The end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth saw the emergence of many of the forms we recognise in the tackle we use today. The various compromises of the early nineteenth century, such as clamp foot, or spike foot reels, gave way to more conventional solutions like the reel foot. Crankwind reels persisted for a while, some even into the modern era, but new solutions like the platewind or "Birmingham" style reel became popular, and cage and drum reels, very much in the modern style, soon followed.
Three little crankwind reels from the second half of the nineteenth century and beyond. The middle reel with its bone handle is perhaps the most typical. Reels of this pattern are believed to have been made by specialist tackle makers, a trade that emerged in the seventeenth century, and also by clockmakers and gunsmiths. Although lacking any trace of a check, the side plates are decoratively chased, and the whole thing has a sense of neat quality. The smaller reel on the right has fared less well over the years, having lost its horn or bone handle, and also its bronze finish, which is still visible on the spool. What is interesting is that it has an antifoul rim, designed to prevent line getting caught under the handle, and it's from this development that I believe platewind reels evolved, the circular front plate making line tangles almost impossible. The reel on the far left is by Allcock's of Redditch. Allcock's were one of a group of influential makers in the Redfditch area, many with well known names such as Young's and Milwards. Once famous for making sewing needles, Redditch became a centre for the manufacture of fishhooks (Walton gives instructions for making needles into hooks in "The Compleat Angler") and many companies branched out into making larger items of tackle. This single crank reel was complemented or perhaps superseded by a version with a balanced crank and optional check.
A typical "Birmingham" style 2½"platewind reel of all brass construction, with a horn handle and fixed check. Reels of this type were made in a range of sizes and in large numbers, many in small workshops around the Birmingham area. One of the most prolific makers was the firm of Reuben Heaton, and this reel is likely to be an example of their work. Although I still believe this to be the successor to the crankwind reels above, H. Cholmondley-Pennell, a significant writer and innovator in all aspects of angling, wrote during the 1880's that he believed the crank to be a superior design, citing considerations of weight. To this extent he designed his own "perfect Pennell reel", manufactured by Farlow's of The Strand in London, with a crankwind handle.
The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw a number of regional styles in reel design. Many of these were defined by purpose, the "Scarborough" reel was a large, fearsome, wooden spooled reel designed for sea fishing, the "Nottingham" reel, popularised by Slater's of Newark, was a turned wood centrepin, suited to match and coarse fishing. We have already considered the so called "Birmingham" reel, but here is an example of a Scottish contribution to the family, a "Perth" style reel, although there is an irony to be discovered here. "Perth" reels are associated with the firm of P. D . Malloch, an important name in the history of Scottish fishing. Made of both brass and hardwood, it is easy to see a heritage in clockmaking or similar trades in the making of these reels. Although definitely a Perth style reel, this example has a number of features that disqualify it from being made by Malloch. The oiling apertures, front and back, for example. As far as is know, Malloch-made reels don't have this feature. This reel also has a number of "artisan marks". These marks were made by the craftsman making the reel, usually in the form of Roman numerals, - these were much easier to scribe than conventional Arabic numbers because they are composed of straight lines. Each reel component carried the same number, allowing the parts of an individual reel to be kept together during the manufacturing process. The practice is characteristic of Reuben Heaton and the other Birmingham area workshops, but have also been found on reels from other locations, including Malloch-made reels. Both Heaton and the Newark based David Slater also made large numbers of the wooden strap- and star-backed "Nottingham" reels, so would have been familiar with turning reel cases in hardwood.
In some ways very similar to the "Perth" style reel above, this reel has front and back plates composed of "Ebonite". This material found a variety of uses, and a corresponding variety of names. Essentially it is a highly vulcanised form of rubber with many useful properties. It is durable, can be machined relatively easily, is light in weight and, considering it is rubber, remarkably hard. The same material, as "Vulcanite", was used to make pipestems until it was superseded by modern developments in acrylic resins. Perhaps the most famous of these brass and ebonite reels was David Slater of Newark's "SEJ" Fly Fishers' Winch, which is a very handsome looking example of this pattern. The reel illustrated here may well again be a product of Heaton's workshops.
This brass and aluminium alloy reel follows a similar pattern to the "Perth" style reels above, with only the foot and front plate being made of brass. The rest of the reel is aluminium alloy, with a horn handle, which all goes to make a very attractive reel. These are often referred to as "Hercules" pattern reels. Inside the front plate of this reel there is a set of artisan marks suggesting this might be yet another Heaton product, although similar marks were used by other makers. The frequent appearance of reels made by Reuben Heaton is no great surprise as they were hugely prolific makers, selling only to the tackle trade and supplying many well known retailers. This reel bears a strong resemblance to one marked for Ogden Smith featured in Phill Waller's excellent second volume on the collecting of fishing reels.
