such as friction type, one way clutch type and valance spring type.

The shift levers which were used for junior sports bicycle and fast-run bicycle which was equipped with a derailleur were introduced in this page. Boys used to yearn for the console type inspired by a shift lever of car. The model in this catalog was still friction type. Later, the index system appeared; its mechanism developed into STI system via SIS system.

The disc brakes which were used for high grade junior sports bicycle were introduced in this page. These were not hydraulic yet, but mechanical type.

Caliper brake, coaster brake, and brake lever were introduced in this page. I don't remember well about the mechanism of the Auto adjustment. However, I suppose it must have adjusted the gap between the shoe and the rim automatically. The side-pull brake and the centre-pull brake had an image of the subspecies of Dia-compe. I seldom see a bicycle which was equipped with it.

The Alternate gear which was one tooth jump was a trait of the freewheel of Shimano. It supported 14-34T with five-speed. The boys who rode junior sports bicycle used to climb up neighboring hill by this huge gear.

The several hubs were introduced in this page. The quick release type was only a kind, and was produced as exclusive type for each model of bicycles. The quick release hub was a lofty dream to the cyclists who belong to my generation. There must have been a number of cyclists who used wing nut first.

The spoke protector and the tools were introduced in this page. As for the spoke protector, different sizes were prepared according to the number of tooth of the low gear.

The several parts of mini-cycle which began to spread in those days were introduced collectively in the last page. The purpose of it was different to the present small wheel bicycle. Large quantity of mini-cycle was sold in those days as a shopping bicycle of daily life. Women seemed to feel at ease because their feet touch the ground if the saddle was lowered.

If you see this catalog closely, you would understand that Shimano of those days was still a parts maker which based on general bicycle. The beginning of the 1970s was a time which I began to be interesting in bicycle. I used to suppose though Shimano had produced Dura-ace, Suntour was superior as a parts maker of the professional sports bicycle.

However, the conception for junior sports bicycle parts such as the shift lever with the index system, the super-wide ratio freewheel, and the disk brake was utilized for the subsequent group-set of road racing bicycle and MTB. We can say such technical accumulation must have made present Shimano.