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Old Bamboo Rods: a primer for evaluation
March 2009
Now and then I receive enquiries about the value and/or origin of bamboo rods. So I created this page for people to start building an opinion on their own since I don't consider myself (yet) a specialist in the field but a simple apprentice. However, it must be said that apprasing an old bamboo rod is not easy neither for expert professionals since many variable are involved. A recent (mainly USA oriented) forum* enquiry gave the following listing: TOP TEN ALL TIME BEST BAMBOO RODS MANUFACTURERs:
So this give us a good starting point. Brands which are not included in this first list are considered of lesser quality. An example? For instance, Montague or H-I (Horrock-Ibbotson) are not well considered by collectors because they were produced in large quantities and not with high standards. However, the listing above misses some important, if sometimes less productive, bamboo rod makers and companies such as:Hardy brothers, Pezon and Michel, Vincent Marinaro, Everett Garrison, H.S.Pinky Gillum, Powell, Dickerson, Winston, South Bend, Phillipson and E.W. Edwards.
Hoagy Carmichael showed us, while in Sansepolcro, a Garrison rod in his collection. A very "electric" moment when we could hold it in our hands. (by the way, a Garriosn rod was reportedly sold for $12'000 at an auction!)
Concerning the value of a rod: Value depends upon:
Then, generally speaking another two general rules can be defined:
The numbering is only indicative. I would say that the top 10 are certainly the best ones and that their values would often "blur" together. Each rod should hence be valued by other criteria as well (e.g. condition of the rod, model, rarity).
Of course, as I said, this is only a personal attempt after reading about old bamboo rods and in any case the real value of a bamboo rod is set by the market and the moment. And the value of an old bamboo rod is not only made by its intrinsic value but often by the rarity of the rods which have reached our days. So, both Garrison's, Harold "Pinky" Gillum's, Lile Lynde Dickerson's rod all made very few rods (Everett Garrison made about 650 pieces in his life, and about 25 at most per year) and so their value for collectors is higher, generally speaking. To further extend one's knowledge, you can read some sensible suggestions by Rolf Baginski when buying and old bamboo rod. Finally, one word is due to those Japanese two-pieces cane rods made during the '40s and that many US soldiers brought back home. They are made without splitting the bamboo, so it's really "bamboo" rods from the plant. Their value is only about 5$. CONCLUSIONS: Most vintage bamboo rods are not so valuable and reach a few hundreds dollars at auctions because there were made in the thousands for the mass market (and their quality was rather average or low). Leonards, Orvis rods of the early period, then bamboo rods of the master rod makers of the, 1920s, 1930s - 1960s period like Garrison, Dickerson, Gillum, Payne etc.. are of another category and can reach prices of $1000 - $2000 with some really high prices for Gillum's, Dickerson's, Garrison's rods (up to $20'000 estimated value for a Gillum in 1988). Unique and very rare pieces are then again in another category...and price. *http://clarksclassicflyrodforum.yuku.com
From old bamboo rods to the main vintage fishing tackle webpage
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You will be surprised how many of old cane rods are reasonably low priced, ranging from 200 to 400 USD in average (also at important auction houses like 
Concerning brands and makers, here is an ordered listing according to its cash value that I am trying to represent, Gillum and Garrison being the most expensive (look at a detail of a Garrison rod, the same one I am holding in the picture at the top of this webpage) , South Bend being the low-end. 
