I have recently restored a Pennell-Superba brass reel (before/after pictures below) and have been on the hunt ever since I bought and restored the reel for information about the original manufacturer and specific date of this reel. After researching the history behind the Pennell brand, I have come to understand that the Pennell company did not actually manufacture any fishing reels. It seems that all the reels they produced were really manufactured by a different company that would then put the Pennell company name on the reel to be sold as Pennell. The reason that I am reaching out is to gain any information about what company was the original manufacturer of the reels that Pennell distributed with their name on them. After restoring this reel the inner workings look very similar to the Pflueger reels that I have also had experience restoring. If I were to make an informed guess I would say that Pflueger produced the reels for Pennell and then Pennell would add their brand name onto the reels; however, I cannot find any definitive evidence of this conclusion. I am reaching out to the network to see if you guys have run across this or could provide any insight into this situation. Also, if anyone could provide any input on the date this particular reel was made, it would be a tremendous help! I have posted the pictures below for reference.
As always, very appreciative of the collective effect to help us understand the history of reel collecting and always enjoy the discussion.
Spectacular restoration, great job. I have the rather common Pennell Tournament Ky style reel, attributed to Montague and in the style they made. Can't add to your provenance in any way however. The ORCA Fishing Reel Research Index does not include Pennell as a manufacturer of reels. The only reference on that site seems to be Winchester reels marked with the Pennell name. Montague did manufacture salt water reels as noted on the site, such as the Montague Manitou. It would be worth comparing with those reels to see if there is any internal likeness.
Matt Wickham
Collector of Casting Weights, KY Reels and KY Tackle
"Pennell" was a trade marked brand name owned by Edw. K. Tryon Sporting Goods of Philadelphia. Suppliers of Pennell branded reels were mostly Montague. However, I believe Winchester and even Meisselbach (Perfection Pennell) produced Pennell reels for Tryon. I'm not aware of any Pflueger trade reels made for them, but wouldn't be at all surprised if they existed. I'm sure your reel was made by Montague.
Last edited by wrong99 on Sun Feb 28, 2021 7:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I wonder if that reel could possibly be bronze instead of brass? Without testing the alloy, the usual difference is stated as "The main indicating factor of the differences between brass and bronze is that bronze will have a much redder color hue than brass would. Brass will look more yellowish due to its higher zinc content". I do see the reddish tint in the metal. Gears look brass of course. I think bronze is actually more corrosion resistant than brass, as well as harder. It would have made a good saltwater reel. Not to mention the advertised "Bronze Finish".
I think it would be nice to have a Bronze reel in the collection.
Matt Wickham
Collector of Casting Weights, KY Reels and KY Tackle
I do believe that model of reel is actually a bronze type alloy instead of just brass. The patina on them is very different than that of just brass reels, from the ones I've owned.
