who owned your cool reels?

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Ron Mc
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who owned your cool reels?

Post by Ron Mc »

A cool topic idea came up on The CABE, antique bike board, who owned it before you? So I started a similar thread on the fiberglass flyrod board.

Would love to see the history of some of your provenance reels. If this were a competition, we already know Dr. Todd wins hands-down. I suspect many of you have great reels with known history.

So I'll throw up a few of my fly reels, and hope you follow

Ogden Smiths Exchequer owned by Jamie Maxtone Graham
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L&C Varden owned by Hoagy Carmichael
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Also have a pretty good collection of mint reels c. 1940, that were owned by heroes of WWII - never fished, squirreled away for a generation, then put on the market.
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Jonathan P. Kring
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Re: who owned your cool reels?

Post by Jonathan P. Kring »

I have posted some of mine previously. None of mine were owned by famous folks. Some by ORCA members, some family members or aquaintences. Jon
Cast your cares upon the Lord. Psalm 55:22
Then He said to them, "follow Me and I will Make you fishers of men". Matthew 4:19
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john elder
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Re: who owned your cool reels?

Post by john elder »

Good idea, Ron....Sorry I'm late!

These reels as well as the catalin lure came from the estate of A.J. Stead's son and they were inherited from his Father's estate, who made it all:



The reels below came from the personal collection of Mary Kefover Kelly. I parted with many of her reels, but have held tight to these:



ORCA member since 1999
Honorary Life Member

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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Midway Tommy D
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Re: who owned your cool reels?

Post by Midway Tommy D »

Been busy & finally catching up. :loco:

Here's a Langley SpinLite Deluxe 850 Field Tester issued to Benny Waidell. Not sure who he is but he must have had some Langley relevance. Maybe someone out there can shed some light on his place in spinning reel or fishing history:


This Zebco Cardinal 6 was owned and fished by the man who worked for the Cortland Line Company for over 50 years, was inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame and had the unofficial title of "The American Ambassador of Fly Fishing". Leon Chandler, under the sponsorship of the U.S. State and Commerce Departments, demonstrated American fishing tackle and techniques at Trade Fair exhibits in Finland, behind the Iron Curtin in Poland, Hungary, Germany and the former U.S.S.R. He is credited with bringing fly-fishing to Japan in the early "70s. Prior his first visit, there were only about 300 fly fishermen in Japan. When I purchased the reel in Nov. 2004, Leon's son, Jeffrey, was kind enough to include verification that the reel was indeed owned and fished by Leon:


These two reels were part of my good friend and mentor, Ben Wright's collection. I miss Ben a lot and I treasure them deeply.

ABU 333 2nd version:


First issue (1990) ABU Cardinal 33 CDL:
Love those Open Face Spinning Reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco)

Tom DeLong, NE
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Ron Mc
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Re: who owned your cool reels?

Post by Ron Mc »

thanks for playing, guys - keep it up, this is great.
colby sorrells
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Re: who owned your cool reels?

Post by colby sorrells »

Tommy,
Probably no way to know who Benny Waidell was. Langley gave and sold a lot of these reels. Some went to company employees or reps. Some went to friends of the company, friends of the reps, reporters, outdoor writers or others. They appear fairly frequently and we cover them in our book Langley Field Tested Tackle. Fun stuff.

Colby
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Paul M
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Re: who owned your cool reels?

Post by Paul M »

I acquired this antique Ustonson multiplying reel from Lang's. It came from the collection of Frank M. Stewart, III who was co-author of the Fishing Reel Makers of Kentucky. This specific reel appears in that book. Stewart also wrote an article about Ustonson and this reel in the March 1984 Antique Angler Magazine, saying that this reel was found in an antique shop about 60 miles from Paris, KY, which happens to be where George Snyder was making multiplying reels. The implication is that inspiration for the KY multiplier design attributed to George Snyder by Dr. James Henshall may have come from this very reel, so maybe it had a more famous owner in the 1800's? The sound of the 200 year old clicker is sweet as ever. This reel still turns my crank!



