This seems to fill a number of “earliest ever reported” categories, including:
- Earliest retailer-marked “trade” sport fishing item from a southern state
- Earliest northern state produced fishing reel that was demonstrably sold in the South.
Extremely well-made, the 250-yard reel that would have been ideal for redfish angling around the Savannah area. The smoothness of this reel certainly rivals that of the more highly-acclaimed contemporary Kentucky reels. The stamping on the reel is indicative of a pre-1848 date, as the company name changed then, when Lovell took on partners. Lovell established his own business as a gun dealer in 1837. By 1840, his retail business had expanded to a full line of hardware goods. Lovell was considered a pioneer in establishing a large retail business in Savannah and in promoting the expansion of infrastructure and business for the area.
This is the only example of pre-Civil War Northern-produced sport fishing item, that I know of, that was demonstrably sold in any of the Confederate states. The window of time in which northern production numbers, transportation routes and costs, and politics were all conducive for this type of trade was likely narrow. Certainly, more examples did exist; Lovell would not have ordered a single reel for his retail business.
