Question
Logo and patent 
Example of wrapping
I went to an antique store today and came across this rod...looks like it was made in 1880's based on the stamping. The rod is in pretty good condition except for the cork grip and the tip section is about 4 inches shorter than the other 2 sections, so I would guess it was broken at some point. I sent you pics already, then saw your website, so posting here as well. The rod is 3 pieces.
AnswerJustin,
It's possible but not likely that the rod was made in 1880. That is a patent date, no body date stamps rods. You rod appears to me to be Tonkin not Calcutta (tiger stripes)cane. That makes it 1920s on. Your hardware is older, true. It could be wood .
Abbey & Imbrie is a name that takes tackle collectors all the way back to shortly after the Civil War. In 1875 L. H. Abbey and C. F. Imbrie merged with the Andrew Clerk & Company, to become Abbey & Imbrie. Andrew Clerk had been in the fishing tackle business since 1820, stayed on for a while and then retired. The A & I famous crossed fishhook Trademark was granted in 1877, and early products usually show this trademark. The gold fish that hung over their door for forty years was a very famous landmark for anglers in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Abbey & Imbrie probably didn't manufacture anything. However, they contracted with some of the better manufacturers to have a full line of fishing products available for customers at their retail store in New York City, and through their mail order catalogs. The reels of Julius vom Hofe, A.F. Meisselbach and probably many other makers were stamped with their name. Lures were manufactured for A&I by Heddon, as well as several others. They had their first rods built by Hiram Leonard, but later rods were manufactured by several different makers. All of this high quality tackle was wholesaled to dealers throughout the east, as well as retailed directly to fishermen.
Abbey & Imbrie was purchased by Horrock's-Ibbotson in the 1930s
Things that would help someone id your rod:
Pictures and descriptions ,both of Labels and Logos.
Length of sections and total length of rod.
Many more pictures.
Pictures of connectors/ferrules
Describe shape i.e. 6 sides ,round
One in particular is Jeff 揋nome?Hatton of Gnomish Rod Works Paonia, CO e-mail
[email protected]
He knows rods before 1930 a whole lot more than me.
He has written a great book "Rod Crafting A Full-Color Pictorial & Written History from 1843-1960 " which I own and has allot of wooden rods in it and he knows these really old rods pretty well. If you contact him tell him Mac from Denver sent you.
Luck,
Mac
Please provide feedback, nominations are appreciated.
