or however that dang word is written! : ) Use this forum to discuss those things that are related to, directly, or indirectly, fly fishing, i.e., tackle, catalogs, single malt scotch, cigar preferences, pipes, camera gear, etc. This is sort of an off topic area but one related to bamboo and fly fishing.
john8 wrote:I have a number of Wheatley fly boxes from my dad I think most are from the 1960s and early 1970s. Most are the thinner models, two have the leafs with hinges.
I have some other Japaned fly boxes not sure on the maker but they are made in England. I don’t think they are Wheatley but if you like Wheatley fly boxes these may be of interest to you. They have 5 shelves which have clips for flies.
Here is a close up showing the makers mark on the shelf there is no other ID found anywhere on the box
John8,
Those Japanned boxes are Richard Wheatley boxes. I believe they were called reservoirs? Can anyone confirm? They also came in leather. The makers mark is the small RW Lozenge w/ Made in England logo from approximately 1960's - 1980's.
Rich you are correct on the name they are Reservoirs. The trays do have the Richard Wheatley stamp but the boxes do not, but I’m pretty sure made by the same. The date I’m not sure as from what my father told was the gentleman that owned them passed away in the mid 1960s and had owned them a number of years prior to his passing. I thought most of these japanned reservoirs were from before 1960 or so as others such as Farlows, Ogdens Smith, etc offered them as well.
Rich
Per your request here are some more photos of the reservoirs I have, they measure roughly 11”x7”x4” and have 5 removable trays. The exterior of the reservoir has an orange peel type texture finish. The trays have rings which rotate and are used as lifting points for the trays. The clips are attached to a sheet which is riveted to the tray. There a variety of clip size and numbers on the trays so some can handle small flies while others large salmon flies.
I have one different reservoir which is square roughly 7”x7”x4” and has a smooth finish. Has trays which are similar but there are no ID marks except for “English Make” on the box itself. I think it’s older, it contains all gut eye salmon flies.
Rich,
Here is a small 51 clip box measuring 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 1/2", which has a Hardy medallion on top. Like my other RW box with the Hardy logo, this one is also stamped made in England. The Silmalloy stamp is near the bottom.
Cheers,
Joe
Last edited by NewUtahCaneAngler on 01/30/21 16:16, edited 1 time in total.
If I may, here is a Hardy marked box for comparision with my own. The obvious differences are the shorter outside ridges and the fact that one row of clips on each side of the case have been reversed. This has the same Hardy medalion as my smaller box, and I should note that these medallions are different than my Hardy compartment box.
I apologize in advance if a member acquired this box and was planning to post it in this thread.
" There's no such thing as a fly fisherman wholly satisfied with his casting performance. " ~ Jim Green (1971)
" Just once I wish a trout would wink at me. " ~ Brian Shaffer
Brian Shaffer wrote:Hey what do we think of the Neroda boxes.. ?
Brian,
I personally love the early Hardy Neroda boxes. I own one and would like to own more, but the prices these days are too rich for my blood...Oxblood.
Hardy offered their Bakelite Neroda boxes from 1934 thru approximately 1967. They also offered a newer, modern version in the late 1990's or early 2000's I believe. Can anyone confirm this?
Clive Edwards of the Richard Wheatley Museum confirmed Wheatley made tin and aluminum boxes for Hardy and likely fitted the inners of the Neroda boxes. As a matter of fact some Richard Wheatley boxes can be found with Hardy Holdtite clips...they are rare.
NewUtahCaneAngler wrote:If I may, here is a Hardy marked box for comparision with my own. The obvious differences are the shorter outside ridges and the fact that one row of clips on each side of the case have been reversed. This has the same Hardy medalion as my smaller box, and I should note that these medallions are different than my Hardy compartment box.
I apologize in advance if a member acquired this box and was planning to post it in this thread.
Cheers,
Joe
Joe,
There was a discussion about this very topic - hook clip "combs" facing in different directions on these small boxes - on a Hardy Fan social media page. I don't believe anyone ever came up with a reason why it was done. I suspect it may have been done to accommodate slightly larger wet flies in the small waistcoat boxes but I can't confirm this. I did notice most examples I've seen are on Hardy boxes.
On another topic, I've seen a few variations of the Hardy brass badges: oval, square, shield, straight line lettering, arched lettering, etc. Does anyone know how many different Hardy badges were used and when they changed on the Wheatley boxes?
john8 wrote:Rich
Per your request here are some more photos of the reservoirs I have, they measure roughly 11”x7”x4” and have 5 removable trays. The exterior of the reservoir has an orange peel type texture finish. The trays have rings which rotate and are used as lifting points for the trays. The clips are attached to a sheet which is riveted to the tray. There a variety of clip size and numbers on the trays so some can handle small flies while others large salmon flies.
I have one different reservoir which is square roughly 7”x7”x4” and has a smooth finish. Has trays which are similar but there are no ID marks except for “English Make” on the box itself. I think it’s older, it contains all gut eye salmon flies.
Wonderful reservoirs that would enhance any collection, especially mine!!!
Richie
Here is a new addition to my fly box collection - A black Japanned Richard Wheatley 85-clip tin box with xylonite clip plates. The box measures approximately 4 7/8” x 3 5/8” x 5/8” and is dated from approximately 1906-1910, give or take a year. The Richard Wheatley RW Lozenge logo located on one xylonite clip plate and “rare” blue ink hand stamped ENGLAND on the other. There are no stampings or marks on the outside of box. These early clips with sharp point are a great design that holds very small flies tight.
NewUtahCaneAngler wrote:If I may, here is a Hardy marked box for comparision with my own. The obvious differences are the shorter outside ridges and the fact that one row of clips on each side of the case have been reversed. This has the same Hardy medalion as my smaller box, and I should note that these medallions are different than my Hardy compartment box.
I apologize in advance if a member acquired this box and was planning to post it in this thread.
Cheers,
Joe
Joe,
You mentioned the different size of ridges on the lids used to open the boxes and it got me thinking. I took a picture of the different size of ridges on three aluminum boxes I have in my collection. I noticed the smallest ridge examples are from boxes that predate 1928. Post 1928 boxes have the larger ridge that almost extends the length of the lids. It’s likely Wheatley finally settled on a basic box design about the time the new trade mark came out in 1928.
I’m always learning new aspects of vintage Richard Wheatley boxes.
Here is a neat box I originally posted to the Wheatley compartment box thread but it belongs here with other clip boxes.
This is likely a late 60's to mid-70's Richard Wheatley 49-clip box with writable contents tablet fitted to the inside of the lid - model no. F0807 in its original sales carton. I've seen various versions of this style of box, older boxes with xylonite writable tablets, plastic coated card stock tablets, and at least two versions of the aluminum writable tablets. I believe this to be the last version offered.
Interesting idea, but I tend to remember the name of most patterns I carry. And is it really that important to remember the names when matching size, profile and color?
Here is a nice Richard Wheatley swing leaf clip box loaded with several vintage wet flies of similar vintage. The box measures 6" x 3 1/2" x 1", has 238 small clips and the leaf is held in place by two rings, not a hinge. I'm not sure when Wheatley stopped using the rings to attach swing leafs, but I believe the box is post 1920 and pre 1928 when the large RW Made in England trademark logo was used. The box is stamped with only the RW Lozenge trademark on one side and "Made in England" on the inside fillet.
