I’ve was so caught up in all the election mayhem I forgot to post our weekly Cast From The Past yesterday.
A.J. Campbell shot this photograph of an early fly rod from H.L. Leonard of Bangor, Maine in a canoe at a Maine brook trout pond, along with some early Leonard reels and a very rare underhammer Leonard pistol, circa 1850s.
Maine was an early hotbed for fly rod makers including Hiram Leonard of Bangor, Charles Wheeler of Farmington, and Fred Thomas, apprentice to Leonard and founder of the F.W. Thomas Rod Company. A.J. Campbell researched and wrote extensively about the Maine makers in his book “Classic and Antique Fly Tackle: A Guide for Collectors and Anglers” in 1997.
The rod was made with a greenheart butt and midsections and split bamboo tips, circa 1877. The H.L. Leonard bi-metal and Philbrook and Payne reel with the marbleized side plates is from a similar period, one of great early innovation in rod, reel and gun making.
Francis J. Philbrook was a gunsmith’s machinist in Bangor, Maine when he assigned over his key patent related to the first American-made raised-pillar reel to Hiram Leonard. Philbrook and Ed Payne then went on to manufacture the reels for Leonard. The unique marbleized face and side plates on the reel were produced in a special process with a unique mud-based red and black pigment.
Maine was an early hotbed for fly rod makers including Hiram Leonard of Bangor, Charles Wheeler of Farmington, and Fred Thomas, apprentice to Leonard and founder of the F.W. Thomas Rod Company.
Steve Woit is the author of “Fly Fishing Treasures: The World of Fly Fishers and Collecting”, a book featuring profiles of 30 experts and collectors and over 800 photographs of rare and collectible fly rods, reels, flies, books, and ephemera.
Hi there. I’m looking for some information on the Leonard under hammer pistol. A friend of mine just sent me a photo of one that looks identical to the one in the photo by A.J Campbell. It is also stamped HL Leonard.