Penn Reels - just as you find them

[Oceanreels]

John, no help on a rod brace.

[Penn Chronology]

Nice reel John. First gen 16/0's are super tough, at one time they were thought to be impossible, that is until Brian found one, now Ray has one also and I seem to remember one or two more.

They are very difficult to document, most of them are probably very early release reels that were either prototype or experimental, I do not think there were too many first gen 16/0's offered for sale; but, it is all speculation. Every time one comes up for sale it is an Event.

I feel all pre-war 16/0's are special reels.

Congrats on the find!

[Swami805]

Very nice early reel,very clean. Fortunate it's in the hands of someone who values it.

[1badf350]

Wow that looks great John!

[AC49]

Hi All

Wishing all of you a great 2018.

Regarding the discussion of the postal codes on the Penn reel boxes:

I have a Penn No. 180 box 100yds. Price $6.00 (1946-50) with no postal code on box
I have a Penn 49A in box Fair trade price $16 (1951-52) also no postal code on box
Earliest catalog I have is a #18 from 1953 with address Philadelphia 32 PA
What was the 1st year with the address Philadelphia 32 PA ?

Catalog 28B of 1965 has address Philadelphia PA 19132
What was the 1st year with the address Philadelphia PA 19132 ?
Catalog 29 of 1966 has address Hunting Park Avenue Philadelphia 32 PA ?
But I believe and correct me if I'm wrong, only the "B" catalogs were in the actual reel boxes and the others weren't ?

Any clarity on this confusion would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
AC49

[foakes]

As guideline -- US Postal Zip Codes were introduced in 1963.

It became mandatory a year, or so later.

That 18A catalog has so much information in it -- it is a treasure.

I keep one in my throne room -- every time look through it, I learn something new.

Best,

Fred

[Penn Chronology]

Catalog is a great issue. It is special because it spans two years. It is a 1954 / 55 issue, not 1953.

[AC49]

Thanks Fred and Mike
Was the old postal code the 32 ?
And was it replaced with 19132 ?
Sorry, being from Cape Town, South Africa I wasn't able to find much info on the web.

Regards
Alan

[Bill B]

Alan you are correct.....the five digit replaced the two digit.  But here it gets tricky.  Otto Penn always the mixer used every last thing even mixing parts to build a reel.  So even though the US Postal Service changed the codes, Penn used every last box so he was still shipping reel boxes out with the old codes.  So it is best to date your reel and box by the price.....this will get you within a year at worst. 

Mike Cacioppo, has published a series of books on the first 25 years of Penn reels and his 3rd volume has all the catalogues in it.  This volume is called A Documentary History of Penn Reels.  All three are good reading and worth space on the coffee table.

Bill

[AC49]

Thanks Bill much appreciated

[Penn Chronology]

I have a Penn 49A in box Fair trade price $16 (1951-52) also no postal code on box

Hello Alan, could you post a picture of the 49A reel and box. I was wondering if the reel is marked 49A, as some of the early ones were and if the box is marked 49A?

[AC49]

Hi Mike you might have seen my box on social media, a buddy of mine posted a pic a while back.
1st couple of pics are the sideplates cleaned and the original leather drag washers followed by the 4 brace type spool.

[AC49]

Reel assembled with box and a comparison pic of some of the my other 49A reels with their boxes. Note the one on the right is the only 49"A" in this pic. The others have only No.49 on the sideplate. All of these reels have part numbers except the old 49A which has no part numbers on the 2 eccentric cams.

Regards
Alan

[Penn Chronology]

Reel assembled with box and a comparison pic of some of the my other 49A reels with their boxes. Note the one on the right is the only 49"A" in this pic. The others have only No.49 on the sideplate. All of these reels have part numbers except the old 49A which has no part numbers on the 2 eccentric cams.

This is all very interesting to me. Thank you very much for the photos. I always suspected that the 49A marked side plates only happened in the early 1950's. This helps to prove it. The only place to find these reels and boxes in the quantity and diversity you have them is South Africa.

This also tells me how Penn identified their export models. The markings were on the boxes, not the reels. They initially marked the 49A because that reel was modified but other reels, like Jigmasteers, were only marked on the boxes.

Your older 49A was made between 1951 and 1953. That is the beginning of Penn's use of stamped part numbers on their parts. Reels from that time period will be a mix or numbered and non-numbered parts.

Thanks for posting these pictures, now I will have to set up some time to take my two 49A reels apart and look at the internal differences. The one I have with the 49A marked head plate I feel is earlier than yours because it has a coin edged counter weighted handle but it does have some numbered parts also, so not too much earlier or maybe not at all.

[AC49]

This is all very interesting to me. Thank you very much for the photos. I always suspected that the 49A marked side plates only happened in the early 1950's. This helps to prove it. The only place to find these reels and boxes in the quantity and diversity you have them is South Africa.

Mike I recently  bought a Penn 49A with A on sideplate that had no numbers on ANY parts on the reel so I assume that would be pre-1950 ? The spool also had the same "4 brace" as per pics above. The owner is searching for the box at his holiday home so hopefully it will surface soon.

Regards
Alan