Hardy Brothers "The "Hardy-Marston" Blagdon Rod"
Hardy's have pursued a number of collaborations with notable anglers over the years, and one of the most interesting is a range of rods designed in collaboration with Robert Marston.
Robert Bright Marston
Marston came to prominence 1878 when he purchased a fishing magazine called "The Fishing Gazette". Using the resources of his family's publishing company, he raised the title from obscurity to become the de facto resource for all things piscatorial until it finally faded away in 1962. From the outset, under Marston's editorship, the Gazette's principal focus was coarse fishing but Marston was one of the founder members of the Fly Fishers' Club and articles soon appeared including both fly and sea fishing. It hosted many lively discussions across its letters page, and debuted many writers who went on to become respected angling authors. After Marston's death in 1927 the Gazette continued to be edited by his son, and there are still many fishing today that remember its distinctive blue cover.
His membership of the Fly Fishers Club is testament to Marston's status as an angler, so it is no surprise that he should consult with Hardy's in the design of fishing rods. He was in good company, Viscount Grey, Francis Halford and H. Cholmondeley-Pennell had all given their names to Hardy rods. Marston's contribution was a group of three rods, the "Hardy-Marston" Double-Handed Fly Rod, the "Hardy-Marston" Blagdon rod and the "Hardy-Marston" Dry Fly Rod, all of which appeared in the 1929 catalogue. Graham Turner (Fishing Tackle - A Collector's Guide) cites the Double-Handed and Blagdon rods as having been available from 1928 to 1939. Marston is quoted in the catalogue praising the qualities of the dry fly rod, and the Double-Handed. Of the latter he is quoted as saying:
"...they have certainly made a superb rod with it , and have carried out my instructions to perfection"
Robert Bright Marston
Marston came to prominence 1878 when he purchased a fishing magazine called "The Fishing Gazette". Using the resources of his family's publishing company, he raised the title from obscurity to become the de facto resource for all things piscatorial until it finally faded away in 1962. From the outset, under Marston's editorship, the Gazette's principal focus was coarse fishing but Marston was one of the founder members of the Fly Fishers' Club and articles soon appeared including both fly and sea fishing. It hosted many lively discussions across its letters page, and debuted many writers who went on to become respected angling authors. After Marston's death in 1927 the Gazette continued to be edited by his son, and there are still many fishing today that remember its distinctive blue cover.
His membership of the Fly Fishers Club is testament to Marston's status as an angler, so it is no surprise that he should consult with Hardy's in the design of fishing rods. He was in good company, Viscount Grey, Francis Halford and H. Cholmondeley-Pennell had all given their names to Hardy rods. Marston's contribution was a group of three rods, the "Hardy-Marston" Double-Handed Fly Rod, the "Hardy-Marston" Blagdon rod and the "Hardy-Marston" Dry Fly Rod, all of which appeared in the 1929 catalogue. Graham Turner (Fishing Tackle - A Collector's Guide) cites the Double-Handed and Blagdon rods as having been available from 1928 to 1939. Marston is quoted in the catalogue praising the qualities of the dry fly rod, and the Double-Handed. Of the latter he is quoted as saying:
"...they have certainly made a superb rod with it , and have carried out my instructions to perfection"
The Blagdon Connection
Blagdon Lake, as it came to be called, was formed by the damming of the River Yeo on the edge of the Mendips. The work was undertaken by the Bristol Waterworks Company, which in time became Bristol Water, to supply water to the city of Bristol to the North. Work began in 1898, finally being completed in 1905, although the lake opened to anglers in 1904 and soon established a reputation for monster trout. One of Marston's contemporaries, Jim Bazley, is recorded as having landed trout of 5, 6¼ and 8¼ pounds from the lake. It is probably the size of these fish that defined the design of the Blagdon rod.
Blagdon Lake, as it came to be called, was formed by the damming of the River Yeo on the edge of the Mendips. The work was undertaken by the Bristol Waterworks Company, which in time became Bristol Water, to supply water to the city of Bristol to the North. Work began in 1898, finally being completed in 1905, although the lake opened to anglers in 1904 and soon established a reputation for monster trout. One of Marston's contemporaries, Jim Bazley, is recorded as having landed trout of 5, 6¼ and 8¼ pounds from the lake. It is probably the size of these fish that defined the design of the Blagdon rod.
Hardy's describe the rod thus:
" This model was decided upon after practical tests on Blagdon Lake, and it is particularly suitable for all lakes where fish run to heavy weight. It may be used either single or double-handed, a great relief in a long day's casting, while it is sufficiently powerful to handle large hard-fighting fish"
In many respects the style of the rod belongs to an earlier age. "Lockfast" ferrules, the patent Hardy "bridge guides" and close wrapped intermediates are all redolent of late nineteenth, early twentieth century fashions in rod design, though Hardy was still using Lockfast ferrules into the 1950's. It is features like this that make dating rods from the inter-war years so difficult. Hardy's of course, greatly simplify this issue by marking their rods with serial numbers. This particular example carries the number E15662, a build date of 1929. The handle shape is specific to the Marston rods as indicated in the 1929 catalogue. The example we have here is missing a tip ring, but it does have the benefit of an after-market addition, supplied by Hardy's, in the shape of a shorter spinning tip, sporting the "Tulip" tip ring.
" This model was decided upon after practical tests on Blagdon Lake, and it is particularly suitable for all lakes where fish run to heavy weight. It may be used either single or double-handed, a great relief in a long day's casting, while it is sufficiently powerful to handle large hard-fighting fish"
In many respects the style of the rod belongs to an earlier age. "Lockfast" ferrules, the patent Hardy "bridge guides" and close wrapped intermediates are all redolent of late nineteenth, early twentieth century fashions in rod design, though Hardy was still using Lockfast ferrules into the 1950's. It is features like this that make dating rods from the inter-war years so difficult. Hardy's of course, greatly simplify this issue by marking their rods with serial numbers. This particular example carries the number E15662, a build date of 1929. The handle shape is specific to the Marston rods as indicated in the 1929 catalogue. The example we have here is missing a tip ring, but it does have the benefit of an after-market addition, supplied by Hardy's, in the shape of a shorter spinning tip, sporting the "Tulip" tip ring.
"The rod also benefits from the use of Hardy's Patent "Screw -Grip" reel or winch fitting.
It is hard to think that something as obvious as a screw fitting reel seat could be the subject of a patent, but everything was new at unusual at some time. The text describes how the internal thread of the locking-collar can also be used to engage the reel seat itself, threaded to the same pitch. This explains why certain Hardy reel feet are ridged, it was done to work with these reel seats. |
Even in this day and age, "The Fishing Gazette" remains a valuable source of information for anyone interested in vintage fishing tackle. The adverts alone offer a wealth of information, not just about tackle items and retailers, but also other aspects of social history. In the days before online forums, the letters page was the arena for many lively discussions including some famous exchanges, such as the arguments about close imitation versus impressionism in trout flies.
You can pick up individual copies, small groups or even bound editions, usually from the 1950's, but a bound volume from the 1920's can be obtained in pdf format HERE Another insight into the pages of the Gazette can be found in an excellent book written by Geoffrey Bucknall. "The Bright Stream of Memory" offers an easily read, enjoyable digest of some of the more significant material published in the Gazette. The book is currently out of print but secondhand copies can be obtained fairly readily |