I was thumbing through a 1992 Oliver’s auction catalog last night and noticed these three classic leather reel cases. The triangular one for the Illingworth No.3 spinning reel is especially craftsmanship at its finest.
No classic shotgun collector would be happy unless their best examples were in a leather case. At one time, that’s how it was with the finest fishing reels, too.
Does anyone collect leather reel cases or have any research info to share with the board?
Photos of additional leather cases are welcome, especially big game examples with makers labels.
Yep, and Ward is good at repairs/restoration as well. ORCAn Dan Brock is most known for his creels, but he has made some beautiful reel cases as well. One important aspect Dan pays close attention to is lining his cases with cloth that will protect the reel from tannic acid and other nasties. Reels in raw leather cases can take onnsome nasty corrosion over time.
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
Coincidentally I have one of those. Here is an early small sized Y&E auto reel in its form fitting case. Alas, no markings.
Another one of my favourite leather (reel) cases had a design patent date that I was able to find. At least I know who invented this case design. Not sure of the maker. I bought a fly reel via online auction years ago and it came in this case. The reel was an antique unmarked British brass reel. They may or may not have been sold together.
Well, Paul, it appears we have a new front runner.. WOW (especially since Jim S. kindly sent me a private email that my triangular case above is stamped fiberboard not leather)...
Perhaps our reel patent guru SV can attach some significance to the eagle engraving and the August 5, 1879 patent date shown as well as its inventor Richard W. Owen.
...it does remind one of the velvet Dracula casket...
Mike, if you know who "one" is, ask him/her if he/she knows what that casket extension housed.
And now, rising to the bait...
...some significance to the eagle engraving and the August 5, 1879 patent date shown as well as its inventor Richard W. Owen.
I hope there's no need to explain the significance of the stamping or the patent date. The significance of the inventor consists mostly of this, which doesn't mention his death in 1923 and burial in Racine:
Last edited by Steve on Fri Oct 11, 2019 8:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
This thread inspired me to pull out a couple of well made leather fly reel cases housing a pair of Meisselbach Rainbow 627 reels. One of them is nicely marked with the owner's initials. I just noticed for the first time, not being very observant, that they have remnants of a label inside the top lid. Anyone care to speculate who made, or carried, these cases? Maybe Vom Hofe, or Abercrombie & Fitch?
Kevin- to me what makes your two cases exceptional are the fine stitching and the time it took the maker to wrap the tiny metal belt hasp with leather and stitch the same. You don’t see that very often. Very nice!
That tiny mark on the top of the second case can be found on the bottom of Kosmic cases. These round cases can also be found marked "Abercrombie & Fitch".
The seam stitching is very distinctive, as is the tooling ...
These can be seen in early A&F catalogs, offered in various sizes.
Steve- thanks for posting the bio of Mr. Owen. While he might not be the first Welsh-born, Civil War veteran we’ve discussed here, he is the only one I recall whose primary training was in harness-making. Very interesting.
Mike N
PS. At your request, I talked to my one guy. He mumbled something about “the protruding wooden stake.”
Dean- thanks for the link above and these photos. I never noticed that the reason for the oblong case rather than a circular case could be to house the handle. I learned something from your post.
Here are two round leather cases that housed reels when I obtained them but I was never convinced that was their primary mission. Perhaps our logo experts can quickly ID the sources:
Case 1:
Case 2 (this one needs help!):
I also have a frightening number of bait caster leather cases that came out of the drawer, many of which were left behind when reels were sold:
Baitcaster cases:
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
