Ever Seen This Foot ? ....

[reelsmith.]

This reel is somewhat of a wreck. It came along with a batch of vastly superior reels and it was a take-it-all-or-nothing-deal ...so I took it.

The reel had no handle, the handle screw was sheered off in the spool end, there was a big chunk missing on the rear plate, a pillar (shouldered) was missing and there are other issues.

I lucked out and found the chunk missing from the rear plate in the bottom of the Rubbermaid tub of reels and epoxied it back in place. I took a full handle that fit, cut it in half and shaped it a bit to look proper. Then I drilled out the buried handle screw. Dicey stuff !!

Next I found a pillar (mismatched, no shoulders) and cut it to size. The reel was somewhat whole again.







What excites me about this reel ...beyond the foot I have never seen before ...is having had a reel owned by the same fellow.



Note the engraving on both reels ...same initials, same style, same location. One is engraved "C.M. 75" and the other "C.M. 68".

I was stoked when I remembered that I had found one of this fellow's reels a few years before, in the Catskills. Now another of his reels in my home town.

What are the chances ?!?

By the way, the first reel is marked "J.F. Marsters, 5 Court Street, Makers, Brooklyn, NY". The second reel is unmarked.

I hope to one day have it restored to a more dignified level.

Dean.

[wrong99]

What do you suppose the numbers refer to?
Mark

[john elder]

Its the only character to match, but the knurling pattern on the rims matches this 3 1/2 JVH. It may be that the unique hole pattern is something added later?? I believe that solid centered foot is usually not drilled
hole

[reelsmith.]

I'm quite certain its not JVH. Note the fixed cap on the back.

Also, there is no rear rim.

The "hole" in the foot appears absolutely original.

Reel is marked "Marsters, Maker".

Was Marsters a maker ??

Dean.

[john elder]

They sold a lot of makers, including meisselbach, montague And Vom hofe.


No identity here in this 1911 (?) catalog but JVH was always mixing and matching parts. (Edit...see below). The bearing cover is, however, novel to me...

[john elder]

On page 284, Steve Vernon’s new book offers some info on the Marsters family and allows that their maker stamp indicates they probably made some reels, mainly brass BH models. He may have gone to school off Julius and turned out similar HR products.

[Steve]

Careful with those attributions. These were all shown in a single Chubb catalog:

[Ray Hencken]

Dean,
I have a couple of reels marked Conroy & Bisset which have a similar looking fixed cap on the back and the shape of the knob is the same as the reel engraved C.M. 68. The difference is that my C&B reels have two rivets securing the spring. I have a Conroy, Bisset & Malleson which has the same knob and the spring is secured by a single screw as does yours. The only thing which would eliminate C,B,M is that they started that association in 1875, not '68. Perhaps it is a Conroy made reel before C.B.&M.