A few very early fly envelopes

[Mike N]

The two with the eagle attacking the lion are (I’m told by two knowledgeable collectors) likely very early Pflueger. The others with the fox & fish and stag logo are early McHarg from upstate New York. I always assumed the black ink is earlier than the red ink, but I’m not certain of the chronology. The artwork and delicate nature of these fly envelopes make them, to me, the ultimate antique fly fishing ephemera.

[wrong99]

Awesome!

[RonG]

I never saw the eagle attacking the lion logo before. That's a pretty powerful statement.

[Ron Mc]

I wetted a silk-gut English 3-wet-fly dropper rig one day to give it a try.
Was fishing Tonka Prince and DAM Effzett brass reel with an antique silk line I mastic varnished.



Landed a double.

[Alan Baracco]

Mike,

Very nice "stuff"!

Whenever I see "Trade Mark" on fishing tackle (clearly on the Eagle & Lion and faintly on the Fox with Fish) I check it against the database Colby & I put together awhile back.

In this case neither are listed by us as U.S.Trademarks. The earliest Enterprise Manufacturing Company U. S. Trademark is the word "Pflueger", 12/22/1908 (TM 71940) and the earliest E. A. Pflueger Company U. S. Trademark is a "P and design" 11/05/1907 (TM 65990). Both of these trademarks cover fishing flies.

John McHarg has no U. S. Trademarks in our database.

Several explanations of this situation come to mind, many folks used "Trade Mark" without registering it with USPTO, it could be a state TM, etc. It would be interesting (to me) to define what you mean by "early", I could do some further checking of USPTO records to make sure we didn't just miss these.

Cheers,

Alan

[Eric J]

Those are beauties! Love those logos. These are Playfair’s Scottish Trout Flies with an LL Bean fly & leader wallet all from the 1930’s maybe earlier.

[Mike N]

Mike,

Very nice "stuff"!

Whenever I see "Trade Mark" on fishing tackle (clearly on the Eagle & Lion and faintly on the Fox with Fish) I check it against the database Colby & I put together awhile back.

In this case neither are listed by us as U.S.Trademarks. The earliest Enterprise Manufacturing Company U. S. Trademark is the word "Pflueger", 12/22/1908 (TM 71940) and the earliest E. A. Pflueger Company U. S. Trademark is a "P and design" 11/05/1907 (TM 65990). Both of these trademarks cover fishing flies.

John McHarg has no U. S. Trademarks in our database.

Several explanations of this situation come to mind, many folks used "Trade Mark" without registering it with USPTO, it could be a state TM, etc. It would be interesting (to me) to define what you mean by "early", I could do some further checking of USPTO records to make sure we didn't just miss these.

Cheers,

Alan

Alan,

I asked Bill Kennedy to send me info on the Pflueger link. Bill is one of the most knowledgeable vintage tackle paper experts and that’s how he listed it on eBay.

Also, here is a photo from Bob Jones’ collection of a stag and fox/fish envelope clearly marked John B. McHarg and “Trade Mark” under the fox. J.B. McHarg started his tackle business at the age of 27 in 1850 in upstate New York. He used several “trademark” logos including a bird dog looking back, a stag (like Hartford insurance), and a fox with a fish in its mouth. I’d guess the date of these envelopes to be circa 1880 to 1900.

[limnos]

The Fox ones and Stag are McHarg for sure. I have never seen the Lion\Eagle trademark before. I suspect English possibly.

[Eric J]

The eagle is associated with America and the lion is associated with England, so I would be surprised if it was English.
It is almost metaphoric of America’s dominating presence in the fishing tackle industry which once belonged to the British. But then again, I have an overactive imagination sometimes.

[Mike N]

The eagle is associated with America and the lion is associated with England, so I would be surprised if it was English.
It is almost metaphoric of America’s dominating presence in the fishing tackle industry which once belonged to the British. But then again, I have an overactive imagination sometimes.

Eric, that’s an insightful take on the logo.

“ Why does England have a lion as a symbol?

The Lion derived from the coat of arms of the Duchy of Aquitaine - Eleanor's family. Naturally, of course, the Lion as a symbol of British "pride" and might was forever identified with Eleanor's irascible, irresponsible but fearless son, Richard I the Lionheart.

When and why did the lion become the symbol of England?https://www.theguardian.com ”

Mike

[Jim Schottenham]

Pflueger collector Mike Gerhard provided a photo from an 1892/1893 Enterprise catalog that shows the trade mark image:


Great addition Mike!

[Mike N]

Pflueger collector Mike Gerhard provided a photo from an 1892/1893 Enterprise catalog that shows the trade mark image:


Great addition Mike!

Bravo, Mike Gerhard! Well played.

Mike N

[Mike N]

This thread shows the collective wisdom of collectors discussing and sharing information and is exactly what ORCA is all about.

Mike N

[Eric J]

I think the eagle is plucking the lion’s whiskers to use as tippets.
Mike Gerhard’s catalog photo makes it pretty clear the message was “why pay for expensive British flies when you can buy quality U.S. made flies”. American anglers were no longer dependent upon the British tackle houses.

[Alan Baracco]

Orcan's, good discussion.

I noticed on Mike G.'s piece it advertised them as being "Non-Luminous".

Luminous was an Enterprise Manufacturing Company registered U. S. Trademark, interesting.

Doesn't solve the mystery of the others, however.

Alan

[Mike N]

And then there’s this sent to me by Bill Kennedy… from page 219 of the Pflueger book by Dale Van De Voort:

[Mike N]

***
Mike Gerhard’s catalog photo makes it pretty clear the message was “why pay for expensive British flies when you can buy quality U.S. made flies”. American anglers were no longer dependent upon the British tackle houses.

Eric, excellent point. The 1892-93 catalog specifically mentions saving on import “duties.” A little research showed why this was such a hot topic at the time.

“ The Tariff Act of 1890, commonly called the McKinley Tariff, was an act of the United States Congress, framed by then Representative William McKinley, that became law on October 1, 1890. The tariff raised the average duty on imports to almost fifty percent, an act designed to protect domestic industries from foreign competition…”

[Eric J]

Great connection Mike. The circumstances of the times always add a new perspective.