The 1956 Orvis 100th Anniversary Catalog

[Greg Reynolds]

Scans from the 1956 Orvis 100th Anniversary catalog:

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

For whatever reason, the 3-piece 7 1/2' taper seems to be missing from this catalog. Was Orvis perhaps refining that taper or was it left out for some other reason? Greg, thanks again for posting these. Perhaps the mods could put them in a sticky all together like was done for the Heddon, Shakespeare and others.

Cheers,
Joe

[Kenneth]

Thanks so much for sharing this, Greg.

I read every single page, fascinating stuff, although the hyperbole was sometimes kinda eye-rolling.

A Hardy St. George Jr. at $21 (about a buck more than the cost of two spin packs), with the Lightweight costing more at $23.50? My, how times have changed!

Out of curiosity, I'm now gonna check out the going rate for a vintage 100 spinning reel.

Kenneth

[Greg Reynolds]

For whatever reason, the 3-piece 7 1/2' taper seems to be missing from this catalog. Was Orvis perhaps refining that taper or was it left out for some other reason?

My best guess is that it was discontinued for a few years because of a lack of demand.

From my notes:
The 7 1/2-foot, 4-oz, 15/64 & 10/64-ferrule taper has a medium-action. It was designed by Wes Jordan for HDH or HDG silk lines (diameter-based), which are about equivalent to DT6 of WF6 synthetic lines (weight-based). It was intended for primary use as a basic trout rod and it’s among the most sought-after Orvis models.

This taper was produced from no later than 1949 through 1955, and again from 1960 through 1975. It was available in Battenkill grade (1940s-1955 & 1960-1975) and Manchester grade (1950-1955), both with 2 tips.

From 1949 through 1963 its weight was listed as 4-oz. From 1964 until the end of production it weighed 4 ¼-oz. The taper may have been modified after 1963 to better cast the more wind-resistant synthetic lines. Orvis made these modifications to a number of their models in 1963, the year they adopted the AFTMA line standards.

The recommend line in the 1973-1975 catalogs was WF7.

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

Thanks Greg,

I hadn't previously realized that my 7 1/2' 3-piece was from the 1st year of production.(?)

It weighs 4.2 oz on my scale. I find it a bit fast so maybe I should give it more time with a 6 wt line. I'd be happy to share tapers with anyone who has a later version to see if they changed.

Cheers,
Joe

[G-ManBart]

Cool stuff...thanks for sharing again!