Thomas Turner
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What seems like a lifetime ago I wrote Rosewood to Revolution for the wood and Aerial reel collectors and Understanding Threadlines for the spinning reel brigade. The missing link, British Brass Reels started, stopped, restarted, stalled then came to a halt.
A collection of early Irish tackle bought by Thomas Turner reminded me I have a good resource of information already collated on the brass reel. Time to dig.
I haven’t seen this box of research for a good 20+ years and it’s refreshing to go through it looking for snippets to use.
The interesting part of the TT Irish collection is the spike fitting winches we have listed for sale.
Research was extremely difficult 30 years ago but easier now with the internet yielding almost everything. Whilst I have enough information to create the framework of the book, it needs considerable effort to make it happen.
A good starting point for the spike fitting winch is c 1780. A couple of photographs on this working document show an early spike from my dearly departed collection of some 1600 reels.
I have always used the rule, the more iron on a reel the older it is. Whilst not fool proof, it’s a good guide for the early brass collector. Heavy uneven hand formed brass side plates, steel bridge and hand cut threads with iron clock maker pins are all signs of an early example. What is considered early? It’s the mid-1700s in my mind but I’m open to persuasion otherwise.
Scotland favoured the wooden pirn with a saddle through which the rod butt was jammed. They did feature brass spike and collar winches but were less prevalent than the English and Irish makers. I have an illustration somewhere c 1780 of a kilted Scotsman using one with a belly pirn. Basically, the same pirn but worn about the waist on a belt free from the rod. The 1913 anglers guide from Alex Martin of Glasgow reprinted an interesting collection of wooden Scottish Pirns, the dictionary definitionbeing a reel or bobbin. The spike fitting Pirn is a rarity, and an early foot blade Nottingham reel throws in a date wobbly. This opens a new discussion relating to what came first. Bit of a chicken and egg scenario.
Robert Venables, Experienced Angler 1662 clearly shows a collar winch of brass, maybe wood. The Complete Angler collage of 1760 shows a well-engineered collar or clamp winch. Salters anglers guide of 1814 (below) shows a single action collar fitting reel and a multiplier example. Both have pierced foot or collar fittings to stitch a leather pad preventing them from shifting on the rod handle.
There are many early books and adverts showing collars and clamps but very few with spike reels.
Generally, spikes are referred to as Irish patterns and any named examples we find tend to have Dublin, Belfast and surrounding area retailers. Flint, Weeks and Sons, Ettingsall, Kelly and others from Dublin. O’ Shaughnessy of Limerick plus Lydon, Rogan, J.O Harrold of Malow and more from neighbouring counties all contributing.
C. Laight, Edward Street Works, Redditch produced an illustrated catalogue c 1880 showing many forms of brass reels. Oddly these colour plates appear to be the same as those in the Smith & Wall catalogue of the same date, cross marketing at its best. What you will see is that both spike and collar winches are very much still in the game 100 years on. However, if you look closely the manufacturing quality is very much finer than the early iron clad spike winch above. Notably on Plate 4 at the bottom left is a plate wind reel which is virtually identical to our Weeks of Dublin spike variety. A transitional reel I’m sure.
USA and Europe contributed a good selection of lightweight collar winches as late as 1920. Dam Germany, Meisselbach USA both featured clamps and collars for over 50 years.
Where does this end? Andrew Race is compiling a book on Rueben Heaton of Birmingham. This will shine a light on brass reels and the association with Ryder will provide more information for the collectors to form an opinion. In the meantime, I’m going through the box file unearthing more gems for blogs and articles.
The post Random Spike fitting winch thoughts. appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...
A collection of early Irish tackle bought by Thomas Turner reminded me I have a good resource of information already collated on the brass reel. Time to dig.
I haven’t seen this box of research for a good 20+ years and it’s refreshing to go through it looking for snippets to use.
The interesting part of the TT Irish collection is the spike fitting winches we have listed for sale.
Research was extremely difficult 30 years ago but easier now with the internet yielding almost everything. Whilst I have enough information to create the framework of the book, it needs considerable effort to make it happen.
A good starting point for the spike fitting winch is c 1780. A couple of photographs on this working document show an early spike from my dearly departed collection of some 1600 reels.
I have always used the rule, the more iron on a reel the older it is. Whilst not fool proof, it’s a good guide for the early brass collector. Heavy uneven hand formed brass side plates, steel bridge and hand cut threads with iron clock maker pins are all signs of an early example. What is considered early? It’s the mid-1700s in my mind but I’m open to persuasion otherwise.
Scotland favoured the wooden pirn with a saddle through which the rod butt was jammed. They did feature brass spike and collar winches but were less prevalent than the English and Irish makers. I have an illustration somewhere c 1780 of a kilted Scotsman using one with a belly pirn. Basically, the same pirn but worn about the waist on a belt free from the rod. The 1913 anglers guide from Alex Martin of Glasgow reprinted an interesting collection of wooden Scottish Pirns, the dictionary definitionbeing a reel or bobbin. The spike fitting Pirn is a rarity, and an early foot blade Nottingham reel throws in a date wobbly. This opens a new discussion relating to what came first. Bit of a chicken and egg scenario.
Robert Venables, Experienced Angler 1662 clearly shows a collar winch of brass, maybe wood. The Complete Angler collage of 1760 shows a well-engineered collar or clamp winch. Salters anglers guide of 1814 (below) shows a single action collar fitting reel and a multiplier example. Both have pierced foot or collar fittings to stitch a leather pad preventing them from shifting on the rod handle.
There are many early books and adverts showing collars and clamps but very few with spike reels.
Generally, spikes are referred to as Irish patterns and any named examples we find tend to have Dublin, Belfast and surrounding area retailers. Flint, Weeks and Sons, Ettingsall, Kelly and others from Dublin. O’ Shaughnessy of Limerick plus Lydon, Rogan, J.O Harrold of Malow and more from neighbouring counties all contributing.
C. Laight, Edward Street Works, Redditch produced an illustrated catalogue c 1880 showing many forms of brass reels. Oddly these colour plates appear to be the same as those in the Smith & Wall catalogue of the same date, cross marketing at its best. What you will see is that both spike and collar winches are very much still in the game 100 years on. However, if you look closely the manufacturing quality is very much finer than the early iron clad spike winch above. Notably on Plate 4 at the bottom left is a plate wind reel which is virtually identical to our Weeks of Dublin spike variety. A transitional reel I’m sure.
USA and Europe contributed a good selection of lightweight collar winches as late as 1920. Dam Germany, Meisselbach USA both featured clamps and collars for over 50 years.
Where does this end? Andrew Race is compiling a book on Rueben Heaton of Birmingham. This will shine a light on brass reels and the association with Ryder will provide more information for the collectors to form an opinion. In the meantime, I’m going through the box file unearthing more gems for blogs and articles.
The post Random Spike fitting winch thoughts. appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...