shakespeare Marhoff reel question

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bob121349
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shakespeare Marhoff reel question

Post by bob121349 »

hi-found a Shakespeare Marhoff (either a 1913 or 1918 but with my eyes, can't be sure). very good shape but does have a newer guide which I have read is normal for this reel. has the dual ivroid handles on an "S"-shaped handle. Tail plate sez: "MARHOFF PATENT" over "LEVEL" over "WINDING REEL", all over the jeweled bearing cap which is standard Shakespeare style, but has a green- colored jewel unlike the usual red. There is only the model # "1964" with no lettering. the foot has the oval which sez: "SHAKESPEARE CO." over "KALAMAZOO" over "100YDS." over "PATENTED" over "1913 (or) 1918 MODEL". both bearing caps are the same. Don't know enough about Marhoffs to tell if the reel, except for the guide, is original. could someone with more Marhoff knowledge help here? bob.
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Midway Tommy D
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Re: shakespeare Marhoff reel question

Post by Midway Tommy D »

Bob,
Photos from all sides and the bottom of the foot would sure help.
Love those Open Face Spinning Reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco)

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Ron Mc
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Re: shakespeare Marhoff reel question

Post by Ron Mc »

sounds like you have one of the earlier models, soon after Shakespeare bought the patent (or won it in court? - Marhoff was a Shakespeare employee when he designed it), but when everyone else was scrambling to come up with their own LW designs.

It would be 1928 before others got to copy Marhoff.

fwiw, green is also a natural agate color
spadej1
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Re: shakespeare Marhoff reel question

Post by spadej1 »

From what I've read, Shakespeare bought the Marhoff Reel Company after his great friend died. He then made the Marhoff reels with the Shakespeare brand. I don't know a lot about them, but I haven't seen an odd Model year so I would expect it to be a 1918 model. This was about 8-10 years after Shakespeare started making them. I can't speak to the green jewelled caps, I really don't know what colors were offered in each year but the handle sounds about right. Pictures would help to make a better judgement, and I'm sure the folks with better Shakespeare knowledge would be able to tell more about the reel.

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john elder
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Re: shakespeare Marhoff reel question

Post by john elder »

Len Sawisch wrote extensively about the Shakes/Marhoff era. Members check the Reel News.
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Specializing in saltwater reels...and fly reels...and oh, yeah, kentucky style reels.....and those tiny little RP reels.....oh, heck...i collect fishing reels!...and fly rods....and lures
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Len Sawisch
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Re: shakespeare Marhoff reel question

Post by Len Sawisch »

Bob, you have what appears to be, by your description, a Model 1918. There was no Model 1913. In fact the only odd marked model years were 1919 and 1931 (at least in my experience). During the 1918 production, Shakespeare was experimenting with a 'front loading pawl' line guide, which required an additional support bar parallel to and on top of the worm gear. (I have two examples). You can also find 1918s with the more standard levelwind set-up.

Shakespeare experimented again with that same type front loading pawl in the Model 1922 production. I have two examples of the front loading set-up, one example that appears to be a factory re-mod of a front loading pawl where the holes for the extra support on the side plates are expertly filled in and a traditional level wind installed (Shakespeare hated to waste parts!), and two examples of just the traditional levelwind. I only have one 1919 and it has the more traditional levelwind. Without more examples it is hard to know what the chronology of Shakespeare's experiment actually was. Clearly it was not deemed worthy of continued production. Perhaps Eric Jeska has some insight here.

As for the odd colored jewels, it may be that one could order different jewel colors, but I have never seen any catalog suggestion of that as an option. (Shakespeare was known to make custom orders for the right price and/or volume). You might want to pull the caps and see if the bushing is also jeweled. That was an option in the early days, often called dual-jeweled by us Marhoff boys. As Ron noted, green is a naturally occurring color, and I have seen a few green, clear, and milky white/light blue jeweled Shakespeare end caps.

Anyway, welcome to the exciting world of Marhoff/Shakespeare reel collecting!

Len "Where-Have-I-Been-Hiding" Sawisch

PS Shakespeare bought the Marhoff Company before Marhoff passed (Marhoff was in the late stages of tuberculosis). It is my belief Marhoff helped Shakespeare re-design the reel to be made using Shakespeare's more modern factory tooling and parts. As Bill Sonnet uncovered years ago, there was a press release/article about the sale back in the day, and it indicated that Shakespeare hired Marhoff, possibly as part of the deal.
Len Sawisch
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