Another Perfect with stories to tell

FWdB · Post by **FWdB** » 03/05/10 03:51

Some of you might remember this earlier thread of mine about a "scarred" 1912 Perfect with old repairs and intriguing makers' stamps. I was pleased to notice that others share my fascination with these well loved, well used and in most cases very well repaired reels. Well, a pattern is starting to develop and I'm slowly but surely being lured in starting an asylum for faithful old timers. Reels that many collectors won't touch because they're far from mint condition.

The reel...
My latest acquisition is this 3 1/4 inch wide drum Hardy Perfect. I knew about the old repair to the rim when I bought it. Much less serious than the repairs my 1912 Perfect had undergone. At first glance a nice, original, probably still useable reel, quite a bit of leading left and with a (phosphor bronze?) rotating line guard. The actual story seems to begin and end with that one repair.

Oh well, still a very nice find...

But then I disassembled it. The seller hadn't provided pictures of the inside. As a general antiques trader he probably didn't know how to open it up. I didn't ask beforehand, sometimes I love a gamble. Also the price was temptingly low so I had to act fast.

Turning the face plate an unusual glimmer of brass showed in the dark. The size and shape of the part seemed strange. Silent check maybe? No, I'd already given the reel a spin or two and its click was music to my ears.

With the face plate completely removed, an inscribed semi-circular brass plate was revealed...

Very, very nice. My logical first reaction was to wonder who this mr. H.C. Golcher was, and if he might have been a member of San Francisco's famous Golden Gate Angling & Casting Club? So I started a search. I know of at least one forum member here who doesn't take Google searches seriously, but imho it does at least help and anyway, I just did.

The man...
To my surprise and delight I first found an older thread on Spey Pages that showed another, newer 3 1/4 inch wide drum Perfect with a plate inside, saying "Made for H.C. GOLCHER & CO. SAN FRANCISCO". That suggested that mr. Golcher was involved in the fishing tackle trade in San Francisco. But my reel was (according to the inscription) made for mr. Golcher personally ("expressly") so besides being involved in the tackle trade, he most likely was an avid angler himself, able ánd willing to special order fine tackle for his own use.

Search continued and I found some text fragments that proved that mr. H.C. Golcher was indeed a member of the San Francisco Fly Casting Club / GGACC, a tournament caster and record holder. Besides being a fisherman he liked to shoot and play golf also. Sources were from the late 19th - early 20th century, as diverse as "The San Francisco Call" newspaper, classic angling books like "Practical Fly Fishing" and "Bass, Pike, Perch and Other Game Fishes of America" but also "The Chamber of Commerce Handbook for San Francisco".

I also found a delighful article titled "Do Fly-Casting Tournaments Benefit Anglers?" in which the gentleman is mentioned...

The business...
I found several references to Clabrough, Golcher & Co. Sporting Goods in San Francisco. Clabrough apparently was an English gunmaker who moved to San Francisco in the second half of the 19th century but moved back to England in the late 19th century. The San Francisco store was said to be in business until the 1930s. They must have been famous makers / retailers of fine shotguns, because most online references are in that direction.

I found a wonderful publication on Google Books called "The Inner Man": link (see page 98 for Clabrough, Golcher & Co.) I also found out that the sporting goods store itself was demolished in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.

But there's some questions left about the business side of things. I'm still not 100% sure about the connection between the two businesses Clabrough, Golcher & Co. and H.C. Golcher & Co. and about the time frame. My guess is that mr. H.C. Golcher was involved in Clabrough, Golcher & Co. and that he continued his business as H.C. Golcher & Co. after the death of mr. Clabrough. The reel on Spey Pages seems to confirm that, being newer than mine.

Anyone able (and willing) to shed some light on this with additional information is very welcome to do so.

Well, that's the story of my reel, and I'm sticking to it!
(to the story ánd the reel)

enigma309 · Post by **enigma309** » 03/05/10 04:24

. . . .to "Wilf's Karma Collection."

Great research and result too.

Brian

jvg · Post by **jvg** » 03/05/10 05:32

I was pleased to see the fruits of your research as I have a reel made for the same company. The pictures are of a 3 1/4" Perfect. The reel is is very good condition except for where it appears that someone has tried to improve the leading with what may be magic marker. It is a lovely reel and the few small marks don't bother me. Your brass plate is much finer than the plate on this one but it does add interest to the reel, for sure.

