Morphy’s Antique Fishing Tackle auction premiere set for Oct. 24

 

DENVER, Pa. – Collectors of antique lures and tackle will soon be congregating at a new favorite fishing hole: Morphy Auctions’ gallery. The Pennsylvania company known for its sales spanning dozens of popular collecting categories will launch its latest specialty department on Saturday, Oct. 24, with a 500+ lot auction of antique fishing lures, reels and related tackle; plus other fishing-related accessories and advertising. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

The entire auction inventory has been evaluated and cataloged by renowned fishing lure and tackle expert Joe Stagnitti, who heads the new department at Morphy’s.

The majority of the Oct. 24 auction’s contents came from a single-owner estate collection, and the variety is endless. Virtually every known American lure manufacturer is represented, “and in a major way,” Stagnitti said.

“Some of the lures are as rare as they come, such as the book examples by Louis Rhead, which are still on their original cards. Our featured collection, which is from Pennsylvania, was built over 40 years, but even over a period of time that long, it’s incredible that one person could have amassed such an eclectic, high-quality collection,” he said.

The strongest section of the sale is the lures, coming both from the main estate collection and other individual consignors. There are several boxed rarities that were made by Moonlight Bait Co., of Paw Paw, Michigan, including a Dreadnought (shown below) and a Paw Paw Underwater lure. Also on the “most wanted” lures list are Comstock’s Flying Hellgremite, a Chautauqua Minnow, Miller’s Reversible Minnow, and a coveted Detroit Wiggle Tail Minnow estimated at $7,000-$10,000.

 

 

The smallest-known size of a Riley Haskell (Painesville, Ohio) Minnow lure (shown below) is entered with a $10,000-$20,000 estimate. Other lure makers whose antique and vintage creations await collectors include Creek Chub, Pflueger, South Bend, and William Shakespeare.

 

 

The star of the auction is quite likely to be Lot 112 (shown at top), an extremely rare 1915 Heddon salesman’s sample case comprised of two hinged sections that open to reveal 70 mounted, all-original, unused and unrigged Heddon lures. The grouping of samples is a complete representation of the company’s production range for that year.

“Arguably it’s the best piece in the history of tackle collecting. It’s especially significant that the case is being sold now because 2015 marks its one-hundredth birthday,” said Stagnitti.

The salesman’s case with its school of colorful fish-shape lures was first offered at public auction in 1985 at Richard Oliver’s Maine gallery. It subsequently changed hands a few times, Stagnitti said, eventually landing in a prominent Louisiana collection.

“Last year the case was consigned to me to sell privately on behalf of its owner. I arranged the sale to a collector last February, and now it has come to Morphy’s as the headliner of our first-ever fishing lure and tackle auction,” Stagnitti said. “I can’t think of a finer item to represent the launch of our new department.”

Believed to be the only known example of its type, the Heddon salesman’s case is expected to make $100,000-$200,000 at auction.

In addition to lures, the auction includes an assortment of other items that fall under the heading of fishing tackle, such as creels, bait tins, mechanical gaffs and fish grabbers; line spools, and, of course, rods and reels.

 

 

Lot 206 (shown below) is an 1869-patent rod and handle reel combination made by Peter A. Altmaeir, an inventor and gunsmith who was from Harrisburg, Pa. Almaeir held many patents, including several for rod construction and types of locks. The 5ft 11in rod in Morphy’s sale is in beautiful condition and has a tiny German silver handle reel with a brass side plate stamped with the maker’s name, city and patent date. Estimate: $5,000-$10,000.

 

 

Another top reel is Lot 355 (shown below), an H.L. Leonard bronze and silver raised-pillar salmon reel patented 1877, estimated at $15,000-$20,000. It has a large counterbalanced handle, strong click and unaltered original foot. It has an Edward Payne patented sliding drag lever and flip-up oil port. “This is one of the all-time classic salmon reels,” Stagnitti said.

 

 

Perhaps the ultimate reel to be offered on October 24th is Lot 207 (shown below), a circa-1880 Philbrook & Paine marbleized salmon reel. Considered by many to be the most aesthetically pleasing of all salmon reels, it is composed of orange and black marbleized rubber with handsome silver accents. Described in Morphy’s catalog as “a true investment-quality piece of fishing tackle history,” the reel could attract a winning bid of $20,000-$25,000.

 

 

An exceptional trout mount by Nash of Maine features five taxidermied brook trout, each measuring approximately 13 inches in length. All are in fine original condition, presented on an intertwined birch-bark branch nailed to a large oval board and surmounted on an oak board with planed border. “Nash of Maine was the originator of the ‘trout mezzo’ method of artistically mounting fish, and we can find no comparable example from this artist. We think this is one of his finest known mountings,” said Stagnitti. Estimate: $4,000-$6,000.

Morphy’s catalog for the October 24 Antique Fishing Tackle Auction is expected to be a sell-out. “We’ve received nothing but compliments and warm congratulations from collectors about how impressive the catalog. They say the information contained in it is better than what they’ve seen in some reference books. It’s very nice to hear that from our peers in the hobby,” said Stagnitti.

Morphy’s Antique Fishing Tackle Auction will take place on Saturday, October 24, 2015 starting at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, with absentee and Internet live bidding available through LiveAuctioneers. For information on any item in the sale, call 717-335-3435 or email serena@morphyauctions.com.

 

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.