The reel is a size 6/0, 4¼ inches diameter, and capable of holding 600 yards of line. This size is just about big enough to be called a big game reel.

Mitchel- Henry Reel

 
The first time was at the Moor Allen auction last February. I decided to leave a bid on it and check it out fully when I had won the item.

I was disappointed to discover that I had been outbid. After talking to a few friends about the reel I was kicking myself for missing out on it.

Last October the reel turned up at Holt’s auction and again I missed it as I did not know about it. It then turned up at the Mullock Madeley auction and I was able to acquire it. 

The reel as shown in the pictures was an Edward Vom Hofe and at first sight I thought that it was a model 501 that had been “messed” about with. However upon closer inspection more details were noted and opinions drawn.

I did try to contact Steve Brown, currently involved in writing a book on the Vom Hofe family, but he was away fishing. Undoubtedly he will pick me up if I have made some mistakes.

The questions that need answering are

How old is the reel?

What model was the reel?

What were the modifications for?

Who carried them out?

The conclusion that I drew was that this reel was a non standard Edward Vom Hofe reel modified by Lorenzo Mitchell-Henry one of the greatest big game fishermen and tackle inventors.

Edward vom Hofe model 501 from the 1908 catalogue.

 
The picture of the model 501 from the 1908 catalogue shows the anti- reverse stud in the 8 o’clock position. The Mitchell-Henry reel has this stud in the just after the 12 o’clock position. Also note that the like the 1908 example the Mitchell-Henry reel has the small sliding button to activate the anti reverse.

This was changed to a thumb lever shortly after the reels were launched but the illustrations were not updated.

The end cap on the face plate has a makers name and the 1902 patent date. This patent was for an adjustable friction drag that was adjusted by a wrench that fitted in to one of three holes. These were situated on the spindle between the face plate and the handle. By about 1916 this had been replaced by a star drag.

The reel foot has the number 849 stamped on it. This was either the model number or a serial number and is found only on the early reels of the twentieth century. We can therefore say that the reel was made between 1902 and 1916.

The anti-reverse stud was fitted to reels that had no internal anti-reverse pawl. However this reel does have the anti-reverse pawl fitted. I think that it is safe to say that this reel was originally a model 501 with two factory fitted differences, the position of the anti-reverse stud and the fitting of the anti-reverse pawl.

The majority of reel makers were not adverse to making special order and one off reels.

The back plate of the reel showing the screw tension adjuster brake pad and brass lined wheel.

 When we look at the back plate of the reel it looks like nothing that the Vom Hofe family had ever made. It is in fact very similar to the Mitchell-Henry reels that were introduced in 1927 under patent 299,933. Only in this case the small brake handle has been replaced with a 6½ inch long handle.
 

The brake pad acts on a brass wheel and this pad can be adjusted by the tension screw. Because the handle acts as a lever against the fulcrum and provides a powerful brake capable of stopping most fish.

Mitchell-Henry left explaining the workings of his reel to Harlan Major

The book Salt Water Fishing Tackle by Harlan Major has a picture of the author being shown the Mitchell-Henry reel by the inventor. This was written in 1939 and I believe that the picture was taken in the early 1930’s

Close up of the Mitchell-Henry reel.

The second thing that points to Mitchell-Henry is the handle it is made from Tufnol the brand name for linen shellac laminate.

This material was invented in 1929 and Mitchell-Henry did produce a reel made from this material in 1939. It is known that in the late 1930’s he was turning reels from this material possibly experimenting in reducing the weight of reels.

The brake handle fixed through the end plates to the reel foot.

To conclude I think that he bought or acquired the reel from Vom Hofe sometime around 1910 when he was a regular visitor to American water. With the advances in saltwater fishing tackle it would have soon been discarded.

After about 20 years he took the reel removed the ebonite handle and replaced it with a Tufnol one. He then fitted the brake mechanism that he had invented and patented in 1927.

What he now had was a reel suitable for catching smaller game fish rather than the leviathans that his normal reels would tackle with a powerful brake system.

Bottom of the reel and reel foot.

Edward vom Hofe Advert 1910

The Edward Vom Hofe tackle company was without doubt one of the worlds greatest. As reel makers they  were on a par with Hardy, Slater and Heaton.

Their catalogues contained vast quantities of tackle that could be split into the following categories; rods,  fishing accessories, reels made by other makers and their  own made reels. This article will concentrate on the reels that they made themselves.