FWdB · Post by **FWdB** » 03/05/10 05:42

Hi jvg, looks like your reel in the Spey Pages thread. It cleaned up nicely. Mr. Golcher must have had a preference for 3 1/4 inch Perfects, quite an unusual but excellent choice I'd say.

bobk · Post by **bobk** » 03/05/10 05:45

My reel has the initials "DW" engraved on the winding plate. The reel belonged to Dean Witter, businessman and co-founder of Dean Witter & Company. I have a letter from his grandson telling some about the reel and his grandfather...... but if only the reel could speak to us !

FWdB · Post by **FWdB** » 03/05/10 05:53

Wow, it's grown into a small family already! Never expected this.
Another very fine example, thanks for chiming in and sharing your pictures!

jvg · Post by **jvg** » 03/05/10 05:58

Thanks FWdB. It may not be the same reel as the placing of the plate with respect to the 3 brass circles around the bearings appears to be different to me. You sure have a handle on the threads here or are really good at fast searching.

tedgolden · Post by **tedgolden** » 03/05/10 05:59

Fascinating stuff! Thanks for sharing your research.

Stefan · Post by **Stefan** » 03/05/10 06:00

His record of 140ft in 1902 at San Francisco in the heavy tackle distance event stood until 1918 when that event was cancelled.

He used a rod that was 11foot long and weighed 10 and 7/8 ounce, and you will not find that on Google.

FWdB · Post by **FWdB** » 03/05/10 06:03

But thanks to you we will now, "Steffi"...

Seriously, thanks for that extra snippet of information.

turtledoc · Post by **turtledoc** » 03/05/10 06:06

Wilf -

Great story and reel, thanks for sharing the information and wonderful photos ! I love reels with stories

I think it is very interesting that the retailors plate on your reel appears to have been made on the same template that was used to stamp the Hardy's curved line maker's and model info on circa 1920s through WWII reels.

Mark B

FWdB · Post by **FWdB** » 03/05/10 06:13

jvg wrote:Thanks FWdB. It may not be the same reel as the placing of the plate with respect to the 3 brass circles around the bearings appears to be different to me.

You're right, so much for thinking to have found a "niche" in the vintage reel market, this one seems to expand with lightning speed: that means at least four Golcher 3 1/4 inch WD Hardy Perfects! Excellent stuff!

Stefan · Post by **Stefan** » 03/05/10 06:21

There were two others named Golcher in the San Franciso club W. J. and Samuel. Samuel was elected treasurer at the inaugural meeting in 1894 and William J was on the tournament committee.

spencesbridge · Post by **spencesbridge** » 03/05/10 06:35

Wonderful story,thanks for sharing.
Gene

Flyman615 · Post by **Flyman615** » 03/05/10 07:17

Thanks, fellows, for sharing this fascinating information!

Scott

quadrate · Post by **quadrate** » 03/05/10 23:08

I can't find the pictures right now of another 3 1/4" Perfect that I had, only this 3 1/4" was "Special".

Bob K purchased the Dean Witter reel from me and I also had another 3 1/4" "Special Perfect" that had the same Golcher tag in it and the original D-case. The reels had been purchased in the mid 1930s by Dean Witter. I had never seen any other Hardys with that tag inside until this evening. Strange that all of the reels are 3 1/4".

Tim Zietak

jvg · Post by **jvg** » 03/06/10 03:42

I was told that 1 of 10 of the 3 1/2" Perfects have line guards. Because of that I am surprised that all 4 of these have line guards.

FWdB · Post by **FWdB** » 03/06/10 03:59

Only speculating here, but possibly mr. Golcher was a gentleman of very specific taste and preferences, something that might have reflected in the reels that were ordered by and sold through his store. Very interesting to see that all these reels popping up thanks to this thread are 3 1/4 inch. Tim, hope you can find the pictures of the Special Perfect. Very interesting this!

jvg · Post by **jvg** » 03/06/10 06:19

"Hardy guy" has one on an un-named site if anyone wants to see what they look like.

SpringCreek · Post by **SpringCreek** » 03/06/10 08:03

This thread sparked a memory of the first Hardy reel I ever purchased. I remembered it was badged with a company name in San Francisco. Here it is, a 3 3/8" Perfect.

Very interesting post to say the least.

Jim