Need a little info on a Wilson reel

[Jerry J in OK]

It belongs to a friend of mine and he was wondering who might have made it. It is marked Thos. E. Wilson & Co and under that H640 on the face plate. It is raised pillar and marked 40 under the foot and appears to be nickel plated...I can email a photo but it is too big to post here (I tried)...Thanks for any help...

Jerry

[JeffK]

Jerry
I could be mistaken but I think Dr. Todd covered them in the ORCA publication some time within the last twelve months. If no one follows up on it I'll dig it out when I get home tonight.

[Teal]

Yep, wrote about Wilson a few issues ago. The H640 was pictured in the 1923 and 1925 catalogs and is among the most common of the Wilson reels. The ones I have seen are Montague but the firm contracted with at least seven known makers for their reels, so without a pic it is difficult to tell.

Hope this helps.

--Dr. Todd

[Don Champion]

Jerry - The number makes me think of Winchester. Is the size under the foot underlined? If so, It's Winchester. H-I didn't buy Winchester until about 1931, so if it's in catalogs of the early 20's. Also, the H number appears on other Winchester made reels.
Don

[Teal]

All Wilson reels carried the Hxxx catalog code. Early Wilson reels repeated this on the reel, later ones dropped it in favor of the Wilson-Chicago trademark.

I have five Winchester-made Wilson reels, from take-aparts to raised pillars like this one. The closest match I have to this reel is a raised pillar marked Wilson H643 that has the underlined marked foot.

Wilson appears to have left the tackle market by 1929 so these should be true Winchesters and not H-I.

--Dr. Todd

[Jerry J in OK]

thanks for the info guys...Don and Teal I emailed you some pics of the reel and the guys email address...

Thanks again and Merry Christmas to all.

Jerry

[Don Champion]

To bring the board up to date, Jerry put me in touch with his friend Jerry. After a few questions and some pics, we reached an agreement and I bought the reel.
Don