Is this reel earlier than ca. 1850?

[Mike N]

What design features make you think it was made before or after 1850?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/223213749045?u ... fresh=true

[Steve]

Why 1850? IMHO, it could be before or after.The problem is that Brit designs (assuming it's Brit) changed so slowly. I'd be more concerned as to whether or not those headplate things are screws that have lost their heads.

[Stef Duma]

It could be any time between 1801 and 1899 and in my humble opinion it certainly is.

As a brass reel its "ok"

Stef

[Mike N]

Why 1850? Umm, because it’s the midpoint of the 19th Century and it seemed like a good middle, as the bookmakers call it. I would have used 1865 —a Civil War middle when materials and craftsmen were scarce then became less so after Appomattox —had it been a US reel.




As it stands I think it’s an early, pre-1850 British reel. I think the grasp is original and likely bone. I seriously doubt that the pillar pins are screws that have lost their heads although I see how the 3 look rougher on the face of the reel than on the back of the reel, as if that happened. The two holes in the foot indicate a reel that is lashed onto the rod as was seen in the early 1800s.

[oc1]

The posts look like they are peened in place so it cannot be disassembled. Does that make it earlier or later?
-steve

[Steve]

I agree with Stef regarding age.

I wouldn't be too sure about those headplate stubs, based on some lo-res shots online.


Those holes in the foot ends are there so that screws can be used to hold the reel on the rod. Here's an example of a multiplier shown in an 1856 book:


An excerpt from a 1900 magazine: