Interesting article on Herters

[Bill Charles]

https://www.startribune.com/herter-s-ca ... 291167741/

[VanfromMaine]

I'm still tying flies with my Herters vice!

[kimk]

I was one of those young boys who read every word on every page. Bought a few low cost items, and soon discovered that some things, like the Herters brand spinning lures were -- well kinda cheap.
In 1970 I bought a Herters/BSA rifle in 30-06. And while I did not field test it on "five continents", it did take it's share of whitetails. It is now on a rather permanent loan to my oldest son.
AgMD

[chsparkman]

Growing up in the desert southwest and the only fly tyer in my valley, the Herter's catalog was a great escape. I could never afford to buy anything from it, except a materials dying kit with some birthday money when I was 13. I used it to dye fox and rabbit furs that I hunted with my .22. Fond memories, but glad we have access to so much more these days.

[woody osborne]

i still have an el cheapo vise and a plastic bobbin. apparently they were world beaters.'
i believe i also have a couple of the Herter’s Olson Minnows, some of herter's (Mustad3)551 trebles and a couple of their knockoff hellbender blanks. all pre-1980. how i enjoyed being an outdoorsman through those catalogs!!!!!!

[Webfly]

Wow, good article. Didn’t know that he was a WWII veteran and a recluse. Always wondered why such a successful name just kinda fell off the face of the earth.

[joaniebo]

I still have an old Herters catalog and page through it every now and then to make me feel young(er) again.

Bob

[dave potts]

I'm reminded of a trip my wife and I and another couple took to upper Minnesota many years ago. We were headed to Mille Lacs for some R&R and fishing. We passed a sign saying Waseca 30 miles to the left. My friend and I said we gotta stop by there just to see the store. We told the wives we will just stay long enough for a quick look and then get back on the road. Well, the quick look turned out to be about three hours. It was a fascinating store with hundreds of fish and animal mounts and every hunting and fishing gear you could think of.
I still have one of their large catalogs and one of there flytying vises and some tying materials.

If any of you ever travel close to Springfield, Mo you should stop in the home store of Bass Pro shops. Johnny Morris has built an equally fascinating store. He has also built a superb museum and aquarium to tour. A lot of Herter's mounts are in those two museums. Plan on 4 to 5 hours to take it all in.

[Bill Terry]

I still use a folding multi-tool from Herter's, acquired in the 60s. It has a narrow 2 1/2" blade, an awl, scissors, and a file with a hook disgorger on the end. There's a thin fixed screwdriver blade on one end. It's as good as new. I also still have some miscellaneous fly tying materials from Herter's. Maybe some other stuff, too, that I don't even know about anymore.

[bassman]

Yep, I'm one of those old gents who lived for the Herter's catalog arrival. I would study it page by page and though a lot of it was hunting I was only into the fishing items. I used to love how he found these exotic items on a safari to the farthest corners of the earth and stole the formula from a native tribe at great risk to bring this sure fire Model X Perfect item to us.

[Bud]

Remember the shrunken heads?

[Fcs]

Remember the shrunken heads?

Yes and Didn’t they once have elephant foot umbrella stands? I also remember when Jacques P. got busted by the feds trying to smuggle in some exotic skins I think he was fined $25,000.

I bought my first 22 from Herters I think it was 1967. A Mossberg bolt with a tube magazine. Must have weighed 7 pounds. $33.

[kimk]

Some time in the late 60's or early 70's he offered diamonds. The story of their acquisition, transport, cutting and all else was epic. It involved Africans, Dutch , Protestants, and a number of other nationalities and religions. All close friends of the Herter family.
If Hemingway was the master of brevity, then Herter was that other thing.
AgMD

[bluesjay]

Hi Guys, I got a few of my old catalogs out to drool and dream.

Jay Edwards

[Peales]

The town I grew up in was 45 minutes from Herters. Most of the money that I earned in my youth was spent in that store. The amount of product packed into that space was nothing short of spectacular.

[6tUc05]

As the old saying goes: "I am a day late and a dollar short"; but, the author of the interesting article left out another, at least to me, interesting quirk about G. L. Herter, and that was his extreme pride in his German heritage as was evidenced by the fact that the three horizontal color bands on his catalog covers duplicates the three color bands on the German National Flag.

[bluesjay]

Hi Guys, St Alban's bamboo. They were/are good rods;
8 foot, $32.67, X-tra tip $9.47 9 foot, $34.87, X-tra tip $9.47
This from a 1973 catalog. I didn't see them in a 1975 catalog.

Jay Edwards

[Mike N]

My father was born in 1919 and always had a Herter’s catalog near his reading chair. Like my dad, I was pleased to read that Mr. Herter’s, too, was a WW II veteran and Purple Heart recipient. Absolutely the Greatest Generation.

Thanks for the link.

Mike N