Old Reels

[John Sheehan]

Pictured here are three old  Center pin? or Conventional ?  reels I'd like to learn more about.Top: Shakespeare, 'Universal',1918 2) Pflueger 'Trump',1943? 3) A.F. Meisselbach & Bro. Newark N.J.,"TRI-PART", 1907  I am trying to find out now if they were designed for trolling or casting ,or both.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

No pics

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

What are you wondering?
I have a bunch of these - pretty much all the same in function.

[John Sheehan]

date made . history , worth for resell  etc is what I'm wondering

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

All are well used by the look - that's bad on value
The Meisselbach may be something, the other two bread and butter
There's a few good forums you can google

[John Sheehan]

They are not better condition reels for sure Dave and wasn't expecting them to be much value .The Pflueger is missing the little cover for the center pin on the opposite side as the handle. The other two looks like they have nothing missing .I am curious how old the reels are and only one (the  Pflueger) has a level wind and worm gear which is probably the most recent of the three .I am thinking the meissalback 90 yard model is the oldest of the three .Gonna have to pursue patent # and other printed wording on the reels to find out more .

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Too bad on the spool bushing; they are a challenge to find precise replacements for.
Google vintage reel forums and you'll get answers.
I'd guess they are from the 30s-60s, pretty much the heyday of this type of "boys reel."

[John Sheehan]

I think the Tri-Part is  (1907)and I 'd be surprised if any of these were as late as 50's or 60's but I'm  just learning about them . http://luresnreels.com/meisselbach.html

The Tri-Part sideplate has this etching: Patents Nov 15,'04, Dec,27,'04 , June 20,05, March5 ,07 .

[John Sheehan]

Dave the dates are all stamped on the reels the Tripart is 1907, The Shakespeare is  1918 model and the Pflueger is 1943.I should have looked at them closely before starting this post .

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Unfortunately, those dates are usually patent dates and can be very far from DOM.
The actual build date is normally coded as part of the serial #
ITS kinda tricky how they do that....
Regardless, the Meisselbach is likeliest the interesting oddity, although the condition is the issue. They were made 1907-1919 by the droves, and were the most popular reel for 15 years or so . Sadly, it's probably not rare by that virtue. Here's some info:
http://www.oldreels.com/triparts.htm

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

And have you learned what the serial number indicates for a date?
Sometimes reels designs would stay in the catalog for decades with only cosmetic changes. Each change marks a collectible point, but the actual reel might be pretty generic. Thats why I gave such a wide span of manufacture.
As an aside, the companies often made the same reel under contract with another name, as a "house brand" model.
So a Meisselbach reel might have had Pulchard, or Marbles, stamped on it
It's all quite fascinating really.

[John Sheehan]

I have to look into the serial # dating yet or model style years. The Meissel Bach has no serial# that I can spot .Maybe its inside the reel like some watches? The Meisselbach has this etched into the bottom of the reel between the flanges of the reel seat." A.F. Meisselbach and Bro. Newark N.J. 80 Yard". A book I have says the Brothers sold their Co. in 1917. Under the reel seat of the Shakespeare 'Universal' it says 1918 Model .Not sure how long they made the model so I need to find that out . On the side plate is a # which may be the serial # (23038) . The Pflueger also has no serial # I can see ,just a trademark number ,1943 , and have to find out  how long the 'Trump' model was manufactured .That's where I am presently with this curiosity .Thanks for your input .

[John Sheehan]

FOUND THIS OUT " Beginning in 1910, the model number on the bottom of the reel foot indicated the year the reel was made. This year marking continued up until 1931."