Definitely a Reuben Heaton product, these "Jardine" reels are both easily recognised and very pretty. The original Jardine patent referred to a trotting reel produced with a perforated spool and no handle, but for some reason the name came to be associated with these perforated, ebonite backed fly reels. Heaton's also applied for a patent for a spindleless caged arbour, made up of brass struts, and reels with this feature carry the corresponding patent number 18817 from 1888. As you can see from the side view, this reel has both the caged arbour and a central spindle, so - no patent number. The spindleless arbour and the perforated sideplates were intended to admit more air and aid in drying the line. Lines of this period were made of braided silk and required considerable care and maintenance. In many cases it was considered necessary periodically to stop fishing altogether, strip the line from the reel and drape it over the nearest convenient bush thoroughly to dry, before resuming casting.(see Rods with "butt spears")
Many new technologies begin by imitating the technology they are replacing. If you need evidence of this, have a look at the earliest motor cars. These are all platewind reels, made in the same pattern as the brass reel above, but this time in aluminium. Other than the change in material, they are constructed in exactly the same way, with front and back plates, a separate spool, a winding plate and pillars secured by either screws or rivets. They have even been chemically treated to give them a bronzed appearance, much as many brass reels were chemically darkened. All these reels date from the second decade of the twentieth century, although they remained in the manufacturer's catalogue into the thirties.
An early cage and drum reel, made in aluminium alloy. Early excursions into aluminium used the same pattern as the platewind reel, as you can see in the examples above, but the discovery of electrical smelting made the material available in greater quantities, and soon reels were being made by first casting the basic components, then machining them to the required finish and tolerances. This pattern of a reel cage with a drum or spool fitted with a handle and rotating on a fixed spindle became the core model for almost all mainstream fly reels from the period of the First World War onward. This particular reel, although you can see artisan marks in the detail view, is possibly by Smith & Wall, another supplier to the retail trade, working out of Birmingham. I am convinced that one of the reasons cage and drum reels only appeared in the twentieth century is the presence of the Moscrop Patent of 1888. Moscrop devised the two-part pattern of cage and drum for his Manchester reel and patented the idea, the patent for which expired in 1902.
As I've been working on this page and reviewing it, it seems that what has evolved is almost a timeline of reel patterns from the middle of the nineteenth century to the start of World War One, all neatly culminating in the prototype modern reel, the cage and drum pattern. Then I remembered this.... There's always one isn't there, the aberration that makes your neatly reasoned arrangement redundant? This is the three part reel, a pattern that has elements of both the platewind and the cage and drum reel. Now if this had been a mere "flash in the pan", a transitional stage between the two types that briefly appeared then faded into history, that would be fine, but there is one example of the three part reel, originated by Hardy Brothers in Alnwick, perhaps the most revered and famous tackle maker, that defies all this. I am talking of the Hardy Perfect, of course, introduced in its earliest form in the 1890's. A groundbreaking design in so many ways, the Perfect is still in production, albeit greatly evolved from the original model. Hardy Perfects are much in demand and I don't have an example to show you, but the reel illustrated here is one of a similar pattern made by Young's of Redditch. Perfect style reels were made by Young's, Dingley and possibly another maker, yet to be pinned down (Ed. This other maker turned out to be Smith & Wall and you can read about their three-part reel here), but they all follow a similar pattern. Almost like a platewind reel with no back plate, the spool, or drum is exposed at the back of the reel, and the front is secured, like a platewind, with a winding plate. Many of these reels also adopted the Hardy innovation of a ball race for the spool bearing.
One aspect of almost all reels made in this period is that they were built to operate as right hand wind only. This fact may well puzzle modern anglers who are accustomed to casting right handed and winding with their (free) left hand, although there are still some fishers who favour the traditional method of casting, then moving the rod to the left hand in order to wind in. It is possible that this historical right hand wind bias may be a relic of the use of very long, two handed rods even for relatively light tackle trout fishing, a practise that faded with shorter, lighter rods and the growing fashion for dry fly fishing and a more recognisably modern style of casting, - something that I hope to be able to explore in the Rods section of the site.
One aspect of almost all reels made in this period is that they were built to operate as right hand wind only. This fact may well puzzle modern anglers who are accustomed to casting right handed and winding with their (free) left hand, although there are still some fishers who favour the traditional method of casting, then moving the rod to the left hand in order to wind in. It is possible that this historical right hand wind bias may be a relic of the use of very long, two handed rods even for relatively light tackle trout fishing, a practise that faded with shorter, lighter rods and the growing fashion for dry fly fishing and a more recognisably modern style of casting, - something that I hope to be able to explore in the Rods section of the site.