The Vom Hofe family originally came from Germany with the father, Frederick, arriving in America via Ellis Island in 1847. He settled in Brooklyn in an area known as “little Germany” and the following year the rest of the family joined him. Two of his sons, Julius born in 1836 and Edward Charles, born in 1839, were destined to become reel makers.

It is  possible that the father started making reels in 1857, his son  Julius claiming in later catalogues that he had been making reels “since 1857”.

In 1867 Julius Vom Hofe, residing at 230 Graham Avenue, Brooklyn, New York,  took out the patent for improving the running of a  reel and reducing potential rattle in the reel. This improvement was by means of a rigidly secured  bridge with a tube going through it which formed the bearing for the drive shaft. The end of the tube was threaded to take a cap cover in order to oil the reel.  This was the same year that  Edward claimed to start his own tackle business at 102 Fulton Street, New York.

In 1880 he moved the business to 97 Fulton Street and about the same time his brother Julius set out on  his own, making reels not only for himself but for other retail outlets.

The company entered only two exhibitions resulting in two gold medals.

The first catalogue that I have is for 1889 showing the address as 95 and 97 Fulton Street. In the introduction he claims to have been making tackle for 25 years giving the start up date of the business as 1864. He points out the fact, that like many of the famous reel makers, he was a practical fisherman. Consequently he knew what the anglers requirement for tackle was. 

This illustration was used on the back of all theEdward Vom Hofe Catalogues from 1889

I think that  this would be a good point to mention reel size’s. Not all parts of the world follow the same system, with some adopting a number to indicate a size and some the actual size in inches.

The table in the next column gives the sizes used by Edward Vom Hofe throughout his catalogues and the corresponding size in inches.  It also gives the recommended line capacity used on various reels.  

Sizes

This has to be interpreted because obviously the 16/0 was capable of holding miles of ultra fine line, but you could not land a tarpon on ½lbs. breaking strain line.

It must also be remembered that like many manufacturers at the time they were quite prepared to make special order reels and special sizes. There are two sizes not on the list because they do not feature regularly. The size 20/0  reel was in fact the same size as the 16/0 but with a wider spool.

Size 5/0 was the early offering  for the  Restigouche at 4¼  inches but this was later moved up to a 6/0. There is a Tobique size 5/0 in Angling Auctions but I am assuming that this was a special order as it is not catalogued. One other possibility is that it was made in the 1950’s by the Ocean City Tackle Manufacturing company based in Philadelphia that took over the Edward  Vom Hofe name.

The first reels that were catalogued did not have a model name but a number. This practice was continued in later years  even after  reels had been given model names.

These model numbers  also helps in dating reels. The very first reels did not have the model number or size stamped on the foot. The only way to date the reel would be by the use of various patent stamps and examples that have surfaced with presentation dates on them.

This does prevent problems, because unlike Britain where a patent stamp is only applied for 16 years, in America reels sold in the 1920’s would still be showing the 1896 patent stamp.

One possible explanation given to me is that the oil port covers could have been made in large quantities and not used for many years.

That however does not explain everything.  I have seen reels with the 1902 patent date and the Philadelphia makers mark. They moved to this location in 1940.

It is almost certain that Edward started off making reels similar to his Father and older brother. There are examples of his reels with his brothers patent of 1867 stamped on the oil ports. The idea of stamping the Edward Vom Hofe name on the oil ports has, during the passage of time,  almost become his trade mark. The one thing that was to set him apart from other makers was his use of the material Ebonite and German Silver.

Introduced in the early 1870’s  these would be the predominant materials used, almost to the exclusion of all other, for the rest of the company’s life.

Now this would be a good time to clarify what these materials are. Edward Vom Hofe called the materials “extra fine quality hard rubber and German Silver”. Later in another catalogue this would be  described as having been turned on a special lathe from “solid gutta percha blocks”.  This is the same description used by Otto Zwarg in his 1947 catalogue. 

Gutta Percha was the material also used in the manufacture of early lures and golf balls. I have also heard it described as Vulcanised Hard Rubber and what in England is termed as Ebonite. I decided that a day at the local university library would clear up what the materials actually were.

It certainly was not Gutta Percha. This natural rubber comes  from a family of trees native to Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra. The rubber is produced by maceration of the leaves with hot water. This rubber is not suitable for use in the making of fishing reels.

