Stuart Mfg. Co., Inc Norwalk, Conn.

Tom Hurst · Post by **Tom Hurst** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 4:06 pm

I am a rather new collector of vintage/antique fly reels and a relative new member of ORCA. I am searching for any information about the Stuart Mfg. Co., Inc. located in Norwalk, Conn. I am particularly interested in their "single action trout reels" which I "guess" were manufactured in the 1920 to the 1945 time period. If you have any information on this company and/or if you know of a web site or reference book with pictures I would sure appreciate the information. Thank you and have a very properous 2007 New Year ... Tom Hurst

Post by **Brian F.** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 4:23 pm

Hi Tom,

Welcome to ORCA and Reel Talk. I did a quick search on Stuart reels and can't say that there's much info archived here in previous discussions. There don't appear to be any articles on them in past issues of the Reel News either. But we have had help from members identifying them for others so I suspect there is a lot of information you could get from those that frequent here.

Ron Mc · Post by **Ron Mc** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 7:17 pm

I have some photos for you.
The reel was made for and sold by Horrocks-Ibbotson.
I have a friend from CT that has a nice collection of these - I'll ask him if he has any info. I believe these were early postwar reels.

H-I Stuart, 3" Diameter, 9/16" spool width

SWIM JIG · Post by **SWIM JIG** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 7:38 pm

jump usa , Look on page 188 0f lawsons 3rd edition, he list it as a trout reel FLY Norwalk CON. at a 9/10 in the box at $45.00) also A Stuart Mfg. Co. Fly 3in Rh BLK SPT , AL FrameMIBOX at $45.00. at least we know for certain its made in the USA! Your ohio conection on Lake ERIE Col. Milton Lorens aka SWIM JIG , Thanks again Stu Lawson. jr.

Richard Lodge · Post by **Richard Lodge** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 10:19 pm

The Stuart reel was made around the same times as reels by Lesley Holmes, in Oronoque, Conn., and from almost exactly the same design and dimensions. Stuart reels have that oversized spool-retaining screw, but the overall design and dimensions are the same as Holmes. Holmes made reels from just after the war to 1950-51, when he died. Milton is right on the value. In the box, in excellent shape, Stuarts run around $40-50, unless you find that "sucker born every minute," who occasionally shows up on the 'Bay.

Ed Clark · Post by **Ed Clark** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 6:29 am

Here is a photo of one I used to own. I'm not sure if Stuart made the reels for H-I or H-I bought Stuart out and continued to make the reels. You can see on Ron's box it says Horricks-Ibbotson. On this picture it says Stuart Mfg, Norwalk Conn. They are both the No. 1 model. I used to have at least three different models in my collection at some point. I do not have any further information on the company.

Post by **john elder** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:52 am

Guys, are the reels themselves marked in any way? I know where a similar reel sits, but it's unmarked and labeled as a "custom" reel...believe that means the seller doesn't know what it is, but he/she has a big $ on it, just in case.

Ron Mc · Post by **Ron Mc** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:11 am

my friend has been through the phone books in Norwalk and they were never listed as Stuart Mfg. Co. He has an inquiry with the Chamber of Commerce.
They're actually nice little reels on glass or cane and will fish either RH or LH wind.
Richard was also interested in these reels - I wonder if he has any info...oops, he already posted.

Ron Mc · Post by **Ron Mc** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 6:05 pm

this is a cool one
this one was in rough shape and my friend painted it the spool and winding plate green to match his Lee Wulff rod

Ed Clark · Post by **Ed Clark** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 6:18 am

John - The number 1's I have seen are not marked in any way. I believe I had a number 2 that was marked with the company name and model number. I also have seen the reel you mentioned as a one of a kind with big bucks. It is a number 1 and worth no where near what the person is asking. I sold the last two I had in Allentown this past fall and did not have pics of them.

Post by **john elder** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 8:14 am

Thanks, Ed...I'm sure this is the same reel as I saw...no marks anywhere on this one...nice work, but nothing sexy.

Ron Mc · Post by **Ron Mc** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 8:53 am

back to designs, Richard.
I suspect you're right about the sizes (making this 3-3/8" No. 2 Holmes equal to the No. 2 Stuart), but Holmes came closer to copying a prewar Young perfect, attaching the spindle to the spool instead of to the winding plate. A very neat thing he did - he threaded the drag gear on the winding plate to make it a cap nut for the hollow spindle. This sealed up an oil reservoir inside the spindle with a weep hole to feed the bushing. If you find one of these that hasn't already been ground dry, and keep light oil in the spindle - it will last forever. Great idea. (of course if it already has wobble and end play, it's all over, because it won't hold an oil film)

late 20s Young perfect

Farace · Post by **Farace** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 11:26 pm

Ron Mc wrote:my friend has been through the phone books in Norwalk and they were never listed as Stuart Mfg. Co. He has an inquiry with the Chamber of Commerce.

City directories can be very helpful, almost certainly more so than the phone book, and larger town libraries often have them on microfilm (Norwalk being a larger town, I'd expect them to have them, perhaps combined with Stamford). There are separate sections listing residents and businesses. A couple of years ago I looked through the city directories for Waterbury, Connecticut and was able to trace the movements of my great-grandfather Luigi and his barbershop around town from about 1904-1922.

Ron Mc · Post by **Ron Mc** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:53 am

I also didn't realize Norwalk was a Stamford suburb - I knew Oronoque was...so Holmes and Stuart could throw rocks at each other.

Farace · Post by **Farace** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 1:41 pm

Ron Mc wrote:I also didn't realize Norwalk was a Stamford suburb - I knew Oronoque was...so Holmes and Stuart could throw rocks at each other.

Norwalk isn't a Stamford suburb, but they're close enough (with only the town of Darien between them) that I could easily see the possibility of the publisher of the city directory lumping them together.

Ed Clark · Post by **Ed Clark** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:32 am

Ron - Oronoque is a suburb of Stratford not Stamford. Oronoque is about 30 miles east of Stamford. If you wanted to check some city directories for Holmes, the closest large city would be Stratford or Bridgeport.

Ron Mc · Post by **Ron Mc** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:09 am

oops - thanks, Ed - it's a long way from home.

Stuart Mfg. Co., Inc Norwalk, Conn.

Stuart Mfg. Co., Inc Norwalk, Conn.

always reed the BOOK!!!