Help with Vom Hofe and Orvis Letter info

[kandersen]

Hi all. I was recently tasked with helping a family member sell their sporting collection. The bulk of the collection is books, with most being about fishing, hunting, shooting, exploring, the outdoors, and general sport. However, the collection also has quite a bit of ephemera (e.g., late 1800s to early 1900s catalogs). Two items I'm struggling to find information on are posted below - an Edward Vom Hofe letter from 1884 and a Charles Orvis letter from 1902. I know both are relatively rare, but I'd like to list them at a reasonable price before going the auction route. Any insight on pricing? Thanks!

[samsonboi]

...

Irrelevant due to deletions of previous posts.

[roycestearns]

There will be a lot of interest, both are rare and valuable. At auction they might obtain the greatest value when you have a number of collectors that see them. There are a number of paper collectors that watch this board, and you've probably already heard from them.

We all would like to know more about the family member's sporting collection!

Thanks For sharing them.

[kandersen]

Thanks, all, for the replies. My wife's uncle is a long-time ABAA member and collector from New England. His specialties were fishing, hunting, exploration, the outdoors, New England history, and general sport. A couple years ago, he was diagnosed with Parkinsons, although he likely had been undiagnosed for quite some time. The accompanying dementia has made it so that he is in need of long-term care beyond what the family can offer. Since he never inventoried/cataloged his collection and never used a computer, my wife and I were asked if we would be interested in creating an inventory. As you can probably guess, we said yes. It took us about a year to catalog 8000 books on weekends and in the evenings after our kids went to bed. We enjoyed the process so much that we agreed to help sell the collection as well. The inventory of ephemera is still a work in progress, but we are getting there.

I'm not sure if I can post websites on this forum or not, but if anyone is interested, please message me and I can send the link. The book list is available on the website. Unfortunately, it is a watered down version due to length limitations, but there are thousands of fishing titles - many with signatures and ephemera, first editions, deluxe/special editions, etc.

The ephemera includes many old tackle catalogs; letters and manuscripts from R. Haig-Brown, Joseph Bates, Austin Hogan, George Grant, and others; old leaders in the original packaging (e.g., Dame and Stoddard); and thousands of trout flies.

Coincidentally, when it came to gear, he liked stuff he could use, so most of his rods and reels aren't highly collectible, although I do have an old Chubb bamboo trolling rod with black velvet tube that still needs a home.

I've probably rambled enough. If anyone has questions or would like me to send more info about one thing or another, please send me a message.

[bearbutt]

Tough crowd here, LOL.

It's hard to gauge the market for ephemera. I agree with Royce that an auction will present for the documents the largest audience--Lang's in particular--and is probably your best option. If you pay for one-day access to Lang's database, "Tacklefind," you can view past sales prices, and get a very rough market estimate for ephemera across the board--. The Orvis letter doesn't reveal too much, but the Vom Hofe letter is a little masterpiece. ''three hansom bass" --his misspellings are great--but also his reference to altering ("aultering") the reel in question. Very cool letter.

bb

ps--seeing the additional breadth of your collection, Lang's would definitely make the most sense.

[roycestearns]

BB + 1
K Anderson, Thanks for sharing the background on the collection. I'm not sure where you're located in NE, but likely there is a ephemera expert that could help you determine a fair market value for the paper if you would rather go that direction.

It's fantastic that you and your wife could enjoy the process of cataloging the inventory. I'm sure you guys have an extra special connection to your uncle now.

Good luck, and anything else you would like to share is welcomed here.

[kandersen]

A big thank you to everyone who has messaged, commented and emailed. Just as an updated, the fishing ephemera list is now complete, and there are some additional catalogs listed on the website. Again, if anyone has any questions, please send me a message.

[Mike N]

Hi all. I was recently tasked with helping a family member sell their sporting collection. The bulk of the collection is books, with most being about fishing, hunting, shooting, exploring, the outdoors, and general sport. However, the collection also has quite a bit of ephemera (e.g., late 1800s to early 1900s catalogs). Two items I'm struggling to find information on are posted below - an Edward Vom Hofe letter from 1884 and a Charles Orvis letter from 1902. I know both are relatively rare, but I'd like to list them at a reasonable price before going the auction route. Any insight on pricing? Thanks!

Kanderson,

I think the value of such letters is determined by the content. Do yours provide any information to historians? Here is a link to an earlier discussion on this site about two 1908 letters I own which CFO wrote. Historian AJ Campbell used them as primary sources in his writings. In one, CFO is discussing his thoughts about early rod maker Charles Murphy, including his drinking habits and craftsmanship. In the other, CFO confirms he is still actively fly fishing at age 76 and mentions an “odd number” Orvis catalog. They are not for sale, but I value the pair enough that I would not trade them both for a $1500 vintage reel. They would be too tough to replace.

viewtopic.php?f=70&t=126241&p=860070&hi ... rs#p860070

I sold a similar EVH letter with a line spool (see photo below) in January, 2020 on Angling Marketplace. They brought $160 in the auction.



I hope this info helps.

Mike

[kandersen]

Thanks, Mike. That is extremely helpful. The Orvis letter isn't extremely unique in content, but the EVH is (discussing reel modifications and catching bass with peers).