Hard Rubber can also be called Ebonite or Vulcanite both names are correct. Having used the name Ebonite for many years now I shall continue to do so. 

It is formed by prolonged vulcanisation of rubber with sulphur. This is an extension of the technique used to manufacture car tyres, only more sulphur and heat being applied.  It is still manufactured today but is losing out to the new synthetic plastic resins. It’s desirable properties are hardness,  chemical resistance, ease of machining and attractive appearance when polished.

It’s main disadvantage is the fact that it can discolour in exposure to air and water, a costly lesson I learnt many years ago when I washed solvent off of an ebonite  reel in warm water, only to watch in horror as it turned a chocolate brown. It is also susceptible to brittleness, most of us have seen Ebonite reels with cracks where the screws have been overtightened or the reel dropped. With the addition of various pigments different colours can be produced.

I have read that the best reels had parts that were  turned  rather than cast, this is I believe a fallacy. All reels were made from turned sheets of ebonite. Any other method would be just too costly, the production of ebonite is a long slow process. Mouldings would only be suitable for large batch produced items, such as smoking pipe stems or tool handles.

German Silver or Nickel Silver are both the same thing. It is an alloy made from copper, nickel and zinc and can exists in a variety of forms from 60 – 65% copper, 7 – 30% nickel and the balance zinc. German silver of the type used in the manufacture of fishing reels is the same as that  used in the jewellery trade for the manufacture of articles to be plated such as tableware, costume jewellery and hollow ware. The composition of this alloy is 65% copper, 18% nickel and 17% zinc. The addition of nickel to copper has a whitening effect changing the colour from a yellow white to  pure white once 15% has been added. This material is ideal for marine fittings. So we have two materials both corrosion resistant, good looking and  relatively easy to work – ideal for making high class fishing tackle.

Edward Vom Hofe Logo

The first patent granted to Edward was in September 1879 for a  tension device. This consisted of a  wheel that acted on a bow spring that in turn acted on the spool. By increasing the tension the resistance on the spool would cause a running fish to slow. This patent number  is seldom seen stamped on reels but the invention, in it’s various forms, was used  on the majority  of all reels that the company made.

The first reels in the  1889 catalogue  were two reels described as his “Celebrated Trout and Bass Fly Reel” available in five sizes, ‘S’ shaped handle, steel cogs and springs and E.Vom Hofe’s sliding click drag, Patented Jan. 23 1883. The sizes were 5, 4, 3½, 3 and 2. The model numbers were 350 and 355, the difference being that the 355 was bound with German silver around the rims. This reel was also offered in aluminium as a special order for those who could afford to pay for it.

It must be remembered that at this particular time aluminium was a scarce and valuable material and was used to make reels  even lighter The 355 would in later years be called the Peerless, one of the world greatest and most desirable fly reels.

It is  strange  that the patent granted on January 23 1883 was awarded as there were certainly many other makers, not only in America but also in England who were using this device on their reels. Despite this  Edward’s  application  was successful,  the reason being that he claimed  some subtle changes.

The illustration on the preceding page shows a reel being held in the left hand with the thumb positioned ready to use the check button. Edward claimed that by positioning the check button on that side and the handle on the other the fisherman could control the winding handle with his free hand. This was the combination that Edward claimed was so unique that it deserved it’s own patent.

The idea was that if a fish was hooked the fisherman could engage the check on the reel with his thumb whilst holding the rod. Alternatively, he could disengage the check with his thumb or finger if he wished to do so. The construction of the check springs were the same as he had used on the 1879 patent.

The next two reels were designated the 403 and 413 Salmon and Grilse  Click Reel and available in three sizes. These were 3/0, 4/0 and 5/0 and differ from the sizes shown in the table. The 3/0 was 3¾ inch, 4/0  4 inches and 5/0 4¹/8  inches. Line capacities were 75, 100 and 125 yards. These sizes would only be used for a few years changing around the turn of the century. The 413 was nickel silver bound and the 403 would only last for a few years before being dropped.

The next reel was the famous  model 423 and was the only reel in the catalogue that boasted both the 1879 and 1883 patents. The tension wheel on the first model was operated by means of a pin-in-detent but this proved clumsy and was replaced with a  wheel. The full description was the “Celebrated” Salmon and Grilse Click Reel and, like the 403 and 413 was offered in the same sizes.

Model 423 Restigouche with pin-in-detent adjustable drag.

