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The world of Old Fishing Reels
..the fishing reel above is a real "antique" reel. It is actually out of my price range but I could afford to have a picture of it... Below is my first old, "vintage" I would say, fishing reel, instead, which I bought to actually save money on my first self-built fishing rod: a Pflueger 510 reel, probably of the mid '70s. I bought it for about 10$ (the postage was nearly have of the amount). When I got it and saw it I fell in love with it immediately. It makes a nice sound like a watch when turning the spool, it works properly and for my (very) modest fishing ambitions is more than suited. I remember I thought, why should I buy a new expensive reel when I can
have a cheaper one like this? Moreover, the value of old reels never drops
(ok, if well maintained and kept in proper working order, I learned).
 After the Pflueger fishing reel , I started collecting Mitchell fishing reels the (originally) French brand, and later D.A.M. fishing reels, a German company.  The most fun part of collecting old fishing reels is to go to garage sales, second-hand shops, flea markets and similar events. I recently got a Mitchell 300 by an old fisherman who stopped fishing, for instance. I really enjoy this kind of activity a lot. However, the most used way to see and purchase old reels and tackles is
nowadays Ebay as you know. A good introduction into the world of collecting old fishing reels can be also a good book:  Antique & Collectible
Fishing Reels: Identification, Evaluation, and Maintenance (Paperback)by Harold
Jellison (Author)
 In
Italian, there is this fabulous and well written book by Giorgio Cavatorti: Canne
e mulinelli da collezione22x24 cm · pp. 192 · cartonato con sovracoperta a coloriPetra
2003 · ISBN 88-87327-01-7 48 Euro +p.p. Now, a little bit of historical background: From the earliest 12th century chinese fishing reel reproduction in a drawing, to the wooden spools of the 17th century in Europe, the actual beginning of the fishing reel was when the object transformed from simple storage device to a casting device probably in the UK in the early 1800s. From then on, American jewelers and craftmen such as George Snyman - who became probably the most famous reel maker of his age - Meek, Milam, Sage, Hardman and Gaylestarted improved the device. It is during this period and probably in the UK firstly that the multiplying reel was invented: a reel that rewinds more line by each simple turn of the handle. The next jump in reel technology was probably achieved in the 1860s in the UK and USA by people like Edward von Hofen, Hardy, Slater and Heaton and later, in the 1950s by French Léon Carpano and Charles Pons who founded the famous Brand MITCHELL. The first spinning reel, is an American invention which was patented
on March 23, 1875 by Thomas Winans and Thomas D. Whistler, of Baltimore, Md,
USA -they got the idea from the...textile industry! TIP!Personally, I learned that for collectors a major threshold is represented by the second World War, the earliest 1800s reels being practically a world apart for their rarity and prices.Fishing reels and fishing equipment around or before the second War World (say before the 50s) were sturdy, well made and expensive because very few people could afford fishing with "modern" equipment. The market was still very small and most the fishing reels were as expensive as say, a bicycle (e.g a good reel in 1912 would cost you $10 to $60, and a workman monthly salary would be about $100!) It might be useful at this moment to have a short break on the topic and have look at this other part of my website where I summarize some advises on old bamboo flyfishing rods and what to look for before buying them.
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