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Featherlight Fly Reels
Gus Meisselbach's patent of the
raised pillar Featherlight fly reel in 1896 revolutionized raised pillar
reel design. This is easily proven in that the reel was copied over and
over after the patent ran out, and versions of this reel are still made
today. The strength, beauty, and functionality of this reel was unequaled,
however.
The pressed frame Featherlight fly reel came out in 1904, and was
undoubtedly produced to offer and inexpensive alternative to the raised
pillar Featherlight.
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Three sizes of raised pillar Featherlights. L = the
#280, which is the largest size (1" pillars); C = the very
scarce #260, the smallest size; R = #270 (3/4" pillars). Note
the cutouts in the foot of the two smallest reels. These reels came
in both nickel and bronze finishes. |
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The three sizes of pressed frame Featherlights.
L = #260. Yes, this number was duplicated here. C = #250. This
is the smallest reel ever manufactured by Meisselbach. This reel is
1.75" across the frame. R = #290. These reels also came in
Bronze and Nickel finishes. |
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Notes |
| The Meisselbach
Featherlight reels were the forerunner of a whole host of copy cat fly
reels that came out from the 1920s until the 1960s. |
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