Meisselbach Airex Ablet series.
Made by Lionel? And how did Lionel get the Meisselbach name?
postwar Meisselbach fly reel ?
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Reel Geezer
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How about thievery?
I have researched this as carefully as I was able, even going to the General Industries factory in Elyria, OH and questioning some company historians about the reel. They were totally unaware of Airex's use of the name Meisselbach, for which they still held all patents and trademarks. They had not heard of the reel, for they were out of the reel business with the start of WW II, and had not kept up. I'm sure that they could have sued, but by the time I was there (1990s), Airex was long gone, and GI was dying. I think Airex just decided to use the name to get the prestige of the Meisselbach name.
I have researched this as carefully as I was able, even going to the General Industries factory in Elyria, OH and questioning some company historians about the reel. They were totally unaware of Airex's use of the name Meisselbach, for which they still held all patents and trademarks. They had not heard of the reel, for they were out of the reel business with the start of WW II, and had not kept up. I'm sure that they could have sued, but by the time I was there (1990s), Airex was long gone, and GI was dying. I think Airex just decided to use the name to get the prestige of the Meisselbach name.
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Airex Guy
Airex/Meisselbach fly reels
I too have researched this question and have no answer. Could Meisselbach have made trade reels for Airex? I ask this question not to defend Airex, but only that all the paper work I have puts the Meisselbach name first, then the Model name and finally it say's by Airex.
When Airex sold out to the Feurer Bros. they continued the fly reels and gave them new names, new model numbers and did not mention Meisselbach at all. Maybe F.B. looked into that issue and dropped it because of a patent infringement. The reel parts break down and part numbers are the same as Airex used.
Lionel shows a picture of a fly reel on their 1958 train catalog and then lists the reels in the 1959 Airex catalogs. Lionel was struggling in 1959 and Lawrence Cowen, (son of Joshua Cowen) was known to be "creative". Maybe he took a chance and "stole" the name as mentioned by the above posting.
I know one thing, learning about the inner workings of Airex/Lionel has been difficult. I was told by a fellow who wrote a book several years ago on Lionel products that he is involved with another book and it may have some answers to these questions and then maybe not on this issue.
Does the patent rights go indefinitely, and the name with it? Bob Halver----->The Airex Guy
When Airex sold out to the Feurer Bros. they continued the fly reels and gave them new names, new model numbers and did not mention Meisselbach at all. Maybe F.B. looked into that issue and dropped it because of a patent infringement. The reel parts break down and part numbers are the same as Airex used.
Lionel shows a picture of a fly reel on their 1958 train catalog and then lists the reels in the 1959 Airex catalogs. Lionel was struggling in 1959 and Lawrence Cowen, (son of Joshua Cowen) was known to be "creative". Maybe he took a chance and "stole" the name as mentioned by the above posting.
I know one thing, learning about the inner workings of Airex/Lionel has been difficult. I was told by a fellow who wrote a book several years ago on Lionel products that he is involved with another book and it may have some answers to these questions and then maybe not on this issue.
Does the patent rights go indefinitely, and the name with it? Bob Halver----->The Airex Guy
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Reel Geezer
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Bob: Meisselbach couldn't have made reels for Airex, for they were out of the reel business when Airex and Lionel got into the reel business. And, as stated above the people who worked for General Industries, and particularly one VP who gave me all the Meisselbach stuff he could find in the factory archives found no evidence of any connection to that reel or any permission given for the use of the name.
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Airex Guy
Meisselbach/Airex
You're right, so that leads one back to the thievery theory and I wouldn't put it past Lawrence Cowen to do just that. He was "in charge" of the Airex Division and some strange things have been written about his actions in and away from the company. Bob