M&H Sporting Goods Catalog 1921 Scan Link 110 Pages - Pre Ocean City MFG CO

[Biggamereels1988]

Embarking on a quest to unearth the elusive "Nearby Fishing" catalogs by M & H Sporting Goods, which spanned the golden era from 1910 to 1957, became my passion. Crafted by the visionary duo, Louis Moskowitz and Louis Herbach, who established M & H Sporting Goods back in the dawn of 1905—a revelation made in the 1930 catalog marking their silver jubilee. By 1922, their creative genius birthed the Ocean City Manufacturing Company, a venture predominantly steered by Moskowitz's keen insight, as Herbach devoted his zest to the thriving M&H storefronts and his fervent love for radios.

The chronicles of these catalogs, with Louis Moskowitz at the helm as the perennial editor, unfold a tapestry of evolving narratives, each editor leaving their indelible mark on its pages. The esteemed G. W. Scudder graced the editions of 1921, 1926, and 1930. Robert D. Hall who carried the torch from 1940 to the closing chapter in 1957. The transition hinted at the passing of Scudder, immortalized in a 1926 photograph celebrating a tournament victory, his age telling of his seasoned journey.

Nestled within my collection are 26 of these treasured volumes, each page a testament to Louis Moskowitz's profound reverence for the art of fishing, his words painting a vivid narrative that captivates the soul. These catalogs, beyond mere commercial listings, are a window into the heart of a man who found his universe in the tranquility of fishing waters. Unveiling these artifacts is a painstaking labor of love, and I present to you the gem of my collection: the 1921 catalog, a precursor to the establishment of Ocean City Manufacturing Co., and a gateway to a bygone era where passion and enterprise intertwined in the most enchanting of dances.

https://cscan.co/3eZGi02h2zH

Please comment below if you'd like to see more. They take along time to scan in.

[Roger Schulz]

M & H's 1922 catalog is available in the ORCA Library. It is their complete catalog of fishing tackle prior to Ocean City Manufacturing Company. The "Nearby Fishing" catalogs are a supplemental catalog of fishing places they did and recommended. See recent article on M & H prior to Ocean City in the Reel News.

Roger Schulz

[Roger Schulz]

Only ORCA members have access to the library. Matt or one of the board members will help you.

[Biggamereels1988]

I was looking for a good 20 minutes and found no M&H catalog in the orca library. What is it named other than. M & H, Nearby Fishing, ? I'd love to see the 1922.

[Biggamereels1988]

I am a member btw. I've accessed the library before but it's not available to me now on my CPU or Phone but my ipad can get it.

[Roger Schulz]

It is under "Moskowitz and Herbach Sporting Goods."

[Biggamereels1988]

OK it's under Moskowitz & Herbach. I see. This is indeed a 1922 catalog for Fishing Tackle and not the 1922 Nearby Fishing Catalog. I have not seen this fella before and opens up a new world of different Catalogs to obtain. They also have a Football catalog from 1923 as well.

[Biggamereels1988]

Ok I found the page you told me about. It shows the company started in 1923 in the article. Mike's book puts the company in 1922. It must be extremely hard to locate these books as the description says its the only catalog to exist. Good thing I've got a big stack of em.

[Biggamereels1988]

So not much interest in seeing these catalogs I see. I'll save the time uploading em and stash em away in the collection.

[Midway Tommy D]

So not much interest in seeing these catalogs I see. I'll save the time uploading em and stash em away in the collection.

Well, I don't know, there's been over 50 views so far. They are interesting to look at.

[kyreels]

Many ORCA members were at the FATC National show in St. Augustine this week. Our librarian David Lehmann is here along with 20 others. I think the documents and catalogs would be a great addition to the member library. It is the main purpose of ORCA to share knowledge and history. We would love to have you donate scans to our library. I am passing your info to Dave and let's see if you guys can collaborate.

Thanks!

[Steve]

...the page you told me about...shows the company started in 1923 in the article. Mike's book puts the company in 1922.

When a business "started" is often a matter of semantics. An example might be the dates of "formation" and "finalization" of the Horton Corporation, as discussed here.

FYI:



M&H registered their shop's fictitious name in 1918, but that doesn't mean the business did not exist before that. Ocean City Mfg. was incorporated in Pa. in 1923, but that does not mean that no "Ocean City" reels were made before the date of incorporation. M&H was incorporated in Pa. after OC, but M&H was "formed" well before that. Many companies were in business, producing the branded reels we love, long before the companies were incorporated.

[Biggamereels1988]

Here is the link to the 1926 Catalog

https://cscan.co/3eZBH0194t6

[Biggamereels1988]

If your part of ORCA or just love the catalogs. Save these PDFs. They will expire in 30 days. Upload away to anywhere that wants to read em. I’ll be uploading 18 more soon.

[Biggamereels1988]

1930 Catalog

https://cscan.co/3eZGy02hsoO

[Biggamereels1988]

1940 Catalog

https://cscan.co/3eZCM018VZk

[David Lehmann]

Sorry for the slow response. As Matt indicated, I was in St. Augustine and not checking Reel Talk. I've downloaded what you posted and will add the catalogs to the library.

Thank you!
David Lehmann, Librarian

[David Lehmann]

The 1921, 1926, 1930, and 1940 fishing guides have all been uploaded to the library. Also, Moskowitz & Herbach guides and catalog are now also cross-referenced with Ocean City. This means that if you search for "Ocean City" in either the member or store library, the M&H documents will be presented as possible choices.

[Biggamereels1988]

Great job Dave! I'll be working on the rest soon.

[JerryG]

Hello All,
I found this ad, magazine, April 3, 1926, p 17 (Link Below) with a Louis Moskowitz and Louis Herbach ad stating they were in business for 30 years. I have a scan of an early catalog cover which in in the style of early 1900s.
Regards,
Jerry
https://archive.legion.org/_flysystem/f ... 18amer.pdf

[JerryG]

[kyreels]

Great job on getting the catalogs scanned using camscanner on your phone. I use a different phone scanner, and it does not do as fine a job nor does it post to a public cloudspace. That is a great feature.

It would be ideal if every member that got a load of catalogs could scan them in the same way. Instead of shipping to the librarian and having them scan, they could now use the camscanner app to do that and post them instantly and send the link to the librarian. The librarian then only needs to make sure the scan is good and possibly add the full text recognition and watermark, index the item into the library. Still a big time savings over having to physically ship catalogs.

I am just really happy that you guys could work together to get this done. We have so many opportunities to add material to the library, and this is a great solution. If anyone else that has any catalogs reads this, I would hope they would consider doing the same.

Thanks again,

[Biggamereels1988]

Yeah I'm working on getting the rest scanned in. Got 16 more issues

[Biggamereels1988]

1941 Link

https://cscan.co/3eZFI018Scb

1944

https://cscan.co/3eZFI018SgY

1945

https://cscan.co/3eZCf019o72