Mystery baitcaster

[Steve]

Can anyone identify this little baitcaster? It's a hair under 2" in diameter, with spiral-cut gears and a replaced grasp. One oil cap is missing. It has a conventional click on the tailplate.



The front and back pillars fit into holes in the headplate, but the top and two foot pillars are shouldered and extend to the head cap, where they are held by screws.



The tailplate is two-piece, a metal ring with a disc that covers it. Again, three screws hold the top and two foot pillars.





Both end bearings have threaded shafts with slots at the outer ends for adjustment with a screwdriver.

The foot consists of a stamped plate riveted into position in grooves cut into the bottom two pillars. It's stamped "PATENTED AUG. 2, 1921. We're unable to find any patents for a reel issued on this date.



The metal looks like satin-finished nickel silver, but it may be something else, possibly an alloy patented on that date.

Does anyone have any clues to the origin of this well-built little reel?[/img]

[Phantom Fisher]

So far, the only reel patent I have for that date is number 1,386,366, issued to John D. Robertson of New Haven, CT and assigned to Winchester Repeating Arms Company of New Haven, CT. I haven't checked to see if the patent matches up with your reel.

[Steve]

Thanks, Laurie, I guess that's it. Robertson's patent is all about adding a balance weight under the knob to help the crank spin better, but, of course, that doodad is missing from the reel. Robertson was also the guy who designed the quick-takedown rim nuts that show up on some Winchester and Hendryx reels.

I don't know how you found that patent. It's indexed only within class 74/545 (machine elements), with no cross-references to the usual reel classes (242 and 43). Magic?

Thanks again!

[Phantom Fisher]

You're very welcome, Steve. No magic; just nearly two years of work on a tackle patent database. In addition to checking the usual classes, I've also tracked back references in later patents and have been adding numbers found on reels, on boxes, in catalogs, etc.

[Don Champion]

The slotted screws at each end of the spool are very similar to a system used by Abbey & Imbrie as shown in their 1892 catalog.I don't think they made their own reels. I believe Winchester was one of the companies which made reels for them.

[Steve]

The adjustable pivots on Abbey & Imbrie reels were the subject of Julius Vom Hofe's 1892 patent. Similar pivots came to be used on lots of other reels after the turn of the century, including such rarities as the Wisner reel. Presumably, the Vom Hofe patent had expired by then.

In 1919, Winchester bought the tackle division of the Hendryx company, whose machinery continued to be used to make reels. Post-purchase reels bore Hendryx, Winchester, and Armax markings. Robertson's 1920 invention has shown up at least in both Hendryx and Armax reels.