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Jonathan P. Kring
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Re: who owned your cool reels?

Post by Jonathan P. Kring »


May not have either one been famous, but this Bronson belonged to two former ORCA members. Two of the nicest guys I never met in person, Robert Ellis and Rick Heitman!! Jon
Cast your cares upon the Lord. Psalm 55:22
Then He said to them, "follow Me and I will Make you fishers of men". Matthew 4:19
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Re: who owned your cool reels?

Post by wrong99 »

The rare BRONSON No.4900 "Sport Pal". The only example we've ever seen, though there must surely be others in private collections. From Robert Ellis' original collection. Although needing a good cleaning, it will nonetheless stay in the same condition that it came from him. And Jon, as you well know, Robert was quite famous 'round these parts.
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Paul M
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Re: who owned your cool reels?

Post by Paul M »

A few more "traceable" reels in my collection.

This specially modified Conroy BH was previously owned by John Elder and his friend Mary Kelly. John suggested this as part of a trade saying it belonged in my collection. He was right!


This Heaton fisherman scene reel has an ebonite backplate. I acquired this from Ed Pritchard at the ORCA Convention in Dania Beach:


A couple of old brass beauties previously owned by Dean Smith:


The 2 brass faced perfects came from a fellow by the name of Paul Berges. His grandfather on his mother's side,"AC", enjoyed these from the late 1800's until he passed at the age of 95 in the 1950's. Mr. Berges was unable to remember the name of his grandfather because he was from this wife's family and he hadn't traced it through. I also struck out on Ancestry trying to figure it out. What Mr. Berges could tell me was that the original owner didn't have to work for a living, he liked to garden and he liked to fish with these in Ireland:


Finally, this one came from a lady on the west coast, Patrica Hutchison. She inherited the reel from her father who bought it many years ago in an estate sale. This one came to me in a pretty much unpadded envelope, bounced all over the continent before the mail man tried to stuff it through the mail slot of my front door. I had a fit but managed to restore the look.
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reelsmith.
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Re: who owned your cool reels?

Post by reelsmith. »

Jacob Weidmann ...

http://www.tackletreasures.com/favorite ... -fly-reels

Dean.
Wanted: Kosmic Items, Small Leather Fly Reel Cases, Early Fishing Related Bottles, Fly Reels and Pre-1900 Angling/Casting Medals.

http://www.tackletreasures.com/
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Jim Schottenham
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Re: who owned your cool reels?

Post by Jim Schottenham »

Many of the old timers here may remember back in 2009 when a bottle diver found a reel he posted on Reel Talk. Where it was found, what the reel is and who lived on the lake all have me thinking there is a better than good chance it belonged to Dr. James Henshall.

As it was reported here, the diver found this Henshall Van Antwerp reel in Fowler lake, in 10 feet of water less than 1 mile from the Oconomowoc, Wisconsin lake home of Dr. Henshall. When I bought the reel it came with what was left of the original reel seat hardware (not the reel seat you see here), and just a few shards of wood left inside. So, while I don't have a signed letter from the Henshall family, I still have to think it is not out of the question that this may have been his reel. And, really, how cool is that??
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Ron Mc
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Re: who owned your cool reels?

Post by Ron Mc »

way beyond cool - we need a jaw-drop smilie.
:fished
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Re: who owned your cool reels?

Post by reeltackle »

Here is a nice Hardy Bougle' that belonged to outdoor writer and IGFA Hall of Fame angler A. J. McClane. I bought it from the outdoor writer Bob NcNally who was given the reel by A.J. Mc Clane. Bob wrote me a nice letter to go along with the reel as well as a photo of himself with the reel, his Dad and, A.J. McClane.





Outdoor writer Tom McNally, Bob's father (left) - Outdoor writer Bob McNally with the reel (center) - A. J. McClane (right)



A nice Hardy Perfect in the box that belonged to Zane Grey. Got a couple bigger ones too.

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"Reels As Big As Your Head" Always looking for BIG game reels and anything else that might go along.
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