It also had an extra roller pillar fitted back and front to protect the fly line. The 5/0 at the time  sold for $35, an astronomical price for fishing reel. Compare this  with the all brass Hardy Perfect of the same size which sold for £2 : 5 shillings. This reel in later years would be called the Restigouche and  was the best selling of any of the E.V. Hofe’s reels manufactured.

Edward Vom Hofe model 464 Regal reel.

So far all the reels mentioned were fly reels with single action. The next section covered the multiplying reels. First of  these were model numbers 454 and 464. The difference again being that 464 had German silver bound rims. These were called the “Celebrated” Black Bass Reels and were in four sizes 4, 3½, 3,  and 2. One feature mentioned for the first time was the sliding oil cap, another  being  the balanced handle. Later the 464 would be called the Regal. The multiplying ratio was 3 to 1, very free running and  was designed for minnow casting.

Edward vom Hofe model 471 Pasque with no German silver binding.

Model 471 and 481 had the same name, the  “Celebrated Stripped Bass and Tarpon Reel” available in four sizes 1/0, 2/0, 3/0 and 4/0. Like the Regal they offered the sliding oil cap, ‘S’ shaped balanced handle and a multiplying ration of about 3 to 1. Another feature was the handle that could be screwed off. 

The size 4/0 was the reel that had been specially adapted for Tarpon fishing being lighter and stronger than any other reel offered by the competition. The 471 was without the nickel silver binding and would like all the other reels with no binding  be dropped from the catalogues early in the  20th. century.

The 481 was  later be designated the Pasque. It appears the only difference between the Pasque and the Regal was the size. Both reels had exactly the same feature and both claimed to be free running, strong and light.

The last reel in the catalogue was the model 501 the “Celebrated ‘Star’ Rubber Reel” and was available in sizes 1/0, 2/0, 3/0 and 4/0 This was also the most expensive with the smallest costing $32 and the 4/0 selling for $43. The model was also  the first reel to be referenced  by it’s name rather than the model number. It certainly was the “star” reel in his catalogue. Edward claimed in 1889 to have been making this reel for twenty years. This would give a date of 1869, but was he using ebonite for it’s construction?

This was first and foremost a sea reel that had during it’s twenty year life, been subjected to various improvements. It was also the only reel in the catalogue that was “manufactured for my custom trade”.  It would in the forthcoming years see many more improvements.

In 1896 Edward applied for, and was granted, a patent for an automatic tension drag also called the universal drag. This was a major improvement in fishing reels. It was operated by a simple lever throw mounted on the top of the backplate of  the reel. The beauty of this invention was that as soon as a running fish set off,  the drag could be applied by pushing the lever. When retrieving line the drag was inoperable. This drag could be adjusted on the single action reels but  on the multipliers was either on or off.

In May 1902 Edward’s last and most significant patent was granted. This was for “The Edward Vom Hofe Adjustable Friction Drag”. Designed to overcome a major problem in big game fishing, that of applying too much pressure in trying to land a fish.

The angler would control the fish by applying  pressure via the  bending   rod and  had no need to touch the reel. Once the pre set tension had been reached and the angler continued to bend the rod,  the reel would automatically release  line. With the fish running the winding handle would stay still. Prior to this the handle would have whirled around with the angler attempting frantically to try and stop  the fish running and the handle turning. One story is that Edward invented this after having his  fingers broken trying to stop a running fish!

To adjust this drag a key was supplied  and the reel adjusted accordingly.

In the 1907 catalogue the model 350 had been dropped. The 355 had two  sizes added, the 1 and 1/0. The silent tension drag was also added and the aluminium version was now held in stock rather than special orders.

A new introduction was  destined to be a classic, the model 360, later to be called the Perfection. This reel was offered in seven sizes 5, 4, 3½, 3, 2, 1, and 1/0.

The full description was ‘The “Edward Vom Hofe” “Celebrated” Trout and Black Bass Fly Reels with Adjustable Automatic Silent Tension Drag.  Extra Fine Quality Rubber and German Silver, with German Silver Safety Bands. ‘S’ Shaped Handle, Steel Clogs and Springs, E. vom Hofe’s Sliding Click Drag.” The reels were also made in aluminium and available from stock.

Model 360 Perfection fly reel with adjustable drag.

In the next part we will continue with the story of the Edward Vom Hofe Company and show how to correctly